Can mobile customer service change the face of the contact centre industry?
Every company is looking for ways to be efficient. From Human Resources to Production, no department is immune. This is also true for customer service. For decades customer service was seen as an expense. Today, most executives agree, that customer service is a core function that can strengthen your brand and grow your business.
Yet, companies are forced to explore every avenue to cut costs; the call centre is no exception.
As an outsourcing professional, I see this on a daily bases. Yet, customers want their interactions with a company to be personal. This is a truth that hasn’t changed much over the last era. Customers want to feel valued. Traditional avenues like automation and self-service don’t always cut it anymore.
Is this where mobile customer service can change the face of the call centre industry and fill the gap?
Consumer behaviour is changing. We analyse trends and communicate to our clients where we feel improvements can be made, whether it’s service level differentiation, cultural adaptation or harnessing technology to realise business outcomes. One major trend we see is the impact of the mobile revolution.
mobile customer serviceTechnology has just increased consumers need and expectation for a personalised experience. According to a CMO Council 2012 report entitled “The Leaders in Loyalty: Feeling the Love from the Loyalty Clubs,” they found that 54% of U.S. and Canadian consumers would consider ending their loyalty relationships if they were not given tailor-made, relevant content and offers.
This creates a shift in how brands must approach customer service; traditional cost saving avenues are not always viable anymore. Thankfully the technologies available today make this surge in consumer behaviour more realistic. Smartphones can act as key resources to a highly personalised consumer experience.
Capitalise on new technologies to transform the customer experience.
New products and innovations in mobility are emerging as one of the most promising areas to transform the customer experience. The mobile phone is a critical platform for developing new services and content that improves interactions and operations, increase personalisation and improve the customer experience.
The global rise in mobility and smartphone adoption presents a unique transformational opportunity for business to challenge convention in regards to customer experience.
There are a few key areas business needs to look at to be able to harness this new found clout:
Understand how mobility can be integrated into your business as a core strategy
Understand current strategy, process and organizational requirements in regard to mobility capabilities
Identify what should change in regard to customer experience
Build and deploy solutions; aligned with internal resources
Develop a clear framework for measuring results and success
The future of the customer experience will be deeply influenced by our ability to harness emerging technologies to deliver a superior personalised customer experience, while improving operational efficiencies.
The opportunity to increase personalisation, thereby meeting a customer’s core need, and saving costs can be colossal. Those willing to act, invest and execute have a rare opportunity to meet customers’ expectations and change the face of customer experience as we know it.
