For retailers, the peak Christmas trading period is fundamental to their revenues. However it is also the most competitive time, with everyone looking to increase their share of the £36.5 billion Britons were expected to spend on Christmas shopping. Add in that every year consumers are demanding more, and you can see how difficult it is to deliver the right experience to customers across eve...
The New Year always bring a plethora of predictions as companies and analysts look at what is likely to happen in the next twelve months across the customer experience market.
For many people, online is becoming the default channel for buying Christmas presents, with trips to the High Street relegated to either window shopping for ideas, top up purchases or to pick up Click and Collect orders. Consumer research from Metapack found that 22% of UK respondents planned to do almost all their Christmas shopping online, rising to 29% among the 35 to 44-year-old age group. 85%...
The rise of Millennial Generation - also known as Generation Y – is having a far reaching effect on how companies deliver customer service. If your company has not already started adapting to the requirements of this group, you might be in danger of being left behind. Born between the '80s to the 2000s the Millennials are characterized by a collection of core values and beliefs that...
No retailer needs reminding that Christmas is the busiest time of the year, and a strong peak trading period can make the difference between success and failure for a business. There is therefore a real focus on ensuring that the shopping experience is as seamless as possible in order to drive sales. A key part of this is providing consumers with the information they need clearly and quickly, thro...
A UK government taskforce has recommended larger fines for businesses that make nuisance calls to consumers. Fines should be up to £500,000 (or 20% of turnover in the case of PPI cold-callers), with company directors held responsible for unwanted phone calls from their organisation according to the report.The Nuisance Call Task Force has also suggested that the threshold for when regulators ...
Back office activities may be unglamorous, but they are vital. Whether ensuring that customers receive the right paperwork, taking payments, making amendments to accounts or organising the dispatch of products, failures lead to frustrated and angry customers, and additional strain on the contact centre.From a customer point of view, requests to the back office appear simple and straightforward. Ex...
A recent report from Hypatia Research Group highlights how Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has become business critical to every organisation. However, the study, Next Generation CRM: All about Business Process Excellence points out a key issue with many existing CRM implementations. Essentially, while they act as a database for tracking customers, what they have bought and what th...
One of the most frustrating experiences for consumers is calling a company with a query and being met with a recorded message saying 'we are experiencing high call volumes at present, please hang up and try later'. Frustration can boil over into anger if they receive the same message on numerous occasions, particularly if it includes the advice to check the company website for information ...
With 144.8 billion emails sent every day, it continues to be a vital channel for customer service. Indeed, the rise of mobile devices, which allow consumers to quickly email wherever they are, means that the number of messages companies receive is actually growing.With many midsize organisations receiving over quarter of a million emails every year, coping with email customer service can be a stru...