Customer service teams are currently faced with multiple challenges. Consumers are asking an increasing number of questions and are demanding faster service, across more and more channels. At the same time budgets for coping with this growing volume of interactions are often flat or even shrinking. So how can companies deliver faster service to more queries, while improving efficiency?
The spread of digital customer service channels, from email and chat to social media, can provide organizations with significant benefits. According to McKinsey, if done well it boosts customer satisfaction by 33% while reducing contact center call volume, and generating savings of 25-30%. However, the complexity of multiple digital channels and increasingly...
In competitive markets, customer service is often the most important differentiator. This is especially true if companies are selling similar products, at similar prices – and for service businesses such as utilities and financial services where there is no physical product to create a differentiation. When customer service is the main source of competitive advantage, it’s essential to...
Over the last ten years, customers have become increasingly more demanding in terms of the service that they expect from companies. At the same time, and as part of the same trend, governments have acted to make it easier and more straightforward to complain, particularly in industries such as telecoms, utilities and finance. They have set up new regulators and ombudsmen...
In a previous blog post I highlighted the growing gap between customers and companies, and how this lack of understanding is undermining efforts to improve customer experience.This was demonstrated by the Eptica Study: The Power of Linguistics in Customer Service. Based on research with both consumers and agents, it sought to identify the frustrations that are undermining the UK customer...
Companies face two key challenges when it comes to delivering customer service today. First, consumer expectations are continually rising, with every organization, no matter what sector they are in, judged against the standards of the best. This means simply outshining your peers is not enough – you need to compete with every company that a consumer might interact with in order to win their ...
Now that the clocks have gone forward, the weather is improving and the Easter break is nearly upon us, many people are setting to work on de-cluttering their houses and sprucing up their gardens. For those of us working in customer service, it is a good time to apply the same spring clean mentality to our contact centers, blowing away the cobwebs and ensuring that everything is performing smoothl...
In today’s ultra-competitive markets, successful businesses understand that customer service is everyone’s job. Whether you are the CEO, staff the contact center, are a delivery driver or work in a store, you contribute to how consumers view your company. Brand reputation can be destroyed by factors as diverse as a security breach, poor public relations or even an ill-judged tweet by a...
Customer service is critical for organisations across every industry. Consumers are now demanding the same high levels of service, whatever type of company they are dealing with. This means that they expect a utility or bank to provide a similar experience to a retailer – and are not shy at complaining if they don’t receive the service they want.This equally applies to the public secto...
If you ask consumers to list their main issues with poor customer service then receiving inaccurate, incomplete or plain wrong answers are normally at or near the top. Whatever channel they contact you through; consumers want a response that shows you understand their query and an answer that solves their problem. However, contacting a company can often resemble a lucky dip, with consumers re...