Many types of customers contact your brand. Prospective customers wanting to learn more about your products or services. Existing customers with questions or who want to purchase an upgrade from you. Existing customers who are experiencing issues. But no matter the reason they’re reaching out, you should be prepared to not only address their needs, but to do so in a way so simple and convenient that they want to tell everyone about it.
The following are moments that modern contact centers can – and should – be equipped to make happen in order to increase customer satisfaction and create brand promoters.
When you have answers to their questions
Sounds easy, right? It is! Whether you’re tracking frequently asked questions and presenting the answers in an easy-to-find location or preparing your agents with the information needed to answer these questions, a company that has answers is a company with happy customers. According to RightNow, 55% of consumers say that easy access to support and information can make them fall in love with a brand.
When you’re right where they want you
Today’s customers are coming at you in all directions. Phone, email, social media, chat, etc. It can seem overwhelming to incorporate every new channel as it becomes available and to do so in a cohesive, interconnected way. Fortunately, omni-channel solutions such as VHT Navigator exist to help your contact centers create a seamless journey, add new channels as they are made available, and prevent your channels from operating in independent siloes.
An omni-channel environment allows customers to contact you in their channel of choice and still receive the same top-notch support they expect and deserve. Of course, there may still be channels that you recognize as being the most efficient, even if they’re not the point of first contact. An omni-channel solution will also allow you to guide customers to the best channel for their needs.
When you value their time
77% of consumers say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service (Forrester Research). This fact really comes into play when it comes to hold time. By offering a callback, you not only save your customers time, you also allow them to gain control of their relationship with your brand.
When you really get to know them
Personalization can be a key differentiator when it comes to customer service. Customers want to be treated like humans, which means recognizing who they are and what their previous interactions with your brand have been. If they told one agent their question already, don’t make them repeat it after they’ve been transferred. If they request a callback while messaging with a chatbot, the agent who calls them should already know what they’re looking to accomplish when they connect.
Personalization can also mean knowing how a customer likes to communicate with you and proactively using that channel. For example, if a customer always contacts you via email and an issue arises with their service that they need to be notified of – you should communicate this to them via email (as opposed to SMS, social, or one of your other channels). An omni-channel solution allows these types of preferences to be easily tracked and acted upon.
When you (pleasantly) surprise them
Our daily lives are full of little hassles that tend to add up into big headaches. When an interaction that we were expecting to be inconvenient ends up being simple and hassle-free, we love it. And what’s more – we tell people about it. It might be an issue that’s solved proactively with little to no effort. It might be the ability to get an answer from a chatbot in seconds rather than having to make time for a phone call. It might be a live agent who knows the full history of a customer’s account as soon as they call and knows exactly what they’re looking to do. When you make a customer’s day a little bit easier, you ensure that they’re going to keep their loyalty and earn brand promoters.
The little things can make a big difference. 23% of customers who had a good customer experience told 10+ people (Harvard Business Review). At every moment in the customer journey, there is an opportunity to go the extra mile and turn your customers into brand promoters.
