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.
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...
Since online reviews became prevalent, championed by the likes of Amazon, their impact has spread widely across multiple industries. This has been driven by three main factors:The growth of ecommerce means that consumers are increasingly buying goods that they’ve not been able to see in person, meaning that they want assurance as to product quality.It gives buyers the opportunity to benchmar...
Customer confidence in companies can be fragile; one mistake and consumers are ready to move their business elsewhere (and complain about it on social media). Often problems occur because companies don’t deliver on what they say they will do. In other words, they fail to keep their promises.Customer service expert and blogger, Shep Hyken, articulated in a recent post that promises to custome...
Congratulations to Eptica customer Vivastreet, which recently won its category, Classifieds, in the Voted Customer Service of the Year Award (Élu Service Client de l’Année 2015*). Vivastreet operates a network of free, classified ads sites around the world, with the award being given for the performance of its French site (www.vivastreet.com).This is the eighth year that the awards have be...