New research from Social Bakers seems to point to a major step forward in social customer service, with more and more companies answering questions posed to them on Facebook and Twitter. Brands have more than doubled their response rates between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, up from answering 30% of questions to 62%. Back in 2011 the figure was just 5%.Airlines led the way, answering 79% of queries, follow...
Modern consumer electronics are incredibly complex – essentially specialised computers that rely on the latest software to function. They need to interact with an increasing number of other devices around them to provide consumers with the experience they are looking for. And to compete with other vendors, manufacturers have to continually develop their functionality, which often means updat...
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...
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...
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...
Insurers have traditionally been slower than other industries when it comes to establishing themselves on social media. Worries about breaking regulations mean that they have been wary about launching onto Twitter and Facebook. Backing this up, own 2012 Eptica Multichannel Customer Experience Study found that just one insurer out of the UK’s top 10 had clear links displayed to Twitter and Fa...
This month we’re celebrating two years of publishing the Eptica Customer Experience blog, which began back in April 2011.From the start the aim has been to provide updates and opinions on the customer service market, highlight best practice and show how customer needs are changing. And the market has definitely been transformed. We’ve moved from multichannel to omnichannel and new (at ...
Customers are demanding better service through more and more channels. And they have no patience for roadblocks on the customer journey. According to Forrester 34% give up or go to a competitor after an unsuccessful website experience. Those that do persist tend to switch to your most expensive contact channels – nearly half (49%) of those that couldn’t find information online either c...
With the English weather remaining drab and grey and Easter coming up, many people are looking to book their summer holidays. But how they do it has changed dramatically over the last ten years due to the internet. The traditional trip to the High Street travel agent has been replaced by the web, which provides virtually unlimited choice of countries, flights, destinations and places to stay.Accor...