Are you letting your customers serve themselves?
Customer service and the call center environment have been rapidly evolving as technology and consumer demands change. This rapid change will continue and may even accelerate as technology becomes increasingly innovative. One of the most significant impacts on customer service centers has been the adoption of self-service options. Rather than calling a live agent with every question that arises, consumers now have an array of resources available, including mobile apps, chatbots, social media, and others. Has your company implemented self-service technology? Here are two main reasons to consider doing so.
- Consumers are increasingly comfortable with customer service that is self-serve, especially the Millennials who grew up with mobile technology. The result is that the calls coming into your call center are more complex issues that need the human touch. Customer service agents are working on more difficult issues than before, which is a more productive use of their time.
- Now that customers are using self-service before calling into a live agent, the traditional call center is becoming the escalation channel. This also means that customers calling in may be already frustrated because their prior efforts to find an answer was unsuccessful. Customer service agents are dealing with more complicated issues, although this can be a great opportunity to turn around the situation and build loyalty.
Because the customer contact center is evolving along with technology, an increasing number of organizations are embracing a concierge approach to resolving customer issues. Rather than the conventional tiered structure where straightforward questions were resolved quickly and more complex issues passed on the specialists, many companies are now empowering their contact center agents and providing the tools they can use to resolve any issue from start to finish.
Complementing Self-Service Options
The concierge approach complements self-service options perfectly, and agents are able to answer questions more quickly and thoroughly with better interaction. This is proving to be a highly productive method to deal with the more complex, high-touch consumer demands that many contact centers now receive. In addition, empowering live agents elevates their importance within the company, which makes it more likely they will provide excellent service by being invested in your organization and your customers.
The landscape of customer service is changing rapidly as technology continues to evolve. Companies will need to find new, innovative options for improving the customer experience. If your company is still considering whether to adopt self-service options, you can start by testing one self-service channel prior to rolling out more applications.
Self-service applications have altered the consumer experience and they are an efficient resource for answering basic consumer questions. By embracing this technology and consistently working to improve the overall customer experience, your company can reap the rewards of greater growth and productivity.
