Despite the growth of new channels, email is still a vital part of the customer service mix. Consumers like the fact that email provides an audit trail, is convenient and allows them to send emails in their own time, rather than having to respond instantly as on the phone or social media.With the growth in smartphones and tablets, you don’t even need to be in front of your computer to send o...
It is fair to say that social media took many organisations by surprise. Suddenly their customers wanted to communicate and engage with them through the likes of Facebook and Twitter, as well as via more traditional channels. The social media journey has therefore seen companies go through a series of stages. Initially (often unofficially) individuals took on the role of being the company rep...
Over recent years, we’ve seen organisations focus heavily on customer service. Greater competition, even in mature markets, and increasingly demanding consumers have moved service and the customer experience up the business agenda. The rise of social media has also provided a global channel where customers can quickly share their views, redrawing the relationship between consumers and brands...
Since they were first implemented contact centres have changed dramatically. Originally call centres that solely answered incoming telephone calls, they have expanded to cover multiple channels, from letters and faxes, to emails, social media and increasingly web chat.However, the speed at which new channels have emerged has caused problems within many contact centres. New systems have been added ...
We Britons have a reputation for politeness, which extends to not complaining when we suffer poor service. According to this stereotype, we just mutter under our breath and then ensure we don’t visit that particular restaurant or shop again.However it has been clear for many years that things have changed. As in other countries, Britons are complaining more and demanding a better experience ...
Successfully engaging with customers is critical to every organisation. Whether private or public sector, everyone needs to deliver the best possible experience to their stakeholders if they want to survive and flourish in today’s challenging economy. And the responsibility for delivering customer engagement spans the whole company – from customer service to marketing, sales and operat...
Guest blog by Steve Hurst of the Customer Engagement Network.When we launched the Customer Engagement Network over three years ago in the wake of the banking crisis and economic global meltdown it was because we had a vision for the future.That vision was that organisations would be facing a perfect storm – with the elements of that storm being the greater need for customer retention strateg...