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Microsoft Multichannel Customer Service Report Uncovers the Importance of Channel Integration
Ask 10 businesses today if they offer multichannel customer support, and most of them would probably tell you “yes.” The problem with multichannel customer support is it seems to mean different things to different people. And while it’s paid a lot of lip service today, few companies have actually achieved a state of complete customer-centric integration between all its communications media on a single platform.
Microsoft (News - Alert) recently released its annual U.S. State of Multichannel Customer Service Report and found that consumers now regularly use at least four different channels when interacting with a brand or organization for customer-related questions and issues. So while customers may be ready for the “omni-channel” approach, most companies still aren’t. They have yet to map the new paths that customers are taking to arrive in their call center.
According to Microsoft’s report, about 78 percent of customers’ journeys today start on a computer (either a laptop or a desktop), and the other 22 percent begin on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. When it comes to engaging with a brand for assisted service, the telephone is still the preferred channel: 36 percent of respondents choose it, compared to 33 percent choosing live chat, 25 percent picking email and the remainder using online support portals (5 percent) or social media (2 percent). It’s important to keep in mind changing customer demographics, however: young people in the so-called “Millennial” generation are using email less and less, and turning to social media more and more. While social media may still be a small piece of the pie, it’s likely to grow a lot bigger as millennial customers control more wealth.
And while the telephone may still be the preferred channel for assisted communications, Americans today have little patience for waiting for it. Almost half of customers surveyed said that one to five minutes is the maximum time they’ll wait on hold. Less than 20 percent say they’ll wait more than 10 minutes. The most critical factor in a good customer experience – from the customer’s perspective – is time. Customers today expect fast, effective and immediate solutions, and if they don’t get it, they will defect in droves, often airing their grievances on social media. The report found that 68 percent of American consumers say they have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer service experience.
To provide positive customer experiences today, companies must be prepared to integrate all the communications channels their customers want into a single desktop in the call center, so agents can have a 360-degree view of the customer, even if that customer chooses two or more media channels to communicate in a single transaction.
“Customer expectations are changing and growing just as rapidly as the channels and technology consumers are now empowered with to engage, encouraging (if not demanding) that brands and organizations embrace a strategy of non-stop, customer-centric adaptation,” according to the Microsoft report. “Is it worth the investment and effort to keep trying to be a leader when it comes to customer service? You bet.”
Edited by Dominick Sorrentino