NICE inContact Global Study Reveals Digital Channel Use Gaining Ground – And It’s Not Because of AI Chatbots (Yet)

CX Transformation Benchmark finds consumers expect seamless
omnichannel experiences and are willing to buy more from companies that
deliver it

SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NICE inContact, a NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) business, today
announced findings from the breakthrough global research study that
measures real-world consumer experiences including most recent service
interaction, satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy – including Net Promoter
Score^® (NPS^®) – across communication channels. The
second annual NICE
inContact Customer Experience (CX) Transformation Benchmark includes
consumers from three countries – United States, United Kingdom and
Australia – with year-over-year results for US (2018 vs 2017), and new
benchmark data for UK and Australia. The 2018 survey reveals that use of
digital channels is gaining ground with email doubling and chat tripling
among US consumers, making seamless omnichannel service a must in
today’s competitive experience economy. However, the study also found
that use of “automated assistants” or chatbots by consumers for recent
service interactions is still limited at only 8 percent globally.

Key Findings:

• Agent-assisted Digital Channels Gain Ground, Chat Reigns for
  Satisfaction
  The CX Transformation Benchmark year-over-year
  results among US consumers show growth of digital channels for service
  – use of email doubled and chat tripled. Consumers in all regions are
  most satisfied with online chat with a live agent, compared to ten
  other channels evaluated. At 56 percent, more than half of US
  consumers surveyed are highly satisfied with chat interactions; 47 and
  44 percent of UK and Australia consumers, respectively, report being
  highly satisfied with their most recent chat experience.

• Consumers Want True Omnichannel Customer Service
  Consumers
  want true omnichannel customer service, and service that’s seamless,
  convenient and quick. If a conversation needs to move from chat to a
  phone call, nine out of 10 consumers say they expect a seamless
  transition when moving from one communication method to another. Chat
  and phone are each viewed as convenient and quick, requiring a minimal
  amount of effort.

• Consumers Reward Companies Who Deliver Exceptional Customers Service
  Today’s
  consumers are vocal about the brands they love, and aren’t afraid to
  share negative experiences through their network. The study found
  that, overwhelmingly, customers who have exceptional experiences are
  more willing to: recommend that company on social media (83 percent),
  buy more products and services from that company (89 percent), and go
  out of their way to purchase from that brand (82 percent). But,
  one-time exceptional service is not enough to cement loyalty as 81
  percent of consumers reported that they are very likely to switch to
  another company if they’ve had a bad customer service experience.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Has Room for Improvement, Consumers
  Skeptical
  While businesses continue to experiment with AI
  applications within customer experience channels, only eight percent
  of global consumers interviewed had used an AI enabled service channel
  like chatbots or a home electronic virtual assistant for their most
  recent customer service interaction. The study found that nine out of
  10 consumers prefer to talk to a live agent rather than a chatbot or
  virtual assistant. And, consumer satisfaction with automated
  assistants is low, with only 27 percent of users giving a 9 or 10
  rating out of 10. AI has yet to mature, and consumers agree.
  Seventy-nine percent of respondents said chatbots and virtual
  assistants need to get smarter before they are willing to use them
  regularly, and 66 percent disagree that chatbots and virtual
  assistants make it easier to get issues resolved.

“Businesses are no longer just being measured against their direct
competitors – they are being measured against every positive customer
experience a consumer has ever had,” said Paul Jarman, CEO of NICE
inContact. “The global CX Transformation Benchmark Study findings
highlight that to deliver exceptional customer experiences that drive
growth, businesses must continue their digital transformations to power
smart and seamless omnichannel interactions. Despite widespread interest
in AI, the research shows that its application is still finding its way
in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Investing in an open,
native cloud contact center platform can help businesses meet evolving
and demanding customer expectations highlighted in the study.”

Companies of all sizes now compete in the experience economy to attract
new customers, and build customer loyalty and advocacy. The CX
Transformation Benchmark shows that companies in all industries can no
longer rely on product quality or price alone – they must consistently
deliver exceptional customer experience to drive topline and bottom line
growth. With fierce competition and dozens of service channels
available, the global research emphasizes the need for customer service
leaders to continuously monitor and improve customer experience while
also expanding service channels and fine-tuning contact center
operations to meet consumer demand for speed, convenience and
personalization.

About the 2018 NICE inContact Customer Experience (CX) Transformation
Benchmark
NICE inContact surveyed more than 2,400 consumers
across the globe on their most recent customer service experience across
11 different channels – both agent-assisted and self-service – on over
4,600 total interactions. For more information and to download the full
research report, please click here.

About NICE inContact
NICE inContact is the cloud contact
center software leader with the world’s #1 cloud customer experience
platform. NICE inContact CXone™ combines best-in-class Omnichannel
Routing, Analytics, Workforce Optimization, Automation and Artificial
Intelligence on an Open Cloud Foundation. NICE inContact’s solution
empowers organizations to provide exceptional customer experiences by
acting smarter and responding faster to consumer expectations. NICE
inContact’s DEVone developer program is an extensive partner ecosystem,
providing applications from partner companies on the CXexchange
marketplace that are designed to integrate with CXone. NICE inContact is
recognized as a market leader by Gartner, Forrester, Ovum, IDC, Frost &
Sullivan, DMG, and Ventana. www.niceincontact.com

NICE inContact is part of NICE (Nasdaq: NICE), the world’s
leading provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software
solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on
advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps
organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure
compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000
organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the
Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. www.nice.com.

Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of
their respective owners. For a full list of NICE’s marks, please see: www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.
Net Promoter Score, Net Promoter, and NPS are trademarks of NICE
Systems, Inc., Bain and Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements, including the statements by Paul Jarman are based on the
current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of NICE
Ltd. (the Company). In some cases, such forward-looking statements can
be identified by terms such as believe, expect, may, will, intend,
project, plan, estimate or similar words. Forward-looking statements are
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the
actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from
those described herein, including but not limited to the impact of the
global economic environment on the Company’s customer base (particularly
financial services firms) potentially impacting our business and
financial condition; competition; changes in technology and market
requirements; decline in demand for the Company’s products; inability to
timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and
applications; difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating
acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel; loss of
market share; an inability to maintain certain marketing and
distribution arrangements; and the effect of newly enacted or modified
laws, regulation or standards on the Company and our products. For a
more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties
affecting the company, refer to the Company’s reports filed from time to
time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press
release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
them, except as required by law.

Contacts

NICE inContact
Corporate Media
Cheryl Andrus, +1
801 320 3646
cheryl.andrus@niceincontact.com
or
Investors
Marty
Cohen, +1 551 256 5354, ET
ir@nice.com
or
Yisca
Erez +972 9 775 3798, CET
ir@nice.com