Forrester has just published its 2016 US Customer Experience Index, providing an update on the state of CX across multiple sectors. Based on consumer research into how customer experience strengthens loyalty, it shows both individual company scores and how the wider economy is performing. Looking through the research, I can see four key trends for CX and customer service professionals...
Over the past month I’ve focused on the importance of knowledge management within customer service, looking at the challenges that need to be overcome, and the skills that a knowledge manager needs to succeed.In this post I’m going to look at the end result – the benefits that leading organizations have achieved by centralizing knowledge and making it available to their agents...
Imagine having a conversation in a pitch black room. You can’t see the person you are talking to and their tone of voice shows no emotion at all. You can’t tell if they are happy, angry or sad, or even why they are talking to you. You might as well be talking to a robot. Building empathy – or even understanding them clearly – is almost impossible.Sound far-fetched? For most...
Chat is amongst the fastest growing channels for customer service. This is because it delivers major benefits to both consumers and companies. Consumers love its ease of use and ability it gives them to hold real-time conversations with brands, and therefore get faster responses to their queries. Companies like the fact that is more efficient than the telephone, as agents can simultaneously chat
Everyone knows that we live in a multichannel world, but how is this impacting companies on the ground? New research by contact center analysts, Contact Babel, in the US and the UK highlights how consumer usage of channels is changing and the pressure it is putting on organizations.The study, which is based on surveys of contact center managers, suggests that:The volume of interactions for many
In my previous blog I outlined how important knowledge is to successfully deliver customer service and how to overcome the challenges of creating a centralized, multichannel knowledge base.Ensuring that knowledge powers your customer service isn’t just about technology – and certainly doesn’t stop when your knowledge base goes live. You need to make knowledge a strategic priority
Despite the rising importance of customer service on both sides of the Atlantic, the UK is widely seen as lagging the United States when it comes to the experience that companies deliver. This is backed up by damning new consumer research commissioned by fixed-fee UK estate agent YOPA. It found that: 80% of Britons are frequently enraged by poor customer service...
Social media has fundamentally changed the relationship between customers and brands, providing consumers with a mouthpiece to share their feedback with people across the world. The openness and simplicity of social media is therefore both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Get it right and provide the personalized, fast response that consumers demand and you will boost engagement...
We hear a lot about the impact of millennials on customer service, and how they are driving change in customer service. We asked guest author and millennial Chloe Hacquard for her perspective.Millennials expect five things as standard from customer service:1. Being on social media and responding as fast as possibleIf there is an issue, the company concerned is already in a bad position. And, if at...
Change is the watchword for business today. Disruption is happening in virtually all industry sectors as new entrants shake up markets and introduce innovative business models, supported by technologies that can radically streamline operations, slash costs or create new ways of meeting customer needs. Established players need to evolve and transform themselves if they’re going to stay...