Having multiple channels available in a business’s customer service model is great, but excellence only comes when performance is consistent across all of them. In an ideal world, there should be no weak links that threaten to degrade the service customers receive - this is what makes a customer service experience omni-channel, rather than multichannel.
[caption id="attachment_21642" align="alignright" width="179"]
Martin Taylor[/caption]
Perfecting omni-channel is becoming particularly important in an era where the subscription economy is ramping up the emphasis on customer service for consumers and providers alike. Consumers are increasingly switching from one-off purchases in favour of long-term, convenient subscription relationships with brands, where service is a key part of the picture. Indeed, a Salesforce report revealed that 80% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. It’s now more vital than ever that businesses maximise their omni-channel customer service capabilities to meet the expectations of customers and retain their loyalty.
With that in mind, here are five omni-channel tips for the coming year, that every business focusing on customer service can commit to:
1 - Know your customers’ preferred channels
Today’s consumers expect the brands they patronise to offer multiple engagement channels. A key consideration to accommodating this is not just providing those channels, but also understanding that everyone has their own preferences across both ‘traditional’ and digital platforms. This has made it essential that brands understand their customers’ channel preferences, and adapt their services accordingly. Good customer service practise then dictates that they should stick to these methods of communication or risk alienating customers with spam-like attempts to reach them across every available channel.
2 - Invest in one cloud-based omni-channel solution
In common with many other areas of today’s data-driven economy, solutions provided by cloud-based service providers are disrupting the way technology is applied in customer service environments. Businesses are making a strategic move away from traditional on-premise infrastructure in favour of versatile ‘as-a-service’ options which broaden functionality while reducing the need for big ticket CapEX investment. But in doing so, businesses need to be mindful that building an omni-channel solution from disparate service providers can present integration challenges and introduce multiple points of potential failure into the overall customer service platform. Providers who can offer a holistic solution are often better placed to meet the strategic and operational needs of customer service teams.
3 - Ensure quick support in real-time
Customers increasingly value and expect real-time responses to support enquiries – according to Hubspot, 90% of consumers rate an immediate response to a customer support issue as ‘important’ or ‘very important’. This means that agents who don’t have to spend time searching for answers to customer enquiries are much better placed to meet today’s service expectations. To deliver on this requirement, it’s likely that traditional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems will be replaced by much more sophisticated and effective Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems. Any organisation that sells itself on the basis of customer service excellence needs to meet the immediate needs of its customers.