Around 70 customer service executives from Israel’s leading companies gathered to discuss and learn what Omnichannel really means, where we stand today, and whether there is a gap between current service capabilities and customer expectations. We explored how to make it work, what has been more successful, and what has been less successful.
We have summarized the key insights:
Demand for interactive service (as opposed to self-service) through digital platforms has already become a given, first and foremost from the customer’s perspective. Demand for messaging-based service is growing exponentially. In a survey conducted among the companies participating in the conference, those providing service through written communication channels reported that 20–40% of their interactive service is delivered through these platforms: 20% through synchronous communication, such as chat, and 20% through asynchronous communication via WhatsApp, email, and primarily the organization’s own app.
From the consumer perspective, we are seeing a very high level of openness to receiving service through written and digital channels, either as an alternative to phone and traditional channels or as an integrated part of the service experience. Demand is primarily for post-purchase service and information, returns, and exchanges. In healthcare and banking, there is also openness to receiving services that include a personal and advisory element, such as a medical assessment or a loan application.
Tal Geva, VP Service at Migdal (a leading Israeli insurer), , shared that WhatsApp is Migdal’s flagship service channel.
“We started small, with a human agent handling a specific process – withdrawing funds or taking out a loan. A few days later, customers want to know what’s happening: Have all the documents been received? When will they receive the money? They’re looking for updates on the status of the process and confirmation that their documents are in order,” Tal explained.
“Then COVID came along and turned WhatsApp into a central service channel. We opened the service to all customers and across all topics. It worked well, and we operated this way for two years. Over time, however, we realized that conversations requiring a more nuanced and meaningful dialogue – What’s happening with my money? What am I entitled to? Should I open an account? were becoming increasingly long.
We therefore decided to focus our WhatsApp service on a bot, which handles around 70% of inquiries. For the remaining inquiries, the bot allows customers to choose a convenient time for a phone conversation with a human agent and schedules the call for them.”
Where Do We Stand in the Shift from Multichannel to Omnichannel Service?
Our omnichannel maturity analysis, based on a survey of conference participants, shows that most companies are currently at the cross-channel stage. They offer customers a variety of channels through which they can contact the organization, but the range of services available differs from one channel to another. In many cases, customers are transferred between channels without always maintaining continuity throughout the service journey
Liat Menashe, head of the service operation at Strauss Water, shared: “We were present across all channels – chat, email, social media, and phone. In 2022, we developed a customer experience strategy, and one of its key pillars was written communication and, more broadly, the way we communicate with customers.
We looked at the customer experience as a whole and decided to focus our channels. WhatsApp was selected as the primary channel, we closed the chat channel, we made email available outside business hours, and we accelerated response times on social media. Overall, we created a more focused operating model.”
Liat also noted that WhatsApp is a particularly sensitive channel and emphasized the importance of managing response times: “If you don’t respond quickly, gaps begin to emerge. You need to pay close attention to that.”
When it comes to customer experience, we have identified four key principles that require particular attention: trust, clear status updates, information security, and giving customers a sense of control by enabling them to move between channels at any stage of the service journey.
Amos Podim, Head of the Direct Channels Division at Discount Bank, “Over the past year, we have focused our efforts on written communication and tackled the challenge of how to provide a complete service experience – one that can begin and end entirely through written communication. Banking is a complex world.
“We mapped out which inquiries could be handled at Tier 1 and expanded agents’ permissions and authority to maximize their ability to resolve customer inquiries. Issues that cannot be resolved at Tier 1 are transferred to Tier 2, which handles more complex inquiries. When we identified that an interaction could not be completed through written communication, we directed the customer to the phone channel.”
When asked whether customers are aware that their inquiry has been transferred to Tier 2, Amos explained that they make a point of maintaining transparency with customers and setting expectations throughout the process. He noted that when customers feel informed and in control, they are less likely to reach out through additional channels.
“When we failed to set expectations, we saw repeat calls and customers reaching out simultaneously through multiple channels.”
Hila Friedman, Head of the Support System at Wolt, noted that all of their customer service is provided exclusively through written communication. They have adapted their communication style accordingly, allowing agents to chat with customers naturally and incorporate emojis and humor into their conversations. Hila noted that this significantly improves customer satisfaction with the service.
Does Opening Additional Channels Increase Demand or Shift It Between Channels?
onference participants shared both their experience and data showing that opening a new channel initially leads to an increase in demand. Over time, however, demand shifts between channels, provided that the messaging channels offer a high-quality and satisfactory level of service. Companies reported that approximately 30% of phone inquiries shifted to written channels. Combined with the use of bots and the ability to handle multiple interactions simultaneously, this shift also led, over time, to more efficient use of customer service resources
To Bot or Not to Bot
Elad Mizrahi, CEO of TIFF, presented the success story of implementing a bot and artificial intelligence within LivePerson’s Omnichannel platform at McDonald’s, as the company prepared for a significant ramp-up in the nationwide rollout of its delivery service during COVID-19.
The use of bots and artificial intelligence made it possible, within a short period of time, to increase service capacity by several hundred percent and provide efficient, continuously learning service, including, for example, customer compensation – as well as manage the customer journey throughout the order process without the involvement of a human agent.
This raised the question of whether customers should be informed when they are interacting with a bot and when they are communicating with a human agent.
Opinions were divided. Uri Yonisi of Bank Leumi noted that when the service is delivered successfully, it does not matter to customers whether they are interacting with a bot or a human agent. Nili Samberg of Clalit noted that in healthcare, however, access to a human response is critical – people want to speak with someone. This ties back to the principle of customer control and choice, which should be maintained throughout the entire process by giving customers the option to request a transfer to a human agent.
That speaks to the principle of control, or choice, which has to be maintained throughout the process: let the customer ask to move to a human agent.
Omnichannel operations also present their own challenges. Management practices, measurement methods, and real-time management must all be adapted to the nature of the operation – and bots can play a role here as well.
The managers noted that it is beneficial to have versatile agents who can provide backup when needed, although not every agent needs to be able to work across multiple channels. Lior Farkash of Pelephone noted that they designated agents who can provide service across multiple channels and move customers to a written channel during an ongoing service interaction. From that point onward, the same agent manages the inquiry until it is resolved.
Most of the managers shared that during periods of high demand, they reallocate agents across channels in real time. Hila Friedman, Head of the Support System at Wolt, described how they have also incorporated bots into shift management.
During peak hours or periods of high demand, they can expand the range of topics handled by the bot, thereby reducing the number of conversations routed to human agents. The bot identifies the topic of each conversation, and based on urgency and a clearly defined “traffic light” system that reflects the current workload, shift supervisors determine which conversations will be handled by the bot and which will be routed to a human agent.
Conference participants also noted that they have adapted their metrics and management practices to this new service environment. They recommend tracking the number of interactions required to resolve each inquiry and managing multiple inquiries simultaneously. Orit Dolgin, a digital service specialist, emphasized that written communication requires a different skill set, and that the way agents are trained, managed, and coached for written communication must therefore be adapted accordingly.
Orit also reminded us that customers are not measured against an SLA the way organizations are. Organizations therefore need to find ways to allow customers to continue an existing conversation without having to go through the identification process again or restart the journey through the bot.
In conclusion, all panel participants agreed that the transition to Omnichannel is at the heart of customer service today and must be integrated into the organization’s overall strategy. It requires both management attention and dedicated budgets. This transition is essential because it reflects what customers want, but it also offers significant benefits: organizations can improve efficiency, work with more accurate and targeted information, and ultimately provide better service.
