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Does Your Hosted Contact Center Meet Consumer Expectations?
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Does Your Hosted Contact Center Meet Consumer Expectations?

July 17, 2013

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By Susan J. Campbell,
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Do you remember your last good experience with a customer service department? It was the one that made you feel all warm and fuzzy when you got off the phone; one that made you full of anticipation until you reached your mobile device so you could share the experience with all of your followers on Twitter and Facebook (News - Alert). No? Maybe the one you remember had the opposite impact.


For the majority of the consumer base, memories of the last customer service interaction tend to fall into the negative instead of the positive category. This isn’t to suggest that we prefer the former over the latter. Instead, it speaks to the impact the negative interaction has on the psyche and what it means for a brand as a whole. Whether interacting with a hosted contact center or just one operator in a sea of hundreds in the physical center, the outcome of that experience shapes our impression from that point on.

Even more important to note for the hosted contact center company, however, is the rising level of customer expectations. Interactions don’t have to involve rude behaviors or even a lack of resolution in order to generate a frustrated customer. A poor experience may stem from simply being putting put on hold for even a couple of seconds, a lack of a Web chat feature or the tone of the agent.

A recent Aspect (News - Alert) Consumer satisfaction benchmarking report highlights that consumer demands are changing, putting higher expectations on the contact center. One surprising finding on this UK-based study is that less than half, or 47 percent, of consumers reported a good experience when interacting with customer service departments. Almost always, the reasons pointed to the level of friendliness and approachability in the staff. Nearly a third of respondents, or 32 percent, reported a bad experience in the last year, with two instances reported on average.

The good news is that some of these consumers are reporting on their experiences, as 67 percent did make a formal complaint within the last 12 months. Social media was chosen as the preferred method to air objections for 21 percent. Of those who did complain, 63 percent said that their complaint was not resolved or they were dissatisfied with the outcome – representing significant missed opportunities.

This data demonstrates key opportunities the hosted contact center can leverage in an attempt to improve interactions with the customer base. It’s not enough to have the right channels available – the contact center has to understand consumer expectations and meet them head on. An inability to do so will generate an unsatisfied customer who may be willing to look to the competition in the future. Given the cost of replacing that customer, stepping up customer-centered care is a smart move.




Edited by Blaise McNamee
Hosted Contact Center Home Page





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