Customer service refers to the how an organization manages the experience of the consumer from start to finish. Business experts agree that a positive customer experience is critical to the success and recurring revenue of any company – but in the age of technology, what does that mean?
until recent years, brick and mortar stores fully understood the concept of customer service. When someone walked through your doors, you greeted them politely, helped them to find what they needed, suggested other items which might work well for them, and processed the transaction accurately and efficiently. Shop owners may have even developed their own signature style – by adding something extra to the order, or following up to make sure that the customer was happy with their purchase. In reality, the goals of customer service have not changed – but our means of delivering an exceptional customer experience has evolved in many ways.
Customer Service Innovations
The Rise & Fall of the Call Center: Once we moved past the community shops, call centers became a critical mode of communication with the customer. With only landlines available, it was necessary for companies to employ a team of people to take orders, answer questions and solve customer issues. And while the call center became a staple in most sales organizations, they only lasted a couple of decades, replaced largely by mobile messaging when cell phones came into vogue. The technology evolved quickly, and messaging apps are not only the most popular apps in existence, but they are utilized broadly in modern customer service scenarios.
Keeping Track of Customer Data: Most of us remember the dread of calling a customer service line, never knowing how many people we would need to speak with before our problem was resolved. We would constantly repeat contact information, the facts surrounding our issue, and even be required to continually provide security information at every step. Customer service applications of today will retain passwords, save customer history and have personal information readily available. Many organizations can pull up a full customer profile with your phone number or email. Organizations must continue along the path of building personalized customer profiles which are at the fingertips of their customer service reps – or they will see their customer engagement suffer.
Identifying Needs Proactively: While clients may be a little surprised at how intuitive their phone is, the fact that targeted messaging is being delivered to us is becoming more and more common. Utilizing the power of individual data allows organizations to target those most likely to buy – but it also eases the burden of consumers to do multiple searches. Whether a shopping app suggests additional purchases which make sense with those in a shopping cart, or a rental car company sends an ad to someone who just booked a flight – customer service functions as a personal concierge, anticipating every need. The better an organization can understand the technology, the more focused and cost effective their marketing can be.
Allowing Clients to Take Control: From online shopping carts to choosing which toppings to add to a burrito, the more an organization can allow a client to customize their experience, the more likely that customer will return. Automated applications make this easier for everyone involved – allowing a client to pick and choose what they prefer to purchase, and delivering the order in a concise format to your fulfillment team. By permitting a customer to have full control of their ordering experience – and making it clean, intuitive and fast – a company can capture a client for life.
If you are looking for ways to streamline and automate your customer service procedures, call the experts at Alliance IT. We are here to help you identify the latest technologies and apps available, and can assist in determining which are right for your specific business. Don’t get left behind in the customer service revolution – own it. Call us today.
