Despite the explosion of new channels, email is still the first choice for many customers when they want to make contact. Showing the scale of the channel over 2.8 million emails are sent every second and it is predicted that there will be over 4 billion email accounts by the end of 2015.Consumers like the built-in audit trail that email provides, along with the fact that it is simple and straight...
The internet has transformed the travel sector, as holidaymakers can now book the separate components of their break online, rather than having to go through high street travel agencies. But in such a competitive market, customer service and fast responses to consumer enquiries across multiple channels are vital if travel companies are going to thrive.However research carried out as part of the Ep...
Delivering the best possible customer experience requires a combination of focused strategy, well-trained staff, a customer-facing culture, robust processes and the technology to underpin the end-to-end customer journey.Strong, well-implemented systems that are straightforward for agents to use are vital. But in a market where customer service technology can mean anything from a standalone Twitter...
We’re now less than six months from Christmas, and the majority of retailers are well-advanced in planning how they will handle their busiest time. And with economic conditions little better than in 2012, competition is expected to be intense as shoppers demand more for their money.So what do retailers need to focus on to ensure that Christmas 2013 is a happy one?New research by L2 into spec...
What will the customers of the future demand? That was one of the topics discussed at the latest Eptica UK Customer Day, held in London on Tuesday 25th June. As well as an update on Eptica’s future roadmap, attendees heard first hand from customer Easyroommate on how it has transformed service in 37 countries, reducing inbound calls by 75% and increasing First Call Resolution to over 90%. Th...
Channels, such as email and social media, have increased the pressure on organisations to deliver a fast, accurate response. Whereas consumers would have happily waited at least for a week for a reply to a letter, expectations for email are that queries will be answered with 48 hours (although our own Eptica Multichannel Customer Service Study found that many companies are much slower than this.)S...
Customer service at banks is again in the spotlight. Firstly, an undercover reporter from The Times found shortcomings at one of Lloyds Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaints handling centres. Staff were allegedly being taught to reject potential complaints and ignore potential fraud by Lloyds salesmen. The bank has said that it identified shortcomings independently and has retrained staff ...
Mobile commerce is growing rapidly. Figures from performance marketing network Affiliate Window showed it made up 18.16% of its UK online sales in May 2013, increasing from 16.48% in April. That’s an enormous 572 sales per hour. Backing this up, the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index saw 2012 mobile sales triple (up 304%) from 2011. More importantly, conversion rates on mobile have doubled,...
Staff turnover has always been a problem in a lot of customer service teams. While the UK average employee turnover rate is approximately 15%, in contact centres it averages around 25%. That means one in four agents leaves every year - although for some contact centres turnover can be as much as 60%.One of the key impacts of staff turnover is increased training costs. On average, new agents receiv...
Navigating phone menus when you call a contact centre is a source of much frustration for consumers. Done well, the concept of phone menus should help improve the customer experience. You’ll be directed to the best agent to deal with your enquiry and they will be able to use the information you’ve typed in to give a head start on solving your problem, without needing to transfer you ar...