ACT LIKE RESEARCHERS: HOW TO TURN YOUR CX TEAM INTO AN INSIGHTS ENGINE
As artificial intelligence continues to transform customer experience, many organizations face the pressure to reduce headcount. In this environment, CX leaders must find innovative ways to leverage the human touch that remains within their teams and use it to drive business results. IKEA has used this strategy when it implemented its AI service bot, “Billie”. While Billie has handled 47% of the contacts to their contact center, IKEA has been up-training agents as interior design advisors, a successful strategy that has increased revenue.
Each organization will have its own opportunities to re-train staff, but one powerful strategy that every company can use is to train support agents to act like researchers - turning every customer interaction into a mini fact-finding interview. This approach enhances the value of your support team by uncovering deeper insights into customer needs, pain points, and opportunities for growth.
Why Train Support Agents to Be Mini-Researchers?
With AI handling more routine customer inquiries, the role of human support agents is evolving. Rather than simply resolving issues, agents have a unique opportunity to gather valuable customer insights during their interactions. Every conversation can be a source of data, shedding light on customer behaviors, preferences, frustrations, and unmet needs. Here are a few reasons why training your support team to act like researchers can expand their value:
Unlock Hidden Insights: When agents are trained to ask the right questions and listen actively, they can uncover insights that customers might not explicitly provide. These insights can reveal product gaps, usability issues, and new feature opportunities that may not surface through standard feedback channels like surveys.
Drive Continuous Improvement: Regularly collecting qualitative data from customer conversations allows CX teams to identify trends and recurring issues faster than waiting for formal research cycles. This agile approach to feedback helps drive continuous improvement and informs better decision-making across the company.
Demonstrate the Strategic Value of CX: By turning customer support into a research-driven function, CX leaders can provide measurable contributions to the company’s growth strategy. This data-driven approach demonstrates the strategic importance of CX, turning it from a cost center into a valuable source of market intelligence.
Maximize Reduced Headcounts: As AI takes over routine tasks, human agents will need to be more skilled and versatile. Training them as mini-researchers expands their role, ensuring they add greater value even as team sizes are reduced. This approach makes every customer interaction more meaningful and impactful.
Essential Skills for Effective Mini-Researchers
To transform support agents into effective mini-researchers, CX leaders need to provide training in several key skills:
1. Active Listening
Active listening is the foundation of effective customer research. Train agents to listen carefully to customers, not just for the immediate issue but for underlying needs and emotions. Encourage them to pay attention to tone, word choice, and what is left unsaid. This will help them identify hidden pain points and gather richer qualitative data.
2. Asking Open-Ended Questions
Teach agents how to ask open-ended questions that encourage customers to share more information. Instead of yes/no questions, use prompts like “Can you tell me more about…” or “What were you hoping to achieve when…” These questions help uncover the full context of the customer’s experience and can reveal insights that might not come out through more structured feedback methods.
3. Probing for Deeper Insights
Support agents should be comfortable probing deeper when they sense there’s more to the story. Train them to follow up with questions that explore the “why” behind a customer’s statements. For example, if a customer expresses frustration with a feature, agents could ask, “What specifically about this feature didn’t work for you?” or “How did this impact your overall experience?”
4. Recording and Tagging Feedback
To turn customer conversations into actionable insights, agents must be skilled at accurately recording and tagging feedback. Provide training on how to use your feedback management systems effectively, ensuring that data is categorized correctly according to your CX taxonomy. This makes it easier to analyze and prioritize insights for action.
5. Recognizing Patterns and Trends
Train agents to look for patterns and common themes in their conversations with customers. Regularly review these findings with the team to identify trends that may require deeper investigation or immediate action. Agents should feel empowered to flag recurring issues and share their observations with other departments, such as product development or marketing.
6. Communicating Findings Clearly
Once agents have gathered insights, they need to be able to communicate their findings effectively. Teach them to summarize key points succinctly and provide context that helps other teams understand the impact of the feedback. Consider using templates or guidelines to standardize reporting and make it easier for other teams to act on the insights.
Implementing a Research Mindset: Practical Steps
Create Feedback Rituals: Establish regular rituals, such as weekly debriefs or feedback sessions, where agents share their findings, discuss trends, and brainstorm solutions. This encourages a culture of continuous learning and helps keep everyone aligned on common goals.
Provide Ongoing Coaching and Support: Coaching is essential to developing agents' research skills. Regularly review recorded interactions, provide constructive feedback, and celebrate successes when agents uncover valuable insights. Encourage them to feel confident and curious in their questioning techniques.
Leverage Technology: Equip your team with the right tools to efficiently gather, analyze, and share feedback. AI-driven platforms can help identify patterns in data, while CRM systems can centralize insights, making it easier to distribute across the organization.
Conclusion: Transforming Support from Cost Center to Strategic Asset
In the age of AI, the role of the customer support agent is evolving from merely resolving issues to driving strategic insights. By training your team to act like researchers, you can turn every customer interaction into a valuable data source, helping your organization stay ahead of customer needs and market trends. This approach maximizes the value of your support team, even as headcounts are reduced, and positions your CX function as a critical contributor to your company’s growth and success.
By empowering your team with the skills to conduct mini-interviews and gather meaningful insights, you expand the value of every customer interaction—transforming support from a cost center to a strategic asset. So, start training your support team to think like researchers and unlock new opportunities for your organization to thrive.
