Whether it is to add capacity in specific areas, helping expansion into new markets or bringing down costs, outsourcing is a central part of customer service. According to the Everest Group, nearly a quarter of contact center activities across the globe are outsourced, meaning the market is worth $75-78 billion every year.
Wherever they are in the world, consumers have rising expectations when it comes to the experience they receive from brands. But how does it vary between different countries? To find out Engage Business Media recently surveyed over 3,000 consumers in six European countries (the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Sweden).
Often when describing the customer relationship, companies talk about beating competitors to win and retain consumers. This is obviously true at a basic level – after all, you will be judged against rivals in terms of factors such as speed of service, helpfulness of staff and price of products. However, it can only take you so far....
We’re now well into the holiday shopping season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us but plenty of shopping days to go before Christmas itself. The trading picture so far this year has been mixed, and for many retailers this time of year is make or break time.
The rise of the smartphone has transformed how people interact with each other, brands and the world around them. Rather than being tied to a PC or landline phone, smartphones empower users by putting a computer in their pocket. Last Christmas Amazon reported that 70% of its customers shopped through a mobile device, for example.
When it comes to service, customers today demand the highest standards from every organization that they deal with, in every industry and across every channel. Ensuring your company meets their expectations can appear daunting, particularly in highly competitive markets. Here are five key trends driving customer service strategy....
Whatever sector they are in businesses are embracing digital transformation, implementing new technologies and ways of working in a bid to differentiate against increasing competition and to get ahead of rivals. However, too often these digital projects can fail to improve the customer experience...
Whatever market they are in, organizations face a stark choice – innovate across their operations and get closer to customers or lose market share to more agile, flexible rivals. The forthcoming Franco-British conference ‘Disrupt or Be Disrupted’ will look at the impact of this changing world and how companies of all sizes can understand and compete in it.
Customer experience has been front of mind for marketing and customer service professionals for a number of years, but does it really have a big impact on the bottom line?
Traditionally brands have segmented their customer bases by demographic factors such as age, and used this information to drive specific customer experiences for each group. However, this only goes so far, as age isn’t always a good guide to customer needs. For example, 45% of APAC consumers are millennials, but that doesn’t mean they all have the same needs, wants and desires.