Scott Hays, SNR Director, Product Marketing, at KANA®, a Verint® Company, provided some insights in a Q&A conducted in advance of the company’s webinar hosted by Loyalty360 titled “Simplify Customer Service Interactions,” which will be presented on August 28, 2014 at 1 pm EDT. To register and for more information, visit http://loyalty360.org/conferences/event/simplify-customer-service-interactions .
As a featured webinar speaker, Hays will discuss all facets of customer service – the challenges, trends, and importance of simplifying – and how it affects the overall customer experience. Attendees will learn practical ideas for improving the customer service experience, which can benefit agents, customers, and the business when done right.
Why is it that many companies have difficulty attaining a simple, smooth customer service process?
In most cases, simplification is not easy. Most organizations have complex systems and processes that are in play behind the scenes and at the point of customer service interactions. The recommendation to take an “outside in” approach—to walk in the customers’ shoes—is advised. But the further “in” you look, the messier things get. Simplification often requires a partnerships across business and IT and across departments to integrate applications, share data (in real time), and automate processes.
Can you offer an example or two of how a company can simplify customer service interactions?
With the approach I mentioned above, it’s likely that dozens or even hundreds of things could be done to simplify customer service interactions. Here are a couple of examples:
- A telecom provider offers a Web self-service feature where a customer can view the features of her mobile phone plan and their prices in a simple menu-like format where she can select a new option or add a feature without having to contact the provider.
- A contact center agent desktop automatically displays knowledge articles related to the customer, his products or services, the issue at hand and possible related topics automatically from the context gathered from the IVR, live chat and other systems of record without the agent having to type in a single keyword.
How important is employee engagement/training in achieving a simple customer service process that works for everyone?
It’s critical and it’s multifaceted. It needs to include not only informational and process training, but also cultural indoctrination that reflects the brand. Training should be delivered in multiple modes and both before and during an employee’s work on the front line. By “during,” I mean that instructional and process training can be both presented and automated just in time as a particular activity is occurring. Doing so can greatly reduce the costs of up-front and ongoing training.
What are some of today’s challenges facing customer service organizations?
Hmmm, where do I start? There is a fundamental problem that many organizations have overcome but a surprising number of organizations are still struggling with. It’s breaking down the silos to deliver holistic, personalized service for customers. There are lots of silos: communication channels, applications, data stores, departments, etc. Those are formidable, but keep in mind that the customer doesn’t care about those challenges. In his or her world, everything about an interaction should be centered on him or her. If a customer service organization isn’t already aggressively marching to an omnichannel, unified experience for customers and agents, it is behind the curve and taking a huge competitive risk.
What are some trends you’re seeing as to how customer service might evolve in the near future?
Concurrent, multimodal service is emerging as a vanguard in meeting customer expectations. Better customer websites and mobile devices are driving it. A customer is quite likely now to be browsing a site while communicating with an agent via text chat while navigating the IVR for the possibility of getting an agent on the phone. Oh, and she might have her thumb hovering over the “Send” button on a tweet too. A sophisticated system needs to identify this concurrency and work it to the advantage of the customer and the agents involved.
To register for “Simplify Customer Service Interactions,” a free webinar hosted by Loyalty360 and presented by Kana, Vistaprint, and Forrester Research, visit http://loyalty360.org/conferences/event/simplify-customer-service-interactions .