The rise of the smartphone has transformed how people interact with each other, brands and the world around them. Rather than being tied to a PC or landline phone, smartphones empower users by putting a computer in their pocket. Last Christmas Amazon reported that 70% of its customers shopped through a mobile device, for example.
When it comes to service, customers today demand the highest standards from every organization that they deal with, in every industry and across every channel. Ensuring your company meets their expectations can appear daunting, particularly in highly competitive markets. Here are five key trends driving customer service strategy....
Whatever sector they are in businesses are embracing digital transformation, implementing new technologies and ways of working in a bid to differentiate against increasing competition and to get ahead of rivals. However, too often these digital projects can fail to improve the customer experience...
Whatever market they are in, organizations face a stark choice – innovate across their operations and get closer to customers or lose market share to more agile, flexible rivals. The forthcoming Franco-British conference ‘Disrupt or Be Disrupted’ will look at the impact of this changing world and how companies of all sizes can understand and compete in it.
Customer experience has been front of mind for marketing and customer service professionals for a number of years, but does it really have a big impact on the bottom line?
Providing customer service through social media has multiple advantages for both consumers and companies. Customers want the convenience and simplicity of being able to contact companies through Twitter and Facebook, without needing to call or email a business. Done well, social customer service also benefits brands.
Traditionally brands have segmented their customer bases by demographic factors such as age, and used this information to drive specific customer experiences for each group. However, this only goes so far, as age isn’t always a good guide to customer needs. For example, 45% of APAC consumers are millennials, but that doesn’t mean they all have the same needs, wants and desires.
When customers deal with your organization, they don’t care which department they are communicating with – they simply want the best possible experience and service. They expect to receive high quality, joined-up service and get a consistent, accurate answer to any question that they might have.
Organizations today receive a growing number of incoming emails and social media messages from consumers. At the same time the range and scope of these interactions is also expanding – essentially consumers today want to be able to have conversations with brands, on their channel of choice, in order to find out information, solve problems and to give feedback.
Good customer service leads to happier, more loyal customers who stay with you longer, spend more and are more likely to recommend your business to family and friends. However, it can be difficult to measure the exact impact of individual customer service interactions on these metrics, leading to the contact center being seen as a cost, rather than a department that boosts the bottom line.