Consumers are digitally savvy, well informed, and more demanding than ever. Not investing in resources that digitally transform customer care will become a competitive disadvantage.
This series explores six technology trends for delivering smarter and more strategic customer care.
Trend #5: Omnichannel Experiences Amplify Customer Loyalty
The thought of calling customer service might be off-putting. Regardless of the situation, we’ve all experienced something like this: an interactive voice system greets you, and asks you to state (or press a button) to pinpoint the reason for calling, which routes you to the next prompt. Maybe you say a few more words or press buttons until you finally reach a customer service rep. If that person can’t help, then you’re routed to someone more specialized who asks you to re-explain your situation. Frustrating, isn’t it?
These fragmented service experiences are a big turn-off for today’s digitally savvy customers. Fortunately, implementing new solutions and processes in your organization can significantly improve customer care.
Giving Customers What They Expect
The path to a resolved customer issue is no longer linear and offline; there’s an increasing expectation for a seamless experience across all channels and interactions. Mature businesses respond through the channels customers prefer, at the speed they expect, and with little or no friction between channel experiences.
Companies with the strongest omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89 percent of their customers.
An omnichannel experience promotes customer retention by facilitating a single conversation and meeting their expectations. Customers expect a quick resolution to their problem without having to repeat their issues to multiple agents. They also want to check on the status of their service ticket, whenever and wherever they are.
Helping Agents Help Customers
For call center and field service agents, omnichannel provides a complete picture that benefits both agents and customers.
For example, skills-based routing allows service agents to immediately see available specialists on various channels (phone, chat, social, etc.). When the transfer is made, the specialist has all the background information, and with a quick search of the knowledge base can greet the customer with helpful information. From the customer’s point of view, the conversation simply continued in a progressive path toward a resolution.
In the field, technicians needs quick access to the same information that customer service agents have in the home office. With unfettered access to real-time customer data via mobile devices, field technicians can deliver on your brand’s promise to provide superior customer service with every service call, ensuring problem resolution with the initial visit.
Learn more about omnichannel experiences in our guide, Top Technology Trends for Smarter, Strategic Customer Care and take a look back at previously posted trends.
