How Do You Give Customers The Support Experience They Expect And Value?

Companies must protect their existing customer base if they want to achieve meaningful and sustainable growth. Providing effective customer service, where issues are competently resolved during the first contact, is a good step in this direction.

But to truly meet customer expectations, they need to get their query answered easily and feel good about the experience. So users want “easy” customer service. Offering efficiency, ease of use and empathy is a proven formula for increasing customer loyalty and retention.

What Is “Easy” Customer Service?

Have you ever been stuck in an IVR menu with no obvious way to reach a live agent? Have they happened to you with different agents because nobody knew how to solve your problem? Have you ever waited ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes to speak to an agent? Without a doubt, these experiences are anything but easy and agile.

The ease of customer service is characterized by its speed, convenience and variety. Modern technology has made it possible to provide these three factors and has also conditioned users to expect this from businesses. Gone are the days when people easily tolerated long wait times and phone-only service.

Advances in mobile technology, cloud computing, digital communications, Artificial Intelligence (AI), connection speeds, virtual assistants, and more have created a culture that is used to choosing from a multitude of communication methods based on what people they need to achieve; for example, using text messages to send short messages that need a quick response, and using e-mail for longer and less urgent messages.

How Do You Give Customers The Support Experience They Expect And Value?

The last ten years have seen exponential advances in call center technology and capabilities. When combined with emerging user preferences for digital customer service, the solution is clear: Contact centers must modernize. There are five ways to do it:

1) Implement Digital Channels

To reach customers, organizations must implement digital channels or they risk becoming obsolete. Those channels should be determined by customer behavior, preferences, and demographics. Businesses using the best cloud contact center software can easily deploy or retire digital channels, giving them flexibility in customer service.

2) Upgrade ACD capabilities

To make things “easier” for clients seeking agent assistance, they should be assigned the most qualified agent to solve their problem. This will help ensure that the user is not transferred or put on hold during the interaction. Modern ACDs (Automation Call Distribution) perform intelligent routing by assessing customer needs and agent skills. Additionally, ACDs that use predictive logic can take into account the customer’s profile, including the history of interactions. This enables a scenario, for example, where the customer is routed to the same agent that helped him the last time he called.

3) Add / Update IVR And AI Chat Bots

To enable meaningful self-service, and thus facilitate customer service, call centers may need to upgrade to a voice-capable IVR that easily integrates with back-end business systems and knowledge bases. Taking the capabilities one step further, conversational IVRs that are integrated with AI-powered chatbots can further enhance the success of self-service.

4) Add Workforce Management To Forecast And Staff The Right Number Of Agents

To offer “easy” customer service, call centers must have the correct number of agents and must be scheduled at the right times so that customers do not have excessive wait times. Workforce management software automates and adds precision to complex scheduling and forecasting processes. When forecasts and schedules are consistently inaccurate and causing CX issues, it’s probably time to implement good workforce management software.

5) Update Operational Reports

Industry-leading reporting and analysis tools can provide the information call center leaders need to ensure customers have “easy” experiences. Organizations should look for software that makes reporting easy. With relevant information available in real time, companies can continually improve their CX delivery.

In conclusion, there is an imperative business approach to delivering customer service that offers speed, convenience, and multiple service options. When users need help, they want ease, not trouble. Customers will reward companies that provide peace of mind and stay away from those that don’t. If organizations want to grow and prosper, especially in today’s economy, they need to satisfy their customers with effective service. Implementing contact center software in the cloud is the right solution to make significant improvements in the customer experience.