The key difference between centers that fail and those that succeed is that the former tend to focus more on contact economics, while the latter tend to focus on customer experiences, says Ken Landoline, program manager with Yankee Group’s Enterprise Research group.
“Self-service investments focused solely on cost-reduction benefits are no longer a competitive differentiator. Improving the customer experience is now the goal of leading centers. When implemented properly, self-service can be a win-win solution for the customer and for the enterprise.”...
Explore “guided speech” IVR. Regardless of how much effort the center puts into making self-service engaging and user-friendly, there will be the occasional glitch here and there, or customers who don’t feel quite ready to let go of agents’ hands entirely. In such cases, most centers make it easy for callers to opt out of the IVR and reach a live agent who can help them with the rest of the call.
The latest trend takes a much more proactive and dynamic approach to assisting customers who embark on a self-service transaction. “Guided speech” IVR —a.k.a., guided IVR, agent-assisted IVR, hybrid IVR, et al. — combines the technological potency of advanced speech applications with, when necessary, the human intelligence and understanding of live agents. In centers that use guided speech IVR, designated agents serve as invisible IVR guides —assisting the center’s speech application with recognition on an as-needed basis...
Typically organizations create numerous 800 numbers in order to provide many different access points for different customer groups, type of callers, etc. I have talked to some companies who have initiatives to reduce 800 numbers that are coming in and these are the reasons why :
1) To simplify access for the customer by having 1 number to call 2) Have more flexibility for marketing programs 3) Reducing misroutes
Call Guiding from Spoken Communications helps organizations by providing a centralized number for customers to call, nearly 100% accuracy in routing, and a reduction in AHT (average handle time).
Harvard Business Review just did a comparison of the differences between CRM and CEM.HBR says this: "CRM steps in when there is a record of a customer interaction.CEM occurs at the point of interaction.As for future performance, CRM drives cross-selling by bundling products in demand with others that aren't.CEM locates places to add offerings in the gaps between expectations and experience.
The internet has given everyone a voice, but only the creative ones stick out. Companies beware, don't mess with creative people. Take a look at this video created by a frustrated customer who had an issue with Cingular Wireless
Customer Experience: Another Argument for SOA (service-oriented architecture)
While there’s no substitute for a person-to-person transaction, the help of the right technology to enhance customer experience won’t hurt. Some contact centers are actually using technology to do some legwork. And in so doing customer issues are solved faster and more accurately so customers are happier and costs are lower. (Read More)
Keeping Customers Happy - Just Solve their Problem
Customers don't really care about all the effort you go to to hear about the problem and do nothing about it. All they want is a solution and they will rant and rave about it. Take this for example:
So it surprised me when I read this story about a guy who had a really crappy customer experience trying to get his Mac laptop fixed by Apple. He got so fed up, he wrote an e-mail to their CEO, Steve Jobs himself. To the customer's surprise, he received a response THE VERY NEXT DAY from his personal assistant promising that he'd get a new laptop (which he received only the day after the assistant e-mailed him) as well as his old one back (so he could transfer his data from one to the other). Now THAT'S service! (read more)
An interesting perspective from the other side of the phone:
The next time you call customer service and are greeted with a less than enthusiastic voice just remember that the last 15 customers probably wore down your rep and he or she would just like to deal with someone who is calm and understands that not all problems can be fixed right away. A little patience goes a long way. Because honestly, the moment you raise your voice I stop listening. I will not credit your account and most likely I will do nothing until you say the word supervisor. Then I will transfer you. I also make notes in the account as to what names you called me and how many times you swore at me. The next rep that gets you will read the notes and most likely give you nothing as well. That's how it works. However, if you are nice and understanding I will bend over backwords to give you anything that I can. And then if you like what I did please ask to speak to my supervisor. Supervisors like to take compliment calls. It makes everyone in a good mood. It also makes me feel like I am doing something useful. Read More
I've always said that a "Brand Experience" with a customer is incredibly important. Here are a couple of reasons why, from McKerns.
A brand is a name of a product or business that seeks to differentiate itself from its competitors based upon its uniqueness. It often is associated with a logo, tagline, color and graphic elements, but it is much more than that.
It is the customer experience associated with the brand, and it is the value gained by associating with the brand. That value can be both actual and perceived. This can be helped by advertising and the media—you create associations and expectations based upon the brand. The brand delivers on those expectations and therefore becomes memorable and recognizable." Read More
"Leading experts in the marketing, enterprise software, and telecommunications industries have called for organisations to significantly revaluate their customer relationships if they are to successfully manage the customer experience."
