How brands can ensure a high level of customer service during the December rush
The peak holiday periods can be stressful for businesses, particularly those in a retail customer service environment, and can lead to a potential breakdown in systems and poor customer experiences if they don’t have a solid foundation in place to handle these spikes in activity. However, with the proper systems and processes in place, organisations can plan ahead and be better prepared, and take advantage of the opportunities at hand.
There is nothing new about this: surges happen every year during specific periods, such as the Easter weekend, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and the longer December holidays. And, increasingly, there is technology that can solve these customer service challenges. Technology that helps companies manage multichannel communications, manage their workforces, and to look at past performance in order to identify trends and make predictions.
A challenge however is that there is often a fear of adoption of new technologies stemming from a lack of knowledge. They are aware of what is out there, but are unsure of how it can be implemented in their business, what the impact is going to be, and – crucially – what to do when something goes wrong. It is far easier for leaders to recognise when people are not performing optimally, but they don’t have the experience to recognise if technology solutions are not.
What they need is not just a technology or software solution, but an experienced partner who can guide them through the digital journey, works with them to determine how best to achieve business objectives, enable better collaboration between people and technology, and enhance customer service. In essence, they need a managed service provider.
Understanding the voice of the customer
When it comes to customer service, organisations often miss the value of understanding the ‘Voice of the Customer’ – the ability to understand what their customer is thinking, whether positive or negative, and then using this information to intentionally design experiences. If brands are looking at the longer term, and toward building customer relationships and loyalty, then they need to know what their customers like, what they think, and how they interact with the brand.
More than simply having a few feedback forms, it is about knowing what your customers are clearly saying about your brand. Customers are also more likely to become repeat buyers if a company does something about the feedback that they provide them with.
By developing a customer journey map, brands have an opportunity to standardise how they collect customer feedback – the ‘Voice of the Customer‘ – and optimise their processes in order to enhance the satisfaction of the customer across every touch point.
A failure to understand where a customer can interact with the brand can lead to common mistakes such as differing messaging and varying tones of voice across channels, which results in an inconsistent experience. Getting this right is crucial in an age where people are wary of cyber attacks through emails and other messaging.
Integration, automation and virtual assistants
Business leaders should put themselves in the shoes of the customer service agent, especially when they are dealing with multi- or omnichannel communications. Firstly, they should have the right systems that provide them with all the information they need in a single pane of glass – in today’s world, you cannot have agents toggling between multiple screens and systems in order to service the customer.
Another way of reducing the burden for customer service agents is to use digital assistants, which presently don’t get the recognition that it deserves. These can help agents deal with high volumes in text-based communications by providing them with pre-set answers – that are in line with a brand’s messaging – that they can select from a dropdown in order to provide the customer with a concise, accurate response as soon as possible. This in turn brings in the ability to reduce repetitiveness in the high-velocity environment and free up human agents to focus on more complex issues.
Working with a managed contact centre service provider makes it easier for the business to identify and then automate these repetitive processes. Learn more in this blog with Martie de Beer.
Customer service agents also need to be able to access accurate information and context so that they can help customers without asking them to repeat themselves, or have to transfer them between multiple departments in order to resolve an issue. It is vital that organisations integrate with their customer relationship management (CRM) systems so that they can make engagements more personal, and build a relationship with the customer.
Businesses know in advance that these peak periods are coming, and they need to ensure that their customer service agents are supported with the right tools and processes in order to get a first call resolution, especially in high velocity environments. Having these right systems can not only lead to reduced response times, but it means that the brand can confidently set clear expectations for its customers.
This is especially crucial as brands add more digital communications channels to the mix, such as WhatsApp. Customers who are using these channels want quick responses. If they were prepared to wait, they would have sent an email instead.
Whether you require a basic solution or a full-function omnichannel operation, our highly experienced professional service team will help you evaluate the best fit for your needs and your digital journey. Contact us today.
By Martie de Beer, CCaaS Executive at Telviva
