Customer Service

The UK versus France – the five key customer experience differences

Published on: June 06, 2014
Author: Olivier Njamfa - CEO & Co-Founder

As part of a global company I see the increasing importance of the customer experience to businesses in different sectors, all around the world. However, there are also major differences when it comes to preferred local channels, specific requirements and, in some cases, technology.These differences are visible even between two mature markets such as the UK and France. Following the release of the...

Voice, text and video – the fundamentals of all customer service channels

Published on: June 04, 2014
Author: Derek Lewis

The number of channels through which customers expect to reach you is ever-increasing. In many ways this is a positive step as it provides greater opportunity to engage with customers, solve their problems and understand their needs and motivations. However, as hard-pressed contact centre teams already know, managing the growth in channels can add to complexity and cost.‘Old’ channels ...

Web Chat: Time for UK brands to reap the benefits  

Published on: May 21, 2014
Author: Pauline Ashenden - Demand Generation Manager

Web chat is growing rapidly in popularity with studies consistently showing that this service is highly valued by customers. For example, a 2013 survey by eConsultancy found that web chat had the highest satisfaction levels for any customer service channel, scoring 73%, compared with 61% for email and 44% for phone. Speed (79%) and efficiency (46%) were the top reasons given for its popularity. A ...

The growth of CRM and CX – 3 trends according to Gartner

Published on: May 16, 2014
Author: Robin Tandon - Senior Product Marketing Director

Engaging successfully with customers is central to business success today. Therefore it is not a surprise that research from Gartner shows that the market for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software grew by 13.7% globally last year, hitting $20.7 billion. Western Europe was the fastest growing region, with spending expanding by 15.2% between 2012 and 2013.Gartner highlighted three trends d...

Booking last minute breaks – exploring the travel customer experience

Published on: May 14, 2014
Author: Pauline Ashenden - Demand Generation Manager

With summer approaching (and another bank holiday imminent), getting away from it all is becoming uppermost in many people’s thoughts. And that means turning to the internet, which has radically changed the structure of the travel industry now that the majority of transactions happen online. Whether it is holidaymakers creating their own tailored trip or consumers comparing holiday companies...

Creating customer advocates – why it starts with service

Published on: May 09, 2014
Author: Lloyd Buxton - Business Development

Personal recommendation is one of the most powerful sales tools in the world. People naturally listen to the experiences of their friends and family and take them on board when making similar purchases. And the rise of the internet and the potentially limitless choice it brings has made recommendation even more important. How do you choose between hundreds of similar products, when you are being c...

Making telephone service more efficient as UK Government cuts off costly calls

Published on: May 02, 2014
Author: Lloyd Buxton - Business Development

Despite the rise of new channels, most organisations understand that the telephone is still vital for customer service. Whether it is to discuss details of an order or to get to the bottom of a query, it is still the number one channel of choice for many consumers.However, telephone service is expensive – and it could be about to get even more costly in the UK. From 13 June 2014, companies w...

Don’t forget the importance of email in customer service

Published on: April 24, 2014
Author: Pauline Ashenden - Demand Generation Manager

Email is still a critical customer service channel for consumers, generally ranking second (to telephone) in customer preference studies. But the latest Eptica Multichannel Customer Experience Study reveals that many companies seem to be placing less value on email, despite the importance of this channel to their customers.

£116 billion - the true cost of bad service

Published on: April 11, 2014
Author: Derek Lewis

Poor service costs UK brands £116 billion every year. That’s the headline figure from new research from Accenture, which found that over half (53%) of British consumers had switched provider in at least one industry in the last twelve months. To put this in context, the equivalent of 12 per cent of UK consumers’ annual disposable income is being switched due to bad service.Accord...

Smiles and Systems – why good customer experience needs both

Published on: April 04, 2014
Author: Pauline Ashenden - Demand Generation Manager

Organisations can find it difficult to deliver a consistently good customer experience across every channel and every interaction. Customer expectations are constantly rising, and the growth in enquiries, often through unstructured digital channels, increases the pressure on businesses to perform, time after time.A good starting point for meeting these needs is to break the customer experience dow...

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