Omni-Channel Customer Engagement Article

Recently I read an interesting blog post at the customer service blog, I Want It Now, about what Disney (News - Alert) quotes can teach us about customer service. It was an amusing piece, but what stuck out was the quote about if you can dream it, you can do it.

We live in an age where customers arguably are demanding better customer service than ever before. Many companies struggle with this challenge. But we also have more tools at our disposal, and firms that get creative can use these tools to more than satisfy the customer. They can use them to steal competitive advantage.

The trick is dreaming up how to use the new customer service tools at our disposal. Let’s use omni-channel communications as an example.

On the face of it, the proliferation of new ways to connect with the customer is an added burden; customer service agents now must not only answer telephone calls, they also must monitor social media channels, handle chat, talk via text message, and communicate by email. Some also must use video chat.

This can be a burden, but it also can be an opportunity if creatively applied.

For instance, these various communications channels can be pulled together with an omni-channel support solution and the various communications channels can become an asset for better customer insight and faster resolution times.

A customer support chat suggestion can be initiated when a web site visitor browses a particular area of a self-service portal, for instance. The agent can lead the customer to the right answer without the need for a contact center call, and the page being visited can be fed to the agent along with browsing history to show what the customer has been trying to find. If the customer does still need a call, it can be a lot faster, and the agent can know at the start of the call exactly what the customer needs.

Or video chat can be deployed for a tech support question, and an agent can pipe a how-to video to a customer who is struggling with a feature or setup issue. Or the agent can walk the customer through the support request instead of having to verbally describe the fix—a huge win for both parties.

Another creative use for omni-channel communication in the contact center could be an SMS that goes out to a buyer when it is time for periodic maintenance. The SMS could include a link to a website with the needed instructions for self-service, or info of where to take the product for servicing.

There are many things that can be done with the customer service technology we have today. All that’s needed is creativity.