While the interactions between contact centers and the customers they serve should be harmonious and symbiotic, these days, it feels more like a war sometimes. With Comcast (News - Alert) still licking its wounds from several cringe-worthy, notorious and much-circulated-on-social-media missteps, customers are reading and listening to news of these incidents, and they are beginning to view all customer support with suspicion.
The media hasn’t helped, according to a recent blog post by Oracle’s (News - Alert) Michelle Brusyo, who wrote about a recent PC Magazine article that recommended that customers purchase devices that allow them to record service and support calls so they can use them as evidence if required. Brusyo says that this attitude induces “paranoia and aggression in the consumer who doesn't want the wool pulled over their eyes.”
It becomes obvious, then, that the customer support industry needs to take steps to reverse low expectations and regain the trust of customers. The only way to do this is to eliminate harmful practices such as overly-aggressive customer retention policies (hello, Comcast!), monitor operations better to seek out bad actors among agents in real-time, and engage in customer-centric support methods designed to truly delight customers. It also means collecting feedback from customers and using it.
“The short answer to increasing expectation is to improve the quality of service,” writes Brusyo. “Every call center should be committed to keeping its customers happy – they may not always be right, but representatives should uphold that accepting their feedback is a critical component of keeping them as patrons.”
It’s also about differentiation from competitors, which is tricky in a highly commoditized market. One way companies are trying to stand out from competitors is by offering a broad choice in channels with which customers can engage with companies and collaborate with support workers. Offering choices such as Web chat, mobile apps and even visual sharing technologies such as co-browsing and screen sharing is a good strategy.
While every agent’s verbal approach to a customer support session is critical, augmenting it with visual tools – such as the ability to lead a customer through a Web-based demonstration, presentation or to self-help pages – can make a huge difference in the quality of service offered.
The goal is to change the way companies engage with existing and potential customers, according to collaboration solutions provider LiveLOOK.
“By creating an instant screen sharing experience without the technical roadblocks associated with first generation co-browsing products, companies now have a tool to provide exceptional customer service and better facilitate even the most complex sales process,” said the company.
By making an effort to collaborate with customers rather than antagonize them, companies can turn customers into loyal brand ambassadors.
Edited by Alisen Downey