By Graham Ede – CEO – Yonder Digital Group… In today’s customer experience arena, businesses cannot rely on a reactive service alone to beat competitors; superior customer service anticipates and pre-empts rather than waiting for the customer to get in touch. However what does this actually entail? A proactive approach can come across as obtrusive if customers feel they are being inundated with communications so there needs to be a focus on providing useful information and intelligent advice, providing extra value to customers.
An initial aspect of proactive customer service for businesses to aim for is providing relevant updates in advance of customers getting in touch. For instance, if a delivery is going to be late, customers should be informed as soon as possible, allowing them to make any necessary arrangements. This in turn saves company resources as it eliminates the need for each customer affected to get in touch with a complaint, and automates the process through a single notification sent out to all relevant customers. Crises can easily be averted in this way and this approach can in fact increase loyalty as it builds a relationship of trust and transparency.
It is important to get in touch with customers in the right way through utilising data collected and taking note of individual preferences. It is all very well asking customers how they wish to be contacted but these preferences must then be taken into consideration by contact centre agents, providing a truly omnichannel experience. Not only does this increase the likelihood of customer engagement, it also streamlines operations by reducing wasted marketing efforts and targeting customers via the channel with the greatest impact.
Efficient data use is key to both effective sales targeting and providing a proactive service as businesses can make intelligent and relevant predictions and recommendations to customers based on data that is already collected. Add to this mix external data sources and then you have added unexpected value to your service, for example, providing weather updates for a holiday destination in the run-up to customers’ departure. This is the type of helpful reminder that will certainly be appreciated by customers rather than being an irritant. New technologies including Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can really contribute in this area, by collating pertinent customer and external data automatically.
Furthermore, it is technology that enables a 360° view of the customer across channels, so that contact centre agents can access previous customer interactions with the company, whether via telephone or online channels. This informs their conversation with customers and helps to ensure that skilled and trained agents can provide an adapted service for each customer with ease, making the outcome of each interaction as positive as possible, not only by solving an issue, but also providing information, user tips, or even offering interesting add-ons, not simply with the aim to upsell but also to engage with the customer and build a long-term relationship.
It is therefore essential to ensure that agents have access to an updated and maintained data repository. However a crucial point is that data must be structured and stored correctly at capture to ensure that it can be analysed. A ‘tagging’ system is best for this as it will enable your system to link up relevant data at the right time. Otherwise it can be extremely difficult to manage large pools of information.
Advances in technology and the way businesses are approaching customer service are evolving over months rather than years. It is important not to leave traditional methods behind as you consider how technology can aid your business. There must be a balance between automated and live support, as well as between reactive and proactive customer interaction. Customers are more likely to appreciate this balanced, strategic approach and brands should therefore look to improve their customer experience strategies and analyse opportunities for greater efficiency and initiative.