When it comes to poor customer service, companies selling financial products, from insurance to bank accounts never seem to be out of the news. Hot on the heels of record payouts for the misselling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), card and identity protection company CPP is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for ‘alleged failings in sales calls’.Against ...
Social media gives every one of your customers a voice that can be heard across the internet, outside your control. While this can worry many companies, it is worth realising that not every comment that people make on Facebook or Twitter is going to be negative – and also that those that have suffered a bad experience can change their mind if they are treated properly. US research found...
Organisations across the world are now embracing social media, realising that it provides an immensely powerful, completely new customer channel. However social media has some big differences to many traditional channels – it is an open conversation that can spread news and comments incredibly quickly to a huge number of people around the world.But who within an organisation is responsible f...
Online privacy is a topic that is constantly in the news at the moment, with iPhone app makers Path and Hipster the latest companies offering apologies after it emerged that they uploaded address book information from phones to their servers without asking permission. Other brands, including Amazon-owned retailer Zappos and Sony have had to issue apologies after their sites have been hacked and cu...
There have already been a lot of predictions that 2012 will be a key year for customer service, with Forrester amongst those that see it as a major strategic priority for businesses. News this week from Microsoft seems to back up this trend. It is partnering with a Silicon Valley company called 24/7, which specialises in using data analytics to predict what customers want. Microsoft is both i...
Everyone knows that the current economic climate is difficult, with consumer spending down and competition increasing, whatever sector you are in. So, in this context Eptica’s results, with double digit revenue growth, demonstrate the success of our approach and the strength of our technology.Eptica’s consolidated turnover grew by 20% to $US 9 million (£5.67m), helped by signing ...
One of the key trends that is accelerating in 2012 is the use of mobile devices to research, access information and make purchases. New studies have found that more and more people now reach for their smartphone or tablet during the buying process, even if they make the final purchase through other channels.UK figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) show that nearly half of smartphone o...
The majority of times when customers call your contact centre they are looking to get answers to their questions. Provide this information quickly, efficiently and politely and they will finish the conversation happier and better disposed towards your company. That’s the essence of good customer service – and on paper it seems relatively simple.However ensuring your contact centre agen...
When it comes to customer service and social media it is very easy to focus on the potential issues it causes for brands. Aggrieved customers can now complain quickly and vociferously to the entire world if they have a bad experience, with tweets or Facebook posts going viral in a matter of minutes. However there is another side to social customer service, where companies are using these channels ...
It has just been announced that the former owners of Britain's last circus elephant are to be prosecuted for animal cruelty – and customer service software has played its part in helping secure a better future for Anne the elephant.When footage of Anne being beaten and kicked emerged on YouTube in March 2011, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) received hun...