There has been a big focus lately on personalizing the customer experience, especially on the digital stage. New ways of tracking, especially through website usage, can provide mountains of data about customer locations, preferences, purchases, and even computer type and so much more. This data can then be used by marketing and customer service to create a custom user experience.
In many cases, this customization is welcomed by the customers. When I call my favorite catalog retailer, I love being greeted by name with a follow up question about my satisfaction with a recent purchase. And, after all, email blasts from a hospitality company about the best local happy hours are not particularly relevant for my 90+ year old grandmother.
However, the effort to personalize can all too easily cross the line and begin to irritate, or even spook, your customer. Consider these two red flags when reviewing your organization’s efforts to personalize your customers’ experiences:
Does the effort pigeonhole the user? Most people don’t like to be assigned to certain categories, since human nature insists that we are all distinct individuals. Along the same lines, a customer may resent being pigeonholed into a specific user category; just because they buy a box of diapers online, does not mean that they want all future shopping experiences to categorize them as a parent of small children. People are not simply parents, singles, seniors, etc., and they will likely resent most efforts to classify them into one specific role.
Does the effort indicate that you know “too much” about the user? People also value their privacy, even if it is somewhat of an illusion. While I know that some companies could probably give a full run down of my life down to the smallest detail, I don’t necessarily like it and I definitely don’t want to be reminded of it with any frequency! For example, it is certainly possible for pharmaceutical companies to track a shopper’s online pharmacy orders and then send free samples, publications, or other information related to the medical condition; however, this could certainly make many users uncomfortable.
In a contact center, it would be helpful if your agents understood your organization’s overall goal regarding personalization. Just because all of the data is on a screen before an agent, doesn’t mean that she needs to share her knowledge of the customer’s entire history and preferences! By sharing the overall goal with your agents, you can help ensure a positive and personalized experience for your customers!
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.
It’s that time of year again…when many of your employees are focused on their own holiday preparations and less motivated regarding the work that needs to be done. For many companies, this holiday slump is poorly timed at the same time as increased call volumes and added pressure to meet annual performance metrics. Luckily for some, holiday bonuses or gifts for employees can help employees remember that they are valued and important pieces of the corporate puzzle. However, many companies don’t have a corporate plan for gift giving or bonuses. If you find yourself in such a situation, consider some alternate ways that you can share some of the holiday spirit with your employees:
Gift cards – If you have any discretionary funds that you can use for employee gifts, gift cards are an easy and much-appreciated treat for employees. Many retailers offer discounts on gift cards in November and December. Even if it’s a small amount on each card, your efforts will likely not go unnoticed or unappreciated! I’ve seen buy three $5 cards, get one free deals at national chain coffee shops; holiday calendars with free items every month at national fast food chains, and $100 gift cards for $80 at many national and local restaurants.
Holiday event – You can be as elaborate or simple as your budget allows with a holiday event; the key is to sponsor some time for employees to visit and socialize with their coworkers. Consider whether you will offer the event during work hours, if families will be invited, and what exactly you will provide and what employees should bring.
Holiday-specific performance metrics – Bring a little fun into the work day. Can you think of metrics that you could incorporate related to the holiday season? Ask employees to tally how many customers they can get to offer a return holiday greeting; a reward as simple as having the winner’s name on your Inova LightLink display may be enough to engage employees.
Reward with time – Depending on how your company works, you may have little control over employee compensation, but some wiggle room in leave time. If so, consider allowing employees to leave early, arrive late, or extend breaks on a rotating basis.
Personal gifts – Even if the above options aren’t realistic for your call center, you can always use your personal funds or skills to give gifts to your employees. I’ve seen managers give baked goods, handmade ornaments, movie tickets, and even holiday mix CDs as presents for employees. Besides, anything from you is likely to be even more appreciated due to its personal nature!
Many people get caught up in the stress of the holidays, which can impact performance at work. Finding ways to show your employees that they are appreciated and valued will ultimately make your contact center a more enjoyable place to be throughout the season!
My last blog post talked about how to get your company and your customer service representatives (CSRs) involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Over the last couple weeks I’ve thought of a few more ideas to share:
There are lots of ways to promote CSR among your CSRs while boosting morale for little to no expense. Has your company found success with programs like these?
Everyone in the contact center industry is familiar with the acronym CSR, among what seems like thousands of other acronyms. Today I propose we focus on a different kind of CSR…as in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Having worked at several non-profits before coming to Inova Solutions, I feel it’s critical to give back to the communities in which you do business. Even in a down economy, most companies can find a few spare dollars or time to give to local charities.
Here at Inova we support the Charlottesville, Virginia community in several ways. Every year the local United Way has a Day of Caring where local businesses sign up to volunteer at charities and schools in the community. Inova participated again this year and did projects like organizing books at a school, planting flowers at another school and several other projects. This year we’re also sponsoring “The Producers” at a local theater called Live Arts. If you’re in Charlottesville between December 9, 2011 and January 14, 2012 be sure to check it out and look for one of our call center readerboards being used in the play!
So how can your CSRs (customer service representatives) participate in CSR (corporate social responsibility)? Here are a few ideas:
Does your company have a formal CSR plan? In what ways does your call center staff give back to your community?
Read part 2 of this blog post: More ideas to get your CSRs involved in CSR
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?
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.
In the September issue of CRM Magazine, David Myron, the editorial director, writes:
The best chance a company has at regularly winning a customer’s business is to make sure the information it presents is relevant to each customer’s needs…organizations [need] to break old mass marketing habits and create more personal interactions.
He goes on to say that this more personal marketing isn’t just including the customer’s name on a mass email or other superficial efforts; instead, organizations that actually know their customers will have more streamlined ways to improve revenue and to foster customer loyalty. He cites a few examples for retail banks: a home purchase triggers an offer for a home equity line of credit; a custodial account for a child triggers a reminder about a college savings plan.
This concept of proactive and focused marketing has its place in the call center as well, and its value is really too big to be ignored. The only time I’ve seen this type of marketing is when I call my insurance company. Their system seems to be set up so the CSR can see my whole file and identify holes in coverage or areas with duplicate coverage. When these issues are identified, I’m ready to listen because, ultimately, I want an insurance package that covers just enough but not too much.
Outside of insurance companies, though, think of the options for this type of marketing in other contact centers: extended warranties on technology through a help desk, a subscription offer for a new magazine through a publication service center, a discounted hotel rate through a reservations line. The possibilities are nearly endless; look at your business type and the types of calls that your contact center receives. Chances are there are some great opportunities for more proactive marketing that really focus on knowing your customers’ needs.
Many customers will find that there is a fine line between big-brother-watching or pushy marketing and offers that are truly relevant and helpful; finding that line can be tricky for companies. One of the best ways to counter the negative connotations is:
Successfully using interactions with customers through the call center to market products or services can lead to a near perfect combination of satisfied, loyal customers who understand and take advantage of particularly valuable and relevant offers.
Like all businesses, contact centers must be prepared to quickly and efficiently distribute information and instructions to staff during an emergency situation. This may involve a severe weather alert or other more dire circumstances. Is your contact center prepared?
Assuming that technology systems aren’t down, centers can often utilize systems that they already have in place for the purpose of emergency communication. For example, if your center utilizes digital signage displays for regular call center metrics reporting, administrators can create additional views for emergencies, or incorporate RSS feeds in existing views to update staff on the latest news or weather information. Be sure to keep the views concise and easy-to-read. In an emergency, it is more important than ever to communicate clearly. Also, it is best to post status updates to employees regularly, even if you are waiting on more complete information. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing no word at all.
Many of the same principles apply to LED displays, which are ordinarily used for daily, real-time data reporting for operations departments. RSS feeds or emergency messages can be set to override all other messages on these devices, and the simplicity of digital reader boards may make message distribution faster and easier when time is limited. Make sure staff is cross-trained on message creation and delivery in the middleware system, in case a need arises when the principal administrator is not on call.
In addition to mass communication display devices like LED and LCD wallboards, you may decide to keep employees updated via email or desktop messages. Desktop message applications also have the advantage of setting emergency messages to override all others, so the latest information is always on top.
Since emergency situations often affect more than just the contact center, senior management may choose to expand the existing data display devices to locations outside the center, such as above elevators and in break rooms, lobbies and other department offices. Since these devices can be controlled by the same middleware already utilized in the contact center, the additional expense is minimal, and your emergency messages may reach a larger audience.
