6 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
A stellar customer experience has a measurable impact on your bottom line. A recent survey by PWC found that 73 percent of buyers consider the customer experience an important part of the purchasing process. Meanwhile, 65 percent of U.S. consumers say a positive experience plays a stronger role than advertising in their decision to buy.
It’s no surprise, then, that businesses are devoting more attention and resources to improving the customer journey. Getting it right, however, means correctly identifying which aspects of the experience their customers value most.
It’s tempting to look at generational differences and prioritize investments based on the expectations of younger generations. But as PWC points out, the generations agree on several aspects of what makes a successful customer experience. Top among them? Speed, convenience and knowledge.
Thus, businesses should prioritize investments that optimize the customer experience for these attributes. There are some nuanced generational differences, of course, but with the right technology, companies can exceed everyone’s expectations.
Speed: The Customer Experience Must Be Fast
As PWC points out, all generations today expect instant access to an organization and everything it offers. Cloud communications allows businesses to reimagine the way they respond to customer requests and deliver goods and services.
Here are two examples that illustrate how the right tools make it possible to satisfy your customers’ desire for speed.
Reduced wait times: Long wait times are a top source of customer frustration, so reducing them should be a priority. To start, analyze call data to understand and eliminate bottlenecks and gaps. Also, consider deploying call-routing technology so that customers reach the right person the first time.
As PWC points out, all generations today expect instant access to an organization and everything it offers. Cloud communications allows businesses to reimagine the way they respond to customer requests and deliver goods and services.
Here are two examples that illustrate how the right tools make it possible to satisfy your customers’ desire for speed.
Reduced wait times: Long wait times are a top source of customer frustration, so reducing them should be a priority. To start, analyze call data to understand and eliminate bottlenecks and gaps. Also, consider deploying call-routing technology so that customers reach the right person the first time.
Omnichannel options: There are more ways than ever for customers to engage with your business, so it’s crucial for employees to know their way around every channel: voice, text, email, web chat and social media. And when employees have the ability to navigate seamlessly from one channel to another, they serve customers more quickly.
Convenience: The Customer Experience Needs To Be Efficient
Customers also expect to engage with your company on any device or network. Every attempt to connect must be smooth, informative and reliable. From a technology standpoint, you need to deliver:
Mobility: Technologies such as unified communications keep your employees connected to your business wherever they are. That has a tremendous impact on the customer experience. Your sales team and subject matter experts are always a click away, even if they’re traveling or working remotely. As a result, you can serve customers’ needs in the moment, enabling you to close sales, resolve issues and answer questions immediately. The customer gets what they need when they need it – and they come away from the experience happier.
Reliability: The PWC survey revealed that 59 percent of U.S. customers will stop doing business with you after several bad experiences, and 17 percent will stop after just one bad experience. Dropped calls and poor quality are not an option. Unified communications delivers reliability and exceptional quality with a secure connection between the LAN and the public Internet and support for Wi-Fi and mobile 4G networks.
Knowledge: The Customer Experience Must Be Intelligent And Friendly
Your employees must be knowledgeable and friendly. The right technology arms your employees with the tools and resources they need to deliver on this promise.
CRM integration: Personalization makes your business memorable. CRM integration gives your employees immediate access to detailed customer information, which enables a warm and friendly conversation. Customer interactions are more engaging, and issues are resolved faster.
Scripting modules: Advances in scripting modules have made them more valuable tools. Today, scripts can be dynamically manipulated during calls, allowing staff to navigate between versions. Scripting tools can also integrate with Web Services and internal systems so employees can retrieve relevant information that may be of use while dealing with more complex issues and demanding customers.
It all starts and ends with the human touch.
According to PWC, 71 percent of consumers say employees have a significant impact on the customer experience. The right technology combined with better employee training can help companies improve these interactions. Together, people and cloud communications technology are the best investments a business can make to deliver a smarter, faster and more convenient customer experience.