Digital is here to stay, this is not the question. But how we use digital solutions for a better world is still largely unequally distributed across cultures and companies. What defines great customer service: speed, courtesy, listening, thoughtfulness, sound advice, and much much more.
Customer service during the digital revolution
User-first
In an international world, do all cultures expect the same service? Perhaps, perhaps not, but one thing is certain, users are more and more demanding quality service from all angles:
- from a mobile phone out on the street
- from a desktop at work
- from a laptop at a café
- from within your establishment in a human to human contact
In a B to C world we have become accustomed to a seamless experience between store and digital. Logistics have been revolutionized through enhanced digital services designed to help customers make quicker purchasing decisions. In a B to B world, customer service is often a human related issue, but digital solutions facilitate that connection.
The whole eco-system of your brand is constantly scrutinized. What can digital do?
The necessity for digital with customer interaction
Today, you’ll hear more about customer care or e-care. Taking care of the customer. Listening and improving your service is important. Digital must play a role in helping out.
The 24 hour a day availability. This concept may seem like we are overusing productive resources, but with AI available more and more, it is possible through chat and other tools to offer around the clock service. For local companies this may seem unnecessary, but certainly international companies should be using tools that give customers 24 hour access.
Is it necessary? More and more analytics are telling us yes, this is necessary to meet KPIs. Customer service digital tools have been getting more and more positive reviews. According to McKinsey in a 2014 report, “customer satisfaction can be increased by 33% and costs cut by 25 – 35%.”
Their conclusion is that “First-rate e-care companies treat digital customer service as a long-term, strategic transformation, not a bolted-on capability.”
In other words, not only is it a cost advantage, but it can generate cross-selling revenue that impacts your bottom line.
Digital e-care tools at hand
our e-reputation is still at the heart of the matter. Social media can be a place to showcase a company’s ability to embrace negative comments with helpful and sincere replies.
What are some other tools that you can use to boost your customer service? Here are a few common examples:
Third-party review platforms and forums: follow what your customers are saying and be a part of the solution by having a representative actively engage in both negative and positive experiences.
Cobrowsing or screen-sharing can be a good way for companies with services on the web. This gives direct access and visibility to any difficulties.
Apps are particularly good at enhancing customer service. The app resides on the users phone and can focus on the user data to make their lives easier. We’ll see this a lot with airlines more or less succeeding at offering good customer service straight from the phone.
The chatbox offers a quick chance for prospects to reach out to companies, but as a customer service tool, it has not been proven to be widely used. But it remains an option for the 24 hour day
Collect data and measure your KPIs. Keep collecting information and data from your experiences and adjust accordingly. See how many users use your digital supports from start to finish, or how many of them have to reach out to a human in spite of the tools.
Tools, such as CRMs, should be in place. They do not only help with prospection, but you can keep a history of their service requests, and it helps your company remember an issue and also to greet them by name.
In conclusion
Customer satisfaction is becoming the ultimate KPI. And great customer service can be a value-added aspect to your business. Investing in digital tools and solutions that foster customer relationships should be a big part of your business and digital strategy.