Call Center Management Featured Article
How Call Center Management Can Enable Powerful Self-Service
The evolution of communication technology created a whole new world of consumer. We’re more educated on a product, have higher expectations of a contact center agent and want to handle a number of transactions and information gathering interactions without actually talking to a live person. If you want to dominate in the customer service arena, call center management has to support self-service.
In fact, according to Intellireponse in a Business2Community article by Gigi Peccolo, more than 50 percent of businesses today are using self-service and another 64 percent plan to invest in it and extend it to other channels. This adoption is often driven by call center management’s desire to cut costs and increase customer satisfaction. And, because more than 50 percent of customers believe it’s important to solve product issues on their own, it’s important to include this channel in your strategy.
The key to making this strategy work, however, is to ensure you’re not just paying attention to the phones. Consumers want self-service through a variety of channels, including mobile and web. According to Destination CRM, 45 percent of companies offering self-service through these channels have seen an increase in site traffic and a decrease in phone calls. Plus, this shift in strategy is saving money as the average self-service interaction costs as little as 25 cents, while a live agent can cost $6 - $12 dollars.
As consumers move to more self-service, companies are implementing the necessary infrastructure and solutions to enable the activity. According to Forrester (News - Alert), 70 percent of customers prefer to find an answer through a company website rather than place a call. Gartner suggests that by 2020, 85 percent of the relationship with an enterprise will be managed by the customer without ever interacting with a human.
But simply offering self-service is not enough – companies have to be strategic in the process and meet the needs of the customer base, according to Ben Puzzouli in a Business2Community piece. This means being prepared to field service questions online, that everything a customer wants to do online is easy to do and consistent across all others channels, providing a knowledgebase and not just an FAQ page and brand self-service channels appropriately. Plus, if a customer does need to connect with a live agent, make that interaction professional and courteous.
As consumers continue to demand self-service, call center management must be on the leading edge, providing access to the right tools and seamless integration to ensure the consistent experience. If these elements are lacking, stop offering self-service, revamp, improve the strategy and start again.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi