Delayed Contact Resolution

January 26, 2012 — Kelly

Over the past few months, I noticed a new trend in my interactions with contact centers.  When a problem could not be quickly resolved or a question efficiently answered, agents have promised a future return call with a resolution.   In the past, it seemed that I would be on hold or find myself engaging in small talk with agents so this new trend is a marked difference.

For the most part, I have to say that I’m impressed.  The benefits of ending the first contact with a promise for follow up are undeniable for customers.  I don’t have to waste my time (or mobile plan minutes!) while the agent researches my file or finds a way to resolve the problem. The agent can then take the time to fully and accurately find a resolution.

However, there are a few key considerations that must be part of any plan to delay resolution after the first contact:

  • Adjust metrics accordingly.  Obviously, you can’t use first contact resolution as a metric; beyond that, though, there are likely other metrics you will need to adjust.  For example, how will you account for the time that agents will need to research issues and follow up with customers?  Agents will need some time available when they are not actively taking calls so that they can resolve issues and communicate with customers.  It may be unrealistic to continue to apply the same metrics.
  • Outline a clear process for resolution and follow up.  In my experience, it’s a tossup whether I’ll ever hear back from the agent with any resolution.  From a customer’s perspective, it’s much more irritating to be promised resolution and not hear back than to spend a few extra minutes on the phone with an agent!  Be sure that your contact center procedures close this loop to ensure resolution.
  • Create a communication plan between agents and supervisors.  Often, the reason that further communication is needed is because the problem requires supervisor intervention.  If supervisors aren’t quickly available during the first customer contact, be sure that the communication plan between agents and supervisors is clear for cases that are elevated to the supervisor’s queue.
  • Documentation.  Just in case there is a breakdown in the resolution process, it’s critical to ensure that the agent has fully documented the communication with the customer and any steps that have been taken toward resolution.  If the customer does have to make the follow-up phone call, at least he/she will be saved the trouble of repeating all of the details!

Delaying resolution beyond the initial contact offers potential for the time savings for customers to translate to improved customer satisfaction; however, it is important that contact center managers fully consider the changes that may be required to successfully implement any such changes!

Posted in Call center KPIs, Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

Capturing and Utilizing Customer Satisfaction Data

January 19, 2012 — Maureen

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”  As customer service professionals, we can all agree that it is important to capture customer satisfaction data so that we may improve policies that affect the customer experience.  However, there is disagreement on the best way to track and utilize that information.

A recent article from the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) discussed the commonly used post-call survey. That is, the request for a customer to please stay on the line at the end of the call to rate their experience. Call center reports often indicate low response levels, and it’s not hard to see why. First of all, participants are self-selecting and you will not get a representative sample of customers. Those most likely to complete the survey are likely to be either people with a lot of time on their hands, or people who had a terrible experience and want to vent about it.

The ICMI article suggests that the post-call survey is indeed an imperfect data source, but when data is scarce, beggars can’t be choosers. Call center managers can fill in some gaps by going to social media to unearth unsolicited forms of feedback about their company. While this method also limits you to feedback from those with extreme customer experiences (good or bad), it does provide another piece of the puzzle.

How can customer service managers improve response rates for satisfaction surveys? Incentives are a great way to do just that. I usually won’t take time out of my busy schedule to offer feedback to a company…unless, that is, I am entered into a raffle to win a great prize or receive a coupon off a future purchase. A small incentive can yield large dividends in terms of response rate.

Another way to up your response numbers, and thereby improve accuracy of the information, is to rely on multiple media for feedback requests. Maybe a customer doesn’t have time to stay after the call to offer feedback, but they would be responsive to an email request received in their downtime.

Status bars on online surveys always keep me motivated to continue. If I know I’m 80% done, I’m more likely to push through and answer the last few questions. However, if there is no status bar, I may fear that there are too many more questions left and decide it’s not worth my time to stay and find out.

Responding to customer feedback is an excellent way to let customers know that you value their time and opinions. If the customer thinks his feedback has gone into a black hole, they are less likely to offer feedback again. Responding to feedback is also a great way to relationship-build, because the customer begins to see the company as a partner, engaged in two-way dialogue and responsive to their needs.

How does your company use call center analysis to interpret customer satisfaction data?

Posted in Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

2012 Contact Center Resolution: Improve Integration

January 10, 2012 — Kelly

After a quick review of the 2011 postings, it was easy to identify a consistent theme: integration and alignment!  As the new year begins, now is a great time to assess integration within your contact center.

Integration between customer service, marketing, and product management

Have you made any strides in integrating your customer service department with your marketing department?  Strong relationships among your departments will both make your contact center more productive and increase the success of other company departments.

Ultimately, this integration will allow you to pursue options for proactive customer care, which offers the potential double whammy of increased customer satisfaction and additional revenue:

Integration of agent training and tools

Are your agents fully equipped to handle all of their customer contacts?  Providing them with training to enhance the appropriate depth of knowledge as well as the proper tools to do their jobs will have clear impact on your contact center productivity.

Integration of smart phones and other devices

With the increasing trend for smart phone use, it is critical to find ways for you, your customers, and your employees to integrate these devices.

Posted in Business, Call Center Management, Call Center Resources, Customer service, Miscellaneous, Training. No Comments »

Integrating Customer Service

January 3, 2012 — Kelly

A brief article in the January 2012 edition of CRM Magazine discussed the “complex ecosystem” of modern call centers; one of the key findings was the inconsistent integration across communication channels.  The article sites a recent report that found that “transactional history and customer histories are often unavailable and inconsistent” and “ninety percent of companies do not have full integration across all…interaction channels, which include phone, email, chat, and Web-self service.”

Take a look at your own contact center.  Do your employees have access to the full range of customer information as well as any necessary or helpful product or corporate documentation?  Is your information maintained in separate silos, making it difficult for CSRs to access it efficiently to best serve your customers?

The benefits of full integration are unmistakable.  Agents with access to customer history can better understand the background and can more efficiently close the most recent contact.

  • Improved customer satisfaction – We’ve all been on the customer side of a conversation, where we find ourselves repeating the same information several times.  Full integration reduces, or even eliminates, this need and thereby reduces frustration for customers.
  • Improved employee morale – Employees who are better equipped to do their jobs well will find more pride in their work.  Additionally, any way to reduce customer frustration, or even anger, will improve a CSR’s day immensely!
  • Performance metrics – Agents will be able to more quickly close each customer contact because time will not be wasted rehashing information that has already been archived.

This year, I witnessed the success of this integration firsthand.  I did much of my holiday shopping online and was impressed with the frequency with which companies did have access to my entire shopping history.  When I encountered a problem checking out with a department store, I used the chat function to contact a representative.  She could use my shopping bag number to see my cart and resolve the concern.  Later, when I wanted to return only a portion of the order, the call center agent could access my invoice as well as the previously saved chat.  Overall, the entire process was much less frustrating (both for me and the agents) and more efficient, leaving me a much more satisfied customer.

Posted in Call Center Management, Call Center Resources, Customer service, Performance Management. 1 Comment »

FCR and Customer Satisfaction: A Match Made in Heaven

December 13, 2011 — Special Contributor

The following article is courtesy of Peggy Carlaw.  Peggy Carlaw is the founder of Impact Learning Systems. Impact helps companies develop and implement customer service strategies to improve the customer experience. Their consulting services and training programs help organizations create a customer-focused culture while producing measurable business results. Peggy is also the author of three books published by McGraw-Hill including Managing and Motivating Contact Center Employees.

When you call a support center to get help on an issue or have a question answered, will you be more satisfied with the company if:

  1. The customer representative is knowledgeable and is able to resolve your issue on the first call?
  2. The representative is unsure how to help you, puts you on hold, and then asks you to call back so that a supervisor can help you?

It’s pretty obvious, right? If a company can resolve your problem on the first try, you’ll think more favorably of the company and rate your customer satisfaction experience higher.

First-Call Resolution (FCR) is one of the simplest—and most effective ways a company can improve customer satisfaction.

The statistics back the correlation between FCR and customer satisfaction

Numerous studies between FCR and CSAT rates show the link. For example:

  • 20% of callers don’t have their issue resolved on the first call.
  • 68% of those with unresolved issues are at risk for defecting to another company.
  • CSAT rates are, on average, 35-45 % lower when a second call is made for the same issue.
  • For every 1% of FCR improvement, companies are likely to see a 1% improvement in CSAT rates.
  • When an issue is resolved on the first try, only 3% of customers are likely to go to a competitor.

And the stats go on … but you get the point. To improve your customer service, work on your FCR rates. There’s definitely a business case for addressing resolution rates!

But, for many companies, improving FCR is a complex issue. What’s going on?

Just improve your FCR and you’ll have happier customers! Easier said than done, right? Let’s examine some of the most common barriers to FCR.

  • Complex Products or Issues: FCR is much easier for, say, an online retail store, where a customer is calling to get more information on dress sizes, than a web-hosting company that deals with technical domain issues and server problems.If you have a complex problem or have a support center that deals with highly technical matters, focusing on FCR may not apply. If that’s the case, focus on having highly trained, independent-thinking reps who can work efficiently to solve customer matters—even if it takes multiple calls. Your focus then will be on reducing the time or the number of calls until the issue is resolved.
  • To measure FCR, you have to first define “fix.” When tracking metrics of any kind, you need to clearly define your tracking parameters. For FCR, what does “fix” a customers’ issue mean to you? Did you solve a URL issue, but still leave open other questions that need to be tackled? Define issues, problem by problem (or in a set of problems, as the case may be) before you set out to track and improve FCR rates. Additionally, you’ll need to define what “contact” means. Is e-mail a contact? Is a web-generated request a contact?
  • It takes two to tango. When looking at FCR, you may find it hard to control your rates if you have a customer base with a low level of experience. Depending on your industry and product, your customer’s understanding of the product will affect how long it takes for the representative to resolve the issue. If you sell B2B technical equipment,  your customer will likely have a base understanding of the product and may just need a little assistance. But if you are selling technical services to the B2C world, the learning curve may be steeper and the time to resolution longer.
  • Technical skills of your representatives. The training you provide to your representatives can make a dramatic difference in your FCR rates—particularly if you have a technical service or product. Hopefully your management team understands that an investment in technical customer service training is well-worth it when considering the ramifications of low FCR rates.
  • Self-service’s impact on FCR. More and more customers rely on web forums—and on your website—to help them resolve issues. This means that customers who would have called you previously (most likely with easier issues) are now figuring out answers themselves. Customers who do end up calling, therefore, are often those who couldn’t resolve the issue and present more complex problems that could be harder to resolve on the first call.
  • Your representatives’ comfort level with internal tools. You may think that a hefty investment in a slick CRM system is just the ticket, but with any internal tools you have in place, make sure you train your reps thoroughly on how to use the tools at their disposal. If a representative is fumbling or taking a long time to figure out how to use a system, most likely, it will take longer (or not be possible) to solve a customer issue on the first try.

The lesson? Improve the factors you can control that help improve FCR

The above list is just a brief sample of the many barriers that companies face when confronting low FCR rates and undesirable CSAT scores. However, even if you have a very complex product, and even if you’re dealing with a customer base that comes to you with a lower-level of understanding, you can still offer stellar customer service and get your FCR rates as low as possible for your industry and product type. The key? Your customer service training program. When you choose to focus on the quality of service your representatives offer your customers, and the technical training your employees receive, you are likely to see a natural increase in your FCR rates, and your loyal customers will continue to reward you with business. Heavenly!

Republished with author’s permission from original post by Peggy Carlaw.

Posted in Business, Call center KPIs, Customer service. 1 Comment »

Dazzle your customers with Proactive Customer Care

November 30, 2011 — Camille

Earlier this year I wrote two blog posts on aligning customer service and marketing, see part 1 and part 2, and a post about Proactive Customer Care.  I recently read an interesting interview with John Goodman, Vice Chairman of Tarp Worldwide and author of “Strategic Customer Service: Managing the Customer Experience to Increase Positive Word of Mouth, Build Loyalty, and Maximize Profits” and thought he provided some valuable insight to add to my previous posts.

Goodman notes that Tarp Worldwide was the original group to quantify that it “costs five times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep one.”  This is a vital statistic for contact center managers because customer retention has a great deal to do with customer service.

One thing I found most interesting in the interview I read is a theory of Goodman’s that he calls “psychic pizza…that is, ringing a customer’s doorbell and saying, ‘Here is the pizza you were about to order.’”  Goodman believes, and I agree, that if a company can anticipate the next question a customer will ask or the next service a customer will need, the company can proactively provide the answers or services without the customer having to do anything.  One example of this is AAA bringing you a cold bottle of water when your car breaks down on a hot day and apologizing for being late even if the serviceperson is early.  Goodman points out that this kind of service dazzles the customer and even if the rest of the service is a disaster, survey results are still outstanding because of that initial dazzling contact.  In other words, the unexpected positive contact overshadows subsequent service issues.

Goodman’s book offers advice for maximizing the relationship between service, sales and marketing such as setting proper expectations up front and educating people when the product or service is sold.  Working with your sales and marketing teams can help you establish a way for your agents to pass up complaints through the chain so you can decide how to proactively dazzle your customers throughout every department in your organization.

Posted in Business, Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

Agent Compensation and Incentivizing Metrics

November 8, 2011 — Tom

Please tell me you don’t still have an agent-of-the-month program.  Or an agent wall-of-fame based on tenure.  Please.  Are such programs helping you achieve your bottom line or customer experience (CX) goals?  It’s time to move on.  I’ll show you how, in three easy-to-swallow steps.

Ditch the tenure-based or metrics-less “morale” program.

  • That’s right.  No more meaningless agent-of-the-month program.  Your agents will thank you, believe me.

Implement a metrics-driven compensation plan.

  • Linking the customer experience and compensation is near-guaranteed to get your agents’ attention in a big way.  Be ready for this; and be ready for negative push-back from your staff.  Those that are scared of your new program will do everything in their power to sabotage it, from gaming it to ignoring it.  Be ready and take appropriate action early.
  • Use incentivizing metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) to compensate your agents for spectacular performance.  First, establish a baseline for inclusion in the compensation package.  Be sure your sample is controlled and stable.  Also, use a large sample from which you establish your baseline (think 200-400 responses per measurement unit, such as department or skill-group).  Such a large sample size will create confidence in the system, and eliminate random swings in the data.
  • Next, define the data points that will prove successful execution of each behavior, and therefore, the associated metric.  Your agents will never commit to a compensation program under which they have no control.  Agents’ NPS ratings are not (believe it or not) totally within their control.  NPS and CSAT ratings are attributable to groups of employees (frequently not just one), processes, tools, and technology.  Don’t blame your agents’ poor CSAT rating on improperly implemented IVR technology.  Just as importantly, don’t let poor performers drag down the pack.  Compensate by departmental or skill-based group metrics; train the outliers; reward the superstars.

Rinse and repeat.

  • Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker, says, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last.  Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”  Re-examine your compensation and motivational programs on a periodic interval.  Organizations with ten or fewer agents should allow for monthly redesign efforts.  Organizations with up to fifty agents should plan on quarterly program evaluations.  If your organization has more than fifty agents, annual exams are the way to go.

Posted in Call center KPIs, Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

What’s your “why?”

October 25, 2011 — Tom

It’s one thing to delight the customers that contact your center, but have you considered communicating your “why” statement to them – the reason you do what you do?  Your “why” statement is not about “what” you do or “how” you do it.  Your “why” statement is all about what you, as an organization, believe in – your business cause or purpose.  When’s the last time your agents communicated that on the phone or in an email to your customers or prospective customers.

Let me give you an example.  Apple is an easy, iconic one.  Apple is as much a computer manufacturing organization as Lenovo and Dell.  But what sets them apart?  It’s their “why” statement, which I imagine is something like: “to change the way media is created and consumed.”  Remember Apple’s Think Different campaign?  What was that all about, but changing how media is consumed and created – by thinkers, artists, businesspeople, you, and me.  Who doesn’t want to “think different” (sic)?

Here’s the ad text from that campaign:

Here’s to the crazy ones.  The misfits.  The rebels.  The troublemakers.  The round pegs in the square holes.  The ones who see things differently.  They’re not fond of rules.  And they have no respect for the status quo.  You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.  About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.  Because they change things.  They push the human race forward.  While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.  Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Who is Apple describing?  On a one-dimensional level, they’re describing their promotional figureheads: Jim Henson, Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, et al.  On another level, they’re describing their (hopeful) customer base – their ideal buyer personas.  Going one level deeper, we see that Apple is describing their “why” – their raison d’être, or reason for existence.

When’s the last time you communicated your “why” statement to callers?  To your agents?  To your boss?  I urge you to try it out; I guarantee you’ll be pleased with the results.

Posted in Business, Customer service. No Comments »

Why wouldn’t the social customer be right?

September 27, 2011 — Camille

One of the articles in the August 2011 issue of Customer Interaction Solutions struck me as particularly interesting, “The (Social) Customer Isn’t Always Right” by Brendan Read.

The reason I found this article interesting, other than the fact I work in marketing for the call center industry and social media is a hot topic in both arenas right now, is his argument that invalid complaints are clouding social media.

I’ll be the first to admit, there are people out there that take advantage of companies and bend and break rules daily.  Complaints from these customers, and complaints that say nothing other than “this company is horrible,” really aren’t worth focusing time and effort on.  However, unless you see nothing but suspect complaints on a person’s Twitter feed or Facebook page how do you know their complaint is invalid and not worth pursuing?

From a customer satisfaction perspective, and from a brand management perspective, I would argue that until you see a particular individual taking advantage of your company’s goodwill in responding to social media comments, every complaint is worth pursuing.  If for no other reason than the fact that other people will see the complaint and potential customers will see your response.

I’d also like to give a little credit to the “street smarts” of social media participants.  People actively engaged in social media are very adept at weeding out, and ignoring, those that aren’t adding to the conversation.  If a person uses social media to do nothing other than complain about one company after another people aren’t going to listen.  This is where I agree with Brendan, those individuals aren’t worth wasting your company’s resources on.

As call center technology advances, it will be easier to weed out the invalid complaints and focus on the customers, and prospects, that are valuable over the long haul.  Products like Cisco SocialMiner and real-time reporting solutions that incorporate social media feeds are well on their way to making social media management in the call center much easier.

What is your company’s policy on reaching out to customers through social media?

Posted in Business, Customer service, Social media. No Comments »

Connecting Smart Phones to your Contact Center

September 20, 2011 — Kelly

Look around you and you’ll notice that it seems like everyone has a smartphone or is thinking about getting one.  I’ve found that I actually spend much less time on the computer now, because the smartphone allows me to do many of the same things and functions nearly seamlessly among my email, Internet, and phone.  Curious about how smartphones integrate with contact centers, I found “Customers, smartphones, contact centers: Are you making the right connections?,” by Brett Schockley on the Avaya blog.

The biggest factor that Shockley highlights for integrating smartphones as part of your contact center plans is to bring mobile interactions into contact centers in “full context”.  This context could include the customer’s navigation of the mobile application or account information as well as a free pass to “cut” in line, based on the time the customer has spent trying to help himself on the phone.  For customers and employees alike, he points out the option to send and receive pictures to facilitate the communication process as well.

What other ways can you assimilate smartphone usage into your contact center?

  • Are there applications that your company could develop and market to encourage and improve customer service?  Consider apps that allow a customer to check account status or make inquiries from their phones.
  • How can you include images as part of your communication with customers?  If a picture is worth a thousand words, a photo could save time and frustration in the communication process.
  • Can you use outgoing contacts (text and emails) to keep customers informed?  Especially for time-sensitive information, being able to contact customers who are on-the-go can be critical.
  • Can you integrate other smartphone capabilities as part of your communication process?  Beyond cameras, you could utilize GPS, texting, email, and the Internet to aid communication between the agent and the customer.

Shockely points out that within the next four years, 80% of customers will own smartphones!  Contact center personnel must start planning now so they can seamlessly serve the majority of their customers as the technology continues to evolve.

Posted in Business, Customer service, Miscellaneous, Technology. No Comments »
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