Recent findings from research commissioned by Amdocs, a provider of software and services to communications and media companies, highlight the predominant role of highly-skilled and knowledgeable contact center and retail store agents in delivering superior customer experience.

At least 87 percent of the consumers interviewed across The Philippines and Singapore have rated highly skilled agents as key to excellent customer experience. Also, the decision-makers at CSPs see agents as pivotal to sales growth (95 percent) and brand success (75 percent), despite digitalization and the growing role of AI and unassisted self-service channels.

Based on research carried out for Amdocs by Coleman Parks Research, the Give the Agents Wings report surveyed 3,000 consumers across Asia- Pacific, North America, and Europe.

Some 73 percent of consumers in the Philippines and Singapore said they would likely switch brands if offered better customer service by another provider – compared to 67 percent in North America and 70 percent in Europe.

However, agents are often too overwhelmed to provide the 'wow' moments that today's savvy, demanding, the empowered consumer expects. They say they are being held back by challenges, including the growing number of services on offer (76 percent), the need to be knowledgeable across multiple products, platforms, and technologies (68 percent), and the increase in customer interactions (40 percent).

"The Filipino population is tech-savvy and digitally-forward. They make most of the digital offerings, from ordering goods and services online to resolving issues on live chats. Digitalization has transformed customer experiences across the telecom industry. Still, we cannot discount the critical role of human interaction," said Deepak Talwar, regional vice president and customer business executive, APAC at Amdocs.

"We are delighted to announce the launch of Amdocs Customer Engagement that allows contact center and retail store agents to efficiently build and manage customer relationships, providing personalized solutions to consumers and further enabling service providers to improve brand loyalty and boost sales," Talwar added.