Call Center Management Featured Article
3 Ways You Can Avoid Sending Your Customers to the Competition
The traditional call center is accustomed to answering calls from customers – it’s why it was created and drives much of its activity. But what happens when the face of the customer starts to change? Does it have a significant impact on call center management? While every generation likes to believe that it is unique, the millennials may be spot on when they claim that the market is changing.
In this case, it’s not just a matter of age, but the technology that is available to those in this demographic. While all of us may carry smartphones, use self-service channels and shop on Amazon, the millennial generation was born into this way of doing business, of living life. They don’t know what it’s like to not have texting as a communication choice and it changes the expectations when it comes to the customer experience.
Just how powerful is the customer experience? If you consider data from Accenture (News - Alert), there is a 66 percent chance that your customers may switch to a competitor simply due to poor customer service. In a study conducted by RightNow, 73 percent of consumers got connected with a brand solely based on their customer service experience. It’s not just about making the sale – it’s about turning customers into loyalists and then into advocates.
According to an I Want it Now piece, there are some things that call center management can do to ensure the customer experience is everything that it should be, whether they have a millennial on the line or not. After all – millennials may be great in number, but Boomers have the greater funds. Therefore, you need multiple channels that appeal to both segments of your target audience. Ensuring agents are answering the phone and responding to email is key, but your more tech savvy customers will want the same level of care via social media.
Next, don’t assume that your customer service skills are stellar just because no one is complaining. Sometimes customers say nothing and simply go to the competition. To avoid this slow and silent death, it’s critical that you’re constantly evaluating your customer service. Keeping robust monitoring in place and survey your customers. It’s important that the experience you create is actually the experience they want.
Finally, be sure to provide self-service options that actually do what customers want. That means more than just the self-service option through the call center; you want to ensure the information available on your website is the type of information that customers want to find on their own. At the same time, ensure this information is easy to navigate whether by PC or by smartphone. A failure to pay attention to these details is sure to send the individual running for the competition.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi