Generally, call center agents are the main source of interaction with customers after a purchase has been made. As expected, these agents can have a wide variety of responsibilities, including answering questions, sending more difficult questions elsewhere in the company, providing technical support, and upselling.

This is why it is so important that call center agents receive excellent training and coaching. These professionals must not only be mindful of the mood and feelings of the customer, as well as company policy, but they must also comply with any and all government regulations, should they apply. Call center managers thus find it helpful to closely track the quality of such service with respect to these factors. Agents can then be scored on different aspects of their interactions with customers, exposing weaknesses that can be later remedied.

One way to do this is with call monitoring technology, where calls can be collected, recorded and analyzed using automated speech analytics applications. According to Jeanne Landau, a marketing veteran writing for Business2Community, more and more of this technology is being used by businesses everyday. Call data can be aggregated and analyzed, and speech analytics can make it easier to use the data to change future business practices, she writes.

“With the latest development of cloud-based solutions, businesses have immediate access to real-time data, which is both cost-effective and helps them address many different business objectives,” she explained.

Customer experience management (CEM) technology is also important. Companies can use such technology to increase upselling, as well as customer loyalty, with each satisfied customer telling potential new customers in the community.

One study showed that 55 percent of people are willing to recommend a company to others because of outstanding service, more so than because of a company’s products or prices. Remember, too, that 82 percent of people have stopped doing business with a company due to a negative customer experience, many of which go on to tell others about that negative experience. Morover, 85 percent of people report that they would pay 25 percent more for a superior customer experience.

Companies are thus encouraged to create a Voice of the Customer hub, which includes direct information given to the company by the customer, through channels such as a customer survey. It also includes indirect information, where businesses listen to customers’ comments about the company on social media and other forums. These systems can analyze this data to obtain inferred information, supplying the business with information about the customer based on operational data and historical customer experiences. The company can then follow and analyze trends, customer sentiment and identify root causes for satisfaction or dissatisfaction.  

Even small improvements in customer experience can lead to a positive financial impact on a business. Of course, outstanding customer service does not just impact the bottom line.

Consider the following story of a customer-service rep from a satellite-dish network who patiently worked with a stroke victim to get their TV service working again. The agent spent 45 minutes with her, showing kindness and patience.

Her daughter, who wants to remain anonymous, wrote in a blog post meant for the service rep that her mother who, “one year ago, lost all concept of time, dates, numbers, and names—was given a renewed sense of hope and the best day she has had in a long time because of your kindness. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, from a very faraway daughter.”