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...
The rise of digital channels is radically changing how businesses operate and interact with customers, increasing competition and driving transformation of their operations. The insurance industry is the perfect example – it is moving from a model where customer interactions are by phone or letter to one that is overwhelmingly driven by digital conversations. Competition is...
Knowing your customers is at the heart of designing and delivering the right experience to engage with them successfully. So, McKinsey’s recent US Customer Sentiment Survey should be required reading for anyone involved in customer experience. First run in 2008 and based on a representative sample of consumers, it tracks how people feel about their financial prospects and...