Ahead of next week's Institute of Customer Service (ICS) annual conference, new research spells out the enormous cost of poor service to brands. Figures from the UK’s Ombudsman Service found that it registered 55 million complaints over the last 12 months - costing UK businesses £37 billion as customers vote with their feet and move to alternative suppliers.
When companies began using digital channels for customer service, they needed a way of keeping track of every incoming query so that they could ensure that they were handled effectively and responses dispatched in a timely manner. To achieve this they adopted a service/help desk concept - but this is no longer enough for consumers...
This Christmas over £24 billion will be spent online on presents and gifts. And while some of these packages will be picked up instore through Click and Collect services, the vast majority will be delivered by the post and couriers. This last leg of the ecommerce customer experience has always been hard for retailers to control.
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.
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....
When customers deal with your organization, they don’t care which department they are communicating with – they simply want the best possible experience and service. They expect to receive high quality, joined-up service and get a consistent, accurate answer to any question that they might have.
With customer service being at the top of the business agenda for organizations, what are the trends that are impacting contact centers? To find out, analyst ContactBabel surveyed 216 UK contact center managers and directors. Reading through the results, six key conclusions stand out..
In a multichannel world, the telephone is no longer the default choice of consumers. However, it is still vital, particularly for more involved conversations. Yet new research from consumer group Which? shows that telephone customer service is failing to keep pace with customer needs.
One of the most talked about current trends in customer experience is the rise of chatbots, with many companies investigating using them to interact with customers on messaging apps. Is it really time for your company to embrace them?
National Customer Service Week (NCSW) will soon be celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Running between October 3-7, it highlights the importance of customer service to every organization, and provides the opportunity to learn from best practice and to celebrate success across the sector.