Aspect Vice President Serge Hyppolite discussed customer expectations, customer engagement and the omnichannel experience during his presentation at the 2014 Customer Care Leadership Forum in Atlanta on Nov. 20. In his presentation, Hyppolite noted businesses must find ways to deliver the same customer experience across multiple platforms to succeed in today’s global marketplace.
According to Hyppolite, self-service options ultimately can benefit both a business and its customers. If a business can make it easier for customers to manage their accounts or complete tasks quickly, Hyppolite said, this company can bolster its customer satisfaction levels. In addition, Hyppolite noted providing a consistent mobile experience to customers is key for today’s businesses: “People talk about mobile like it’s just your mobile phone, but the reality is that all experiences today are mobile. Social experiences are mobile, probably one of the most mobile experiences you can get.”
Guiding customers through various channels also is important for today’s businesses, Hyppolite said. A business that can connect with customers on multiple channels can interact with customers in myriad ways, Hyppolite noted, and as a result, this company can gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. Meanwhile, Hyppolite pointed out that successful companies typically understand the value of delivering a high-quality omnichannel experience, and businesses that want to improve their customer satisfaction levels can follow past examples as well: “The companies that are [delivering an omnichannel experience] well see a significant positive impact on the bottom line and a positive impact on customer experience. Don’t think about these channels as individual; think about your journey through these channels.”
- See more at: http://www.argylejournal.com/customer-care/2014-customer-care-leadership-forum-serge-hyppolite-vice-president-aspect/#sthash.37Si4woW.dpuf
14. Customer Expectations
KNOW ME:
Personalized Interactions
SHOW ME YOU KNOW ME:
Targeted/Timely Notifications and Previous
Interaction History
ENABLE ME:
All Channels, All the Time, All Devices
VALUE ME:
Recognize and Listen to Your Customers
Accenture: The New Omni-Channel Approach to Serving Customers
Omni-channel Customer Experiences
15. Keys to delivering Omni Channel Service
SMART
NOTIFICATIONS
Based on Thresholds,
Process Flows
& Preferences
AN ENGAGED
WORKFORCE
Aligned Skills
Schedules
Coaching
OMNI-CHANNEL
INTERACTIONS
Chat | Voice | Mobile
SMS | Email | Social
PERSONALIZED
RELATIONSHIPS
Customer Analytics
Preferences
Context
Are you meeting customer expectations?
A large discrepancy was also revealed in a study conducted by management consultancy Bain & Company1. It surveyed 362 companies and found that 80 percent believed that they delivered superior customer experiences.
But, when consumers were asked about their perceptions, only eight percent agreed that the companies delivered superior customer experiences.
Clearly, companies need to take a closer look at how their contact center fits with their overall customer strategy. It’s time to reconnect the contact center experience with consumer expectations.
1“Closing the delivery gap” By James Allen, Frederick F. Reichheld, Barney Hamilton and Rob Markey, Bain and Company.
Forrester 2013: Channel usage rates are also quickly changing: we’ve seen a 12% rise in web self-service usage, a 24% rise in chat usage, and a 25% increase in community usage for customer service in the past three years. Expect customer service organizations to better align their channel strategy this year to support their company’s customers’ needs. Expect them to also work on guiding customers to the right channel based on the complexity and time sensitivity of interactions.
BT Global: 60% of consumers change channels based on where they are and what they are doing. From voice to text, from mobile phone to tablets…think about your experience as a consumer…you change channels all the time…
The relationship between companies and consumers has evolved…how did we get here?
Customer conversations were once owned by companies.
They were one-directional and controlled.
Now, a new wave of communication options has given customers limitless ways to make their voices heard – whenever, wherever and however they choose.
And they are using their newfound power to take control of the conversation, shifting the balance of power in their favor.
They have sparked a "relationship revolution" that is thrusting the Contact Center into the center of these new, dynamic and untethered customer relationships.
Going mobile
Wireless only households grew 3x to 31% from 2006-2011
Smartphone penetration in the US reached 50% in February 2012
By 2016, more than 60% of inbound customer service interactions are likely to come from devices other than landlines - gaming consoles, set top boxes, kiosks, smartphones
72% of consumers prefer to use a mobile app to manage mobile accounts
Moving away from voice
Since 2006, wireless texts grew 14x while voice minutes grew 1.4x
Over the next 5 years, mobile data traffic expected to grow 3x the fixed line traffic
56% of smartphone users would prefer mobile app over calling for customer support
Going Social
66% of US adults using social media
41% of users use “Like” to show their support for a brand
62% of consumers have used social media for customer service issues
56% of Fortune 500 plan to incorporate customer service and support offering into their mobile and social strategies
Walgreen provides mobile/text alerts for prescriptions ready for pickup
Delta/UAL/AA provide flight updates passengers through their mobile apps
7
8
9
10
11
12
KNOW ME: Personalized Interactions
Understanding who your customers are and what communication channels and touch points they use to engage with your company
Recognize and acknowledge your customers’ individual preferences
SHOW ME YOU KNOW ME: Targeted Notifications and Previous Interaction History
Proactive customer care…today’s customers expect simple notifications but to really provide remarkable CX you have to anticipate with targeted and timely notifications that add value
Customer service agents must have access to the full history of a customer’s products and services they have purchased or inquired about, and their prior interaction history, regardless of channel in order to deliver service continuity and strengthen the customer relationship.
ENABLE ME: All Channels, All the Time, All Devices
Meet customers where they are, i.e., in the channel of their choice, mobile apps.
Operate as a single brand and channel, orchestrating customer experiences across all touch points
Allow your customers to start an interaction in one channel or touch point and complete it in another, and if they do escalate to live assistance, do not make them repeat themselves and “go back to start” and begin all over again.
VALUE ME: Recognize and Listen to Your Customers
Reward and thank customers for their loyalty and depth of relationship
Listen to your customers and act on their insights
Treat your customers well and they will be with your company for many years to come
Ensure great consumer satisfaction and higher productivity levels by considering the bigger customer engagement picture – from self-service to agent-assisted, from the contact center to the larger enterprise, on-premise to cloud. Once all those component pieces fall into place, so will higher profits, reduced operating costs and overall market success. Click on each section heading to learn more
Customers think nothing of switching between channels when engaging with your organization – say, from web self-service to voice and back again to self-service – in order to get transactions completed to their satisfaction and on their terms. Maybe they then conduct a follow-on transaction and, based on what they are doing or where they are, they reach out via an entirely different channel – and want to pick up right where they left off with no need to re-enter information. Whether by phone, text, chat or social media, customers should always feel like they're talking to the same company, no matter who they talk to… or on what channel they use. That's multi-channel done right.
This "omni-channel customer experience" has become the new gold standard, as customers expect to receive service when, where, and how they want it.
Don’t forget about how Workforce and Back Office Optimization directly impact the CX.