Tips on Improving
Customer Experience
Experiences have become value propositions for every firm because every company struggles in delivering customers experience that hits the spot. And hitting the right spot has become a herculean task for many enterprises because of a myriad of customer touch points made available through the advent of technology advancements. Long gone are the days where customers judge the brand, product or the company from the price, performance or the quality of the product. We exist in an era where experience matters; experience is the quarterback of every company and wil never cease being the Most Valuable Player.
Like it or not, consciously or unconsciously, customers evaluate business relationships every time they touch the company.
You should be capable to manage each and every touch point to build and maintain customer relationships of customers that are empowered to be brand agnostic and effortless switchers. On the same note, constancy can also be a firms pitfal , because the customers are able to reach your company through various touch points that constantly evolves. Delivering consistent experience at all possible contact points has become a requirement rather than a perquisite.
Having an effective contact center in your organization is valuable in providing satisfying customer experiences, but there are companies that stil live in the past. Impersonal communication, unskil ed agents and long waits on hold can be frustrating for the customer that drives him to do his business elsewhere. Contact centers are the main point of customer interaction and are to be powered-up to provide unsurpassed customer experience. Contact centers, the front-line of most businesses, have made and lost revenues, not on price or performance, but to the quality of experience.
Here are a few customer service tips that could be
implemented to improve your customer experience.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) : CRM software are now top priorities for additional spending on enterprise applications. CRM tools are focused on customer retention, satisfaction and attracting new customers. CRM software integrated with Computer Telephony Interchange would display the details of the customer that is on cal , which lowers the average cal handling time, which in turn helps the customer in getting the issue resolved in minimum time with little or no verification details, improving their experience. CRM technologies help companies to develop a more meaningful relationship with the customers rather than merely running marketing campaigns.
One view of the customer: One of the best ways to kil customer experience is through maintaining customer information silos . Each department should be able to view the customers information and his/her previous interaction history that has been lodged in any of the department in the company. Requesting the customer to repeat the issue is a risk that would most likely make the customer frustrated. In customers perspective every interaction that he makes with the company is one single experience. Companies should ensure that this experience is not broken down when the customers navigate across multiple channels.
Invest in your agents: Agents are most influential point of customer contact for your organization. They account for almost half of your contact center costs, therefore they are to be optimized to deliver experience that impacts the customer for future sales. Agents are to be trained, motivated and acknowledged for their efforts. They are not to be treated as mere machines or robots. Agents in most of the companies, are the only voice that the company has.
Social Media Integration: Social Media has transformed itself in being an ecosystem, where individuals and customers share their emotions, mainly grievances to the rest of the world. Companies ought to invest in social media monitoring to address these grievances, because there are instances where these grievances have made the companies lose mil ions of customers. Complaints aired in social media have the potential to grow into a social outbreak reeking havoc on the company.
Monitor effectiveness: Evaluating your contact center periodical y is important for its improvement. Stagnant and unattended contact centers prohibits growth and customer engagement. Companies should adopt an aggressive and proactive approach to explore the myriad of data available. Reporting tools are to be implemented to measure KPIs and the effectiveness of the contact center. The company should leverage on metrics and analytics to identify opportunities to improve agent productivity and performance.
Invest in state of the art Contact Center Technology: Contact Center technology is not cheap, but definitely worth every penny paid. Now the most important question facing such companies becomes what are the technology options available to the companies and what parameters should serve as a yardstick for choosing an optimal solution which offers a decent ROI. One has to fol ow the methodology of doing it right the very first time therefore a hit and miss method is highly unadvised.
By implementing top-notch customer service solutions, your company can create a better overal customer experience. Higher Customer Satisfaction scores translate into long term loyalty and strategic business objectives like bolstering brand image and building revenue.
With this solution in pace, opportunities for continuous improvement and redefinition of service processes for the future can be attained.