Meet your customers where they want to be met, or lose their business
I recently legally changed my name, and it was quite an ordeal. After researching the process on their website, I tried calling the Social Security Administration to confirm the steps I needed to take; however, I couldn’t get through due to issues with their call system. Then, I headed down to the local office, where I was told I had to make an appointment online. After I attempted to call another number, I waited on hold for two hours and was then told to mail in my documentation and not make an appointment online.
Comparatively, when it came time to change my name on my bank cards, I simply hopped online, chatted with a bot on the bank website, which provided me with the necessary paperwork, and walked me through the process from beginning to end.
My point with all of this is not to complain about the Social Security Administration but to make a point for any organization with customers. Today, customers need to be met on the channel of their choice and receive support in as few touchpoints as possible.
The pandemic pushed processes and services to different formats, so customer service must also adopt the same approach. According to reporting from Forrester, since the pandemic, messaging as a preferred channel for support moved from 5th to 2nd choice in terms of ranking. Additionally, 55% of customer service teams report an increased customer preference for interacting over digital channels.
At the same time, companies face shortages of both labor and supplies, driving up the demand for services that differentiate. The innovators are the companies like my bank, who have adapted to this digital world and put FAQs into place to drive more traffic towards self-service, who utilize bots to handle simple activities, freeing up their Contact Center Agents and CSRs to handle complex customer service needs.
In a world where there are many options for services or products, Cerium Networks can help you be the differentiator by providing best-in-class Contact Center Cloud technologies emphasizing omnichannel functionality, allowing you to meet your customers where they want to be served. Whether it’s chatbots, social media chat that feeds right into the queue, or advanced Courtesy Call-Back capabilities, we’re helping our clients spearhead the way into empathetic, intuitive customer service experiences.
Our consultants have acumen in these emerging technologies, and your industry too. I’d urge you to look at how your customers are experiencing support from your business. What channels are you offering to serve your clients? What tools are you implementing to meet your customer on their channel of choice and solve their issue in as few touchpoints as possible? If you aren’t asking these questions, chances are your customers are- and if they don’t like the answer, they are headed to your competition.
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