For many years we have seen additional contact channels being bolted onto the side of an existing model and not achieving the desired results. However, at what point do you make the brave decision to put a line through your existing technologies and start again with a blank page? We’ve all seen e-mail being run for multiple agents using a single Outlook inbox, cherry picking work items that they can do, repeatedly the more difficult tasks being left for someone else to manage.

As times get harder, cost to serve increases and customers become more demanding as a result of a hardening of the economy, we need to ensure that our people are able to work as efficiently as possible. Is now the time to make a shrewd investment in new technology which empowers your people to be more productive, do more with less, and offer a properly joined up service where a single view of the customer is available?

A single view gives the opportunity to ensure that you are effective in managing the next best action, understanding customer propensity and what that customer is likely to need next. The real opportunity comes from knowing this before the customer even works it out for themselves. The best service being no service at all, minimising effort for the customer, but also for your contact centre considering that you are likely to be picking up the cost of that service.

So, with a proper multi-channel set up, one view of the customer and effective analytics, what opportunities will you have to maintain your current base, grow wallet share and save costs? The answer seems evident in my mind.

Additionally, those brands that take the best care of their customers in hard times are more likely to be better remembered when we come through the other side.

Always consider using the paths that others have already trodden. If you are experiencing challenges in growing or maintaining your brand, the benefits of using an outsource provider to support your customers whilst you focus on the broader business should not be underestimated. Those outsource providers will have already worked out the conundrum of effectively managing those multi-silo activities to a mature multi-channel approach.

At the moment, we all know that a little bit of help from someone who has been there before and already made (and of course learned from) those mistakes, could be a conversation well worth having.

We all recognise putting things off until the new year. Going to the gym, looking for a new job and paying bills. December is often a month where the bills are deferred and money is spent on Christmas. Most companies will struggle to collect money in December and often in January too. A number of consumers will be suffering a financial hangover in January, with some going further into debt in order to buy the associated treats and goodies. The gap between an early December pay day and January pay day can feel like months rather than weeks. Don’t be surprised if people don’t have the money to pay and will again be in defer mode.

With ever increasing rise in costs for businesses, writing off the money isn’t a palatable option. However, going in strong is not the best way to engage. People need help now more than ever. For a number of people being in debt will be a new experience, for a number of reasons. Therefore, getting prepared early with your Q1 strategy is a must.

As providers, we are now also more aware of the mental impacts owing money has on a person. That coupled with “January Blues” can be a potent recipe. Be proud of the support you offer to consumers. Some industries shun being public about how they work with and support their customers who are in financial distress. It’s felt to be a poor public image to even acknowledge that there is debt and that you have a team of people who are dedicated to manage it. Don’t be shy, you should be proud that you work so hard putting measures and teams in place who are ready to help engage and work through financial challenges with your customers.

Definitely make sure it is front and centre on your communications platforms at this time of year. Website, apps, call holding messages, emails, letters, texts and even carrier pigeon if that’s your bag. Make is easy for people to find, use and engage with. The content should be clearly written and the tone used is very important here.

A new year will often mean customers feel that they are starting again. Part of your strategy needs to be a refresher of where things were left at the end of 2022 and where we go next. This can be useful as a scene setter, but also useful as a reminder that the money is still due and that you are there to support and talk to people if they need it. It also works as a reminder for any “won’t pays” that you haven’t forgotten them and you won’t be going away anytime soon.

Therefore, the communications and handling for January needs to be a little bit “Christmas Carol” based. What does the past, present and the future hold?

Why not go one further and offer a new year’s incentive? We know the gym does it, so why don’t you? Discounts for paying off quicker, reduction of debt owed on settlements, or anything else that you feel could work for your business.

Today, it’s more important than ever before that enterprises deliver a world-class customer experience for their target audiences. A great CX builds brand loyalty, adding significantly to total customer lifetime value and turning casual customers into word-of-mouth evangelists.

The challenge is that many businesses still struggle to make effective use of their data to help them understand their customers and deliver a highly personalised, interactive experience based on that knowledge.

Earlier this year, analyst firm Corinium Intelligence surveyed data-focused executives from 100 global enterprises about their efforts to create world-class digital customer experiences. The resulting report, entitled How Data is Driving Next Generation Customer Experiences, revealed the top challenges facing global CX brand managers and how the world’s most innovative business leaders are working to overcome them.

Here’s a summary of some of the key findings from that report.

Macroeconomic Challenges Hamper Efforts to Improve CX

The past several years have been volatile, to say the least. The COVID pandemic had massive implications for the global economy, prompting the closure of many brick-and-mortar stores and accelerating digital transformation and cloud adoption in the retail space.

As companies shift into post-pandemic recovery mode, many of the broader economic challenges that originated during the pandemic persist. Supply chain performance has improved, yet the availability of many products and raw materials remains uncertain. Costs are rising. Many companies find it difficult to hire and retain skilled workers.

As a result, automation and cost savings have been key areas of focus, eclipsing efforts to improve overall CX. The Corinium study found that 79% of global CX leaders viewed cost savings as the highest priority, and 74% were focused on a return to “business as usual” in the wake of the pandemic and its aftermath. Many CX leaders feel as if they are merely treading water, rather than moving forward with initiatives that lend strategic value to their organizations.

Harnessing Data for Next-Gen Customer Experiences

The solution is the intelligent application of data. The Corinium study found that only 37% of organisations surveyed have a well-developed enterprise data architecture capable of supporting high-quality, data-driven, and personalized CX.

The companies surveyed by Corinium rated the quality of their CX at an average of 6.7 out of 10. That means most organisations see plenty of room for improvement. Using data to drive a personalised CX is an obvious winning strategy, but many are still poorly equipped to turn that potential into a reality.

The Corinium report outlined seven key business benefits of a data-driven approach to CX. Better targeting and personalisation capabilities, for example, deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time. When companies communicate relevant, timely information, their messages are simply more likely to get through. A holistic data-driven approach increases conversion rates as well, and it improves the customer journey across multiple channels within a company’s omnichannel landscape.

Data Quality and Data Governance Are Key

The authors of the Corinium report noted that problems with data quality and data governance hamper efforts to move forward aggressively and effectively with key initiatives aimed at improving CX. Data accessibility is the number one barrier to creating data-driven customer experiences. Lack of relevant or current data comes in second place.

Legacy systems and a lack of integration are frequent root causes of these problems. Many organizations also lack the kind of current, high-quality data for enrichment, including mobility and geospatial information that add powerful context alongside existing customer data.

Great CX is dependent on a unified and coherent approach to customer communications, yet 56% of respondents in the Corinium study agreed or strongly agreed that siloed, uncoordinated communications prevent their companies from delivering seamless digital experiences for their customers.

Proactive programs to manage data quality at scale are a necessary precursor to personalised, targeted digital CX. Data governance ensures information can be effectively accessed across the internal organisational boundaries that often stand in the way of effective data access.

CX Investments Are on the Rise

According to the CX leaders who responded to Corinium, most have made significant investments in customer communications over the past two years, or they plan to do so in the near future. The most popular initiatives include text messaging technology, customer relationship management software, and omnichannel communications platforms. Data integrity is also a high priority for top global brands, incorporating enterprise integration to eliminate silos, data quality to ensure accuracy and completeness, and data enrichment to provide richer, more valuable context.

To learn more about trends in customer experience management and next-generation CX, download the full Corinium report today.

The game itself is simple yet so addictive, becoming a popular hit with gamers world-wide with 12 million downloads in its first month! A real gem of a game for the die-hard Marvel fans (go give it a try).

Yet, as I sat plotting where to place my Iron Man card to double my point count, my thoughts went back to a recent conversation I had with a client. One where the client in question was slightly hesitant about the idea of outsourcing their Gaming customer service requirements to a third party.

Why was this?

Well, when we take a game like Marvel Snap, it’s very easy to see all the detail that has gone into a very simple looking game on the face of it. These types of games are really make or break for the developer in question, hence the meticulous planning and detail that goes into creating a game of this standard. So handing over your community management requirements to an outsourced partner can feel like a big bold step to take, one that can really have a negative impact on your player base if not done correctly.

It’s not just the traditional consoles that are delivering the latest games too, mobile gaming’s share of total gaming revenue has climbed significantly over the past decade. Today, mobile gaming is responsible for over half of total gaming revenue (Newzoo). From a customer point of view, its not just the avid console fanatics that can play these games, but anybody with access to the internet can now download their favourite game. This has presented an even bigger headache in terms of the breadth and depth of support that developers are now having to provide to their customers, which is why more and more gaming companies are looking to outsource their customer support requirements.

If sourced properly, the right outsourced partner can help the company to Level Up! their customer service strategy.

Those Level Up! benefits include (but not limited to):

So the next time you are thinking about your customer/community strategy, select Co-op mode and let your outsourced Player 2 enter the game.

Are you looking for help with your Gaming Customer Services/Community Support requirements? If so, get in touch, we have specialised partners on our network who can help with this.

Entering Q4 with the headwind of a cost-of-living crisis there’s uncertainty for some as to how busy they’ll be this year. However, all have the challenges of potentially needing to do more with less as increasing costs and potential recruitment issues could mean fewer contact centre agents.

Whether by design or not, the same difficulties apply and that message in the IVR saying “due to covid” isn’t well received by customers any longer.

So how do you balance demand and costs to serve? Service from a cheaper location, provide self-serve options, automate… all well-trodden paths with many failing to flourish if not approached in the right manner.

But isn’t voice king when it comes to resolving emotive issues, customers want to be able to engage via multiple channels based on their requirements. We’ve recently heard that:

So, with these numbers in mind, what are the options and where does voice retain the throne?  If staff are harder to find and more expensive than ever, then is the key to ensure that they’re being used as effectively as possible? A ‘well trained’ bot can make a difference in the triage of those 67% who prefer self-service to ensure they only speak to someone if they really need to, it keeps people free for the 83% that want to engage immediately too.

Asynchronous messaging offers flexibility for a customer if they don’t have time to talk but need support, there are opportunities using WhatsApp or web messaging, for example, to easily send photos of what’s causing the issue and switch channel to voice at the right moment.

Proactivity remains a jewel in the crown when trying to minimise customer effort. For example, my train tickets for a strike day are no use to me now. I need a refund but clearly for commercial reasons I’m not going to be immediately offered one, they’d rather I just decide to travel on another day, but that doesn’t work for me, whereas a proactive contact with a link to trigger a refund would. Other scenarios are easier though and brands making timely interventions can improve the experience for the customer, whilst managing demand and pressure on their own staff.

Voice is here to stay, especially for complex or emotional conversations and certainly when looking to make a sale. The key is ensuring that people have the right skills and information to hand, as well as understanding the insights from those contacts and improving processes where possible.  Or when outbound dialling that productivity and conversion are optimised through tools which support the agent in maximising their potential. Good people are hard to find so ensure you give them the tools to do a great job, failing that there is always the option of outsourcing – a problem shared and all that.

Unfortunately, mystery shopping and benchmarking can be quite tedious and a lengthy undertaking. But recently a colleague and I carried out a mystery shopping assessment for a client operating in a competitive financial service environment.

So equipped with Neville Doughty’s recent article ‘The Triple Threat: 3 key challenges facing contact centres’, which highlighted ‘staff attraction and retention, channel shift and automation’ as major current challenges to contact centres, I’ve mused on what my bit of mystery shop benchmarking might tell us.

1. Bots still aren’t that common and often just don’t work

Surprisingly, only 2 of the 12 companies use webchat and none of the others actively promote any social media messaging apps as customer service channels. Both of those companies also had a Bot. But neither Bot recognised any standard terms or phrases related to their proposition or service that we used, so consequently none of our contacts were ‘contained’ and managed by the Bots

2. Other elements of best practice or useful technologies are under-represented

3. Service levels are all over the place

Across the 12 companies the average call answer time varied by a factor of 26 to 1 (41 seconds was the shortest average, 1075 – that’s nearly 18 minutes – was the longest)

4. There’s no ‘settled view’ about acceptable, live-agent opening hours

Some companies were only available to customers Monday to Friday, and some also open on Saturdays. A few opened on Sundays, too and one – surprisingly an ‘app-first’ online challenger brand – was available 24 hours per day, across all contact channels. This results in their having total weekly open hours 4 times the number of its least accessible competitor

These are challenging times for brands and their contact centres, but options and possibilities to do things differently and better abound. If you’d like to discuss how different technologies, resourcing and customer propositions might help your hard-pressed contact centre operation, just get in touch.

If brands are to be successful, they need to be:

Authentic: feeding the social consciousness in society.
Differentiated: tough to do in a market where replication is easy. Some form of ‘value add’ needs to be evident.
Responsive: perhaps in a crisis, but with the advent of ‘big data’ the notion of a ‘segment of one’ – brands need to be proactive and anticipate a need before the customer realises that they have it.
Consistent: failures in delivery will typically lead to a customer switching to an alternate supplier if expectations are not met.

Forrester stated that: “Consumers expect any desired information or service to be available, in context, at their precise moment of need.”

So how do we ensure delivery against this level of customer demand? The agility that is required to do so has led to a number of older businesses failing and the growth of many start-ups that are now leaders in their sectors.

Critically many of these do not even own the commodity that they are marketing:

All of these businesses are effectively selling a service that utilises something that belongs to another. This demonstrates the evolution of economies from commodities to goods, then services and latterly to experiences.

Based on this premise, customer needs have changed:

This movement from commodity to experience offers the opportunity to maximise revenues and margins. Take for example Starbucks, the value of coffee beans in raw form versus what is charged as an end product in a coffee shop.

As we face a cost-of-living crisis it will be interesting to see if consumers become less interested in the experience and go back to focusing on costs. For many businesses it may seem like a necessity but there are smarter ways to do this.

If you need help finding new ways to improve efficiencies, whilst maintaining or improving CX, get in touch.

“Consumers expect any desired information or service to be available, in context, at their precise moment of need”

Forrester

Here’s a quote from the BBC article in which Meta chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that the development would help companies customise their experience and that “The best business experiences meet people where they are,”. He said at the announcement of the new service that “Already more than one billion users connect with a business account across our messaging services every week.”

So clearly customers are already using WhatsApp to engage with businesses, the change here is more about the “how”.

I do agree that customers want to be serviced where they are, the whole point of frictionless CX is making it easy and if I’m having other conversations in WhatsApp, then why not add another? The rules are clear, I must engage the company in the chat, they cannot engage me. The addition to a “Contact Us” page of a “WhatsApp Us” is a good way to support customers in that space.

From a delivery of service perspective, it can make the conversation harder as there is the asynchronous nature of a WhatsApp. As a customer I may start the chat now but not pick up the response for 3 hours, the conversation could continue for the best part of a week. This creates an interesting challenge for the business and the people within it though. Does it mean that multiple agents are going to interact with that supporter who could send messages across a timeframe that exceeds a shift or a working day? Contact centres have already been managing this situation for sure, but is the result an impact to efficiencies that servicing via WhatsApp is trying to achieve as another member of the team needs to familiarise themselves to respond to the last message? Or should we be setting a lower SLA on the follow up responses, seeing if the initial agent will be back to deal with it and leaving it for them to manage when back on shift?

I remember a time when first implementing e-mail solutions, in which trying to get the system to manage the stop and start of the clock to deal with e-mails “within the SLA” was a whole project strand. This would mean sometimes missing the reason behind the “customer” need and focusing too heavily on what the “client” had stipulated. The model was focused on one mail in and one mail out. Thankfully, technologies have moved forward now and the right blend of technology can ensure the initial phase of a conversation via messaging platforms can capture key information so the agent is best placed to resolve the query. For me, one of the best things with WhatsApp is the ability to switch from messaging to voice easily if needed all within the one channel.

‘Meta Platforms Inc (including Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp) have over 3.6 billion active users.’

Statistica

Whilst these are not-for-profit organisations created to provide affordable homes and to support local communities, they must ensure that support is of the highest possible standard at the most effective cost so that the maximum amount of income possible can be reinvested where it is needed most. However, as cost pressures increase how can housing associations ensure that operating costs of contact centres and service management are not eroding the monies required to maintain and build additional properties and give more families the opportunity to have a space of their own.

As England alone needs 340,000 new homes per year, including 145,000 social and affordable homes, there is significant pressure on providers with new residents to be considered, operating costs will increase because of inflation and rising wages and as the number of residents grows the cost to service them will too.

A number of organisations have turned to outsourcing as a means to support their residents, there are many benefits to this approach of using private sector expertise to deliver this including:

The automation conundrum

Working in an environment where customer contacts are often of high emotion brings challenges. Whether moving in or out of a property or if there is a repair that needs to be made, residents are more likely to be calling at a time of stress or need and who wants to speak to an IVR when feeling emotional, not me for sure.  So how do the opportunities to bring technology and automation reconcile with the imperative to deliver a personal service when support is needed? How can the use of technology ensure that those with the greatest need are attended to first?

Perhaps one solution is to get proactive, the use of insight and analytics solutions can unlock vital information and highlight trends within the housing stock, allowing housing associations to identify and remedy an issue before it even happens.

Where agent support is required it is key to ensure that they have delivered all the essential compliance and safety information that may be needed by a resident. Use an intelligent scripting and decision making tool, coupled with speech analytics, to make sure agents have done all that is necessary on the call, providing certainty for the organisation, the agent and the resident. Layer on top coaching tools and analytics and then your agent’s ongoing development is covered, whilst ensuring that key trend data is made available to the organisation. Having these processes in place means that all the right information is passed to engineer resources accurately the first time. This reduces the need for them to go back to a job, avoiding additional costs to the organisation and inconvenience to the resident.

So in summary, effective contact management can help deliver efficiency in scheduling and planning of work throughout your organisation and therefore improve service whilst reducing outlay. Plus feeding all repair data back into the analytics engine can then help with proactive scheduling of work to reduce risk.

Differentiated service

It should be considered that housing associations are the main provider of supported housing in England with 300,000 homes for older people and 115,000 for people who need extra support.

Outsourcing providers are dealing with vulnerable customers on a daily basis across all sectors and can bring both personal and technical expertise to support and develop services in this area. Access to voice analytics software in real-time can assist agents in identifying where additional care may be needed, more than a simple flag on a CRM to signify that a resident was vulnerable at the point of moving into a property. This data is linked to contact number and query routing technology to ensure that people at high risk are connected to the right support quickly. Technology can now pick up on vital clues that a resident’s situation may have changed and therefore they need to be considered as vulnerable.

Channel divergence

People are now communicating in more ways than ever before and often on multiple devices. Conversocial recently stated that: ‘Customer care teams today are 10 times more likely to resolve customer inquiries via a private channel, like Facebook Messenger and Twitter DM, than they were two years prior. What’s more, the rate of growth of conversations using private channels has accelerated to 20 times that of conversations using public channels (i.e. 900% vs 45%).’

When customers need help they should have the opportunity to interact in the channels that they feel most comfortable in, so whilst an e-mail is great for a lengthy dialogue after the event perhaps, a call has historically been the first action if you have an issue, but what about messaging platforms? These have become the key method of interaction in day to day lives and provide the opportunity to ease communication with residents. The ability to send a message and see it was received in WhatsApp, switch to a call or even a video call so that the contact centre agent can physically see an issue and in turn provide visual reassurance.

Who can you talk to about your options?

Having worked closely with a number of housing associations we have an excellent understanding of what is required to deliver excellent customer care at an affordable price. We have built a ‘best of breed’ network of over 140 contact centres and 50 technology providers, which makes us perfectly positioned to recommend and source the ‘right’ contact solutions for your business. We are entirely independent, so you know our recommendations are not driven by self-interest. Our selection process is managed by industry experts, so you will always be in safe hands.

For more information. Get in touch.

Sources:  

6M number from National Housing Federation –https://www.housing.org.uk/about-housing-associations/what-housing-associations-do/

With economic forecasters predicting the largest growth period since the post-war boom, the importance of converting sales has never been higher, with consumers using a variety of communication platforms to engage with businesses, it can be very easy to miss out on a sale if your channels aren’t set up properly.  

As businesses prepare for growth and look to optimise their contact centre operations, selecting the right customer engagement technology solution has become crucial. Cost effective customer acquisition and a reduction in ‘cost to serve’ are both desirable goals but achieving them can be a challenge if you don’t have a true understanding of available technologies and their alignment to your existing environment.  

In the first of our series of expert panel discussions chaired by John Greenwood, Head of Technology, Contact Centre Panel, we look at the Bot and the differences in the technology underpinning operational performance. We will explore the difference in programmable products vs those that have minimal learning input before effectively replacing their human equivalents. The webinar will include an audience Q & A, where you will get the opportunity to ask the panelists questions.

Expert panel

John Greenwood: Head of Technology & Payments, Contact Centre Panel

John is a payments specialist and leading authority in PCI DSS compliance and how this applies to customer contact centres and 3rd party service providers. He was the driver and lead content contributor to the official PCI SSC Information Supplement, published in late 2018. John is a technology subject matter expert with over 30 years’ experience working with and within the industry, he has a deep understanding of the technology vendor landscape as well as BPO and contact centre environments.

Nathan Smith: Founder & MD, Gabba

Nathan is the founder and managing director of Gabba, an award-winning pioneer in digital and chatbot marketing. He has worked with some of the best-known names in the corporate world, including Microsoft and Siemens. Author of the book Social Media for the Legal Sector (Law Society Publications), he is passionate about sharing his knowledge to empower other organisations.

Chris Kellner: Global VP Sales & Partnerships, Digital Genius

Chris is responsible for leading business development, marketing and partnerships at DigitalGenius. DigitalGenius is the Ai platform that puts your customer support on autopilot by understanding conversations, automating repetitive processes to help guide your customers. The platform is powered by deep learning that understands your customers’ objectives, then drives automated resolutions through APIs that connect seamlessly to your own backend systems.

Natalie Calvert: Founder, CX High Performance

Natalie helps businesses to put their customers at the heart of their organisation through superb CX employee engagement programmes. Natalie has work with, empowered and equipped more than 200,000 service & sales professionals and leaders across 100+ global organisations to deliver world class customer service during her 25 year career. Over the past 10 years Natalie has judged the UK Lloyds Bank National Business Awards for The Virgin Atlantic Customer Experience & Loyalty award. Natalie is also a Board Advisor to the National Business Awards.

Topics for discussion