Blog Archives - Page 17 of 37 - Etech Global Services

Why Reducing Customer Effort Is Important in Your Customer Experience Strategy

As the public becomes more comfortable using technology to make buying decisions, your business must adapt constantly to remain competitive. A customer experience strategy aims at reducing customer effort and improves your sales by making your products and services more attractive. High Customer Effort Means High Costs The price of your products represents only some of the costs your customers pay. Transactional costs also add up. Limiting customer effort reduces those costs and incentivizes more purchases: Omnichannel sales give buyers more convenient ways to complete transactions. Simple pricing strategies make it easy for customers to estimate your product’s value. Good information educates buyers about your brand and offerings. A solid infrastructure supports through the entire product lifecycle. Providing a complete experience is a big task, and your customers are more than willing to give your competitors a chance should you fail. The Insights You Need Data analytical tools help you find your path. Customer Effort Scores (CES) are an increasingly popular metric that describes the overall experience you deliver with your product. ETECH insights provides an advanced set of data capture software that gathers information from customer interactions and evaluates your business’s performance. Analyzing your results often reveals insights about everyday issues. Identifying patterns and problems highlights areas you can change to improve customer experience. Example One: Emotional Intelligence Buyers are emotional creatures. They make their purchasing decisions based on how they feel though many will argue otherwise. Negative reviews from unreasonable people do just as much damage to your reputation as legitimate gripes. Your customer service representatives need to know what indicators to look for and follow procedures when faced with an overly emotional customer. Data captured in calls guides your agents and identifies emotional customers. Example Two: Self-Help Tech-savvy customers are adept at solving their own problems. Use data to predict their behavior and meet expectations: Providing manuals on troubleshooting guides online. Facilitating group discussions about your products or services. Automating returns and exchange processes. Self-help tools relieve the pressures on your customer services representatives and reduce the time your buyers spend frustrated with your product. Example Three: Empower Your Team Your team deals with the public regularly. Staff members already know what the typical concerns are and usually have ideas about how to address them. Data clarifies multiple opinions by providing objective facts. Your staff can get frustrated too. When your reps can’t work, it makes it difficult for them to resolve concerns while your customers wait. As a manager, you need efficient processes in place. Good information provides you the freedom and clarity to: Train and educate your team as experts in your products, business, and processes. Provide the tools they need to engage with customers in an omnichannel sales strategy. Trust staff to handle concerns without management approval. When your team can respond to all but the most extreme complaints, you reduce the time your customer spend waiting on the phone or transferring back and forth between representatives. Concluding remark Reducing effort is the fastest way to improve your customer experience scores and keep your business competitive. Identify the areas you need to work on the most with intuitive analytics from ETECH. Our software pairs data with your customer service personnel to produce a comprehensive analytics tool. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Training: Where Are You Going?

When I was much younger my dad would take our family on road trips that didn’t always have a finite location or a destination. Often, it was about the journey and not going somewhere specific. What made the road trips memorable were the traditions that were sure to accompany each expedition. For example, we would seek out the best “hole in the wall” restaurant, or my personal favorite, the mouth-watering pursuit for the gas stations that served the “best in the world” bacon cheeseburgers. As trainers, it is important to know that the training and development of individuals is a journey. We, as trainers, need to ensure that we are stopping along the way to allow the learning transfer to occur. I have outlined 7 training and development principles to help showcase some stops along the way that we should be making. The mnemonic ROAD MAP will help us remember these key stops. Rule of 3 We tend to remember in threes. Steve Jobs from Apple is king of this concept. What they need to know the most, first. What they need to know secondary is last. Everything else is in the middle. Keep It Super Simple. Observe, observe, observe Trainers should constantly and consistently evaluate what is happening in the training room. Observation allows you to know whether an introvert is accumulating knowledge or not. Observation during activities ensures that everyone is on the right page. Apply the concept First, tell participants how it is done. Second, show participants how it is done. Third, do it together individually. And lastly, participants should teach someone else how to do it. Desire to know the “Why?” Trainees want to know why this module is important to them. A great introduction will have a hook that captures you and somehow shares why you are participating in the learning process. Multiple Learning Styles Utilized 3 commonly used learning styles are Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic. These are not the only learning styles, but provide a solid base to work from. Most of us use more than one style in any given circumstance. Actively engage Adult learning is about engaging those in the classroom. Our trainees bring experience and knowledge that we sought out in the hiring process. Why would we stifle them in training then? Allow them to participate. Engage the learner through activities that utilize techniques geared towards adult learning. Reward good classroom behaviors, like participation, and the class will repeat the behavior. Please repeat (okay, I reached a little on this one) The foundation of learning is built with learning blocks of repetition. The more you hear, see, and actively participate in doing a task, the more likely you are to learn it, remember it, and apply it. These 7 principles are not everything that we need to follow to be successful as a trainer. These basic concepts are the foundation that you can build upon to ensure you are facilitating a class and allowing the learning transfer to occur. So enjoy the journey! You never know, you may just find that “best in the world” bacon cheeseburger!

Do You Need a Customer Experience Strategy or Not?

You don’t need an elaborate strategy to survive the day, but neither do vegetables. Are you a vegetable? Set some broccoli on a plate in your call center and see what happens. Now let’s get serious. You need a customer experience strategy. When market competition heats up, your company must have an edge. A good customer experience strategy is the tool you use to distinguish your brand and carve out your niche. What Is Customer Experience? Customer experience is the complete interaction your buyers have with your company. It includes more than just product or service they buy It is any of the following: Searching for information on your website The quality of your goods over time How a buyer’s peers might comment on your product Your process for resolving complaints Anything that distracts from the enjoyment of your product or service damages the customer experience. While you can’t account for every contingency, you need to take control of as many factors as possible. Functions of a Customer Experience Strategy Your customer experience strategy can’t be just a few gimmicky marketing tools thrown together. A strategy has critical functionality that impacts your entire business: It defines a model for employee conduct and responses to everyday situations Identifies an ideal customer experience as a goal for your staff to work towards Focuses different departments by providing an overarching outcome for your company Good strategies remove unnecessary costs and make your business competitive in an increasingly technology-driven market. Creating a Great Customer Experience Strategy The goal is to create a positive impression with your business and goods. The human mind builds associations, and habits form over time. Use this psychology to establish a powerful connection between your brand and the buyer. Information – Freely educate your customers Easy Transactions – Make it simple to buy your product Fast Response Times – Resolve complaints as soon as possible Humanize – Treat your customers like people Customers want to make their purchases and go about their business. Simplify the things that waste time but do so in such a way that keeps human interactions the focus. Implementing Your Customer Experience Plan After you draft a strategy, you need to implement it. There are some common problems areas where might want to focus: Training – Your staff requires knowledge about your products and policies. Technology – Upgrade your call centers and integrate all sales channels. Trust – Empower your agents to take charge and proactively resolve customer concerns. A plan cannot succeed without clear processes in place. Make sure you have a strategy for each contingency and avoid forcing staff to rely too heavily on manager approvals. Benefiting from Your Customer Experience Strategy If you’ve done the job right, you should see some of these outcomes develop: Long-term relationships with your customers secure a base for your business. Integrated departments unify your company and drive toward a single outcome. Your business keeps pace with technological innovations in a changing market. Customer service representatives become innovative and solve problems organically. The key benefit is the realignment of the focus of your company. The customer’s experience becomes the end goal for your entire staff. So, how’s the broccoli doing? ETECH Insights provides the data you need to define your strategy. Capture live customer service feedback and identify key metrics. Predict customer behavior. Make intelligent decisions. Deliver superior results. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Why Reducing Customer Effort Is Important in Your Customer Experience Strategy

Protect Your Contact Center Team from a Space Shuttle Columbia Like Disaster

In 2003, the space shuttle, Columbia, disintegrated over East Texas and Louisiana, when it attempted to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere. Sadly, all seven astronauts aboard died. The control room crew in Cape Canaveral was responsible to guide the shuttle safely home. Instead, they like us watched the streaking remains on a cable news broadcast. NASA is a paragon of science and engineering. Safety is a priority, and this sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen. Worse, this disaster was preventable. Following this disaster, it was discovered that managers systemically ignored warnings from engineers and pushed forward with the mission, resulting in an unthinkable tragedy that will not soon be forgotten. The situation in your call center isn’t quite that dramatic, but similarities can be drawn. Most conflicts are subtly destructive and happen in almost every organization. Personal desires compete against company interests which left unchecked can breed complacency, impatience, and frustration. By taking time to learn from and apply some of the hard lessons of the Columbia disaster to your management team, you can prevent such conflict from negatively impacting your team and business. Lessons in Burnout Early in the shuttle program’s history, engineers warned a design flaw might lead to damage of the heat shielding. The foam insulating the rocket might break in flight and strike the shuttle, but managers ignored this concern. After years of successful flights, it became normal to keep overlooking this potential risk. Your call center staff may also face a real problem with burnout, and it’s easy for managers to get sucked into this trap as well. Some common contributors to burnout include: High Volume : Employees become stressed when overworked. Lack of Support : Employees cannot always handle customer concerns efficiently. Unachievable Goals : Benchmarks set too high discourage performance. When the job becomes a grind, many employees are tempted to simply cut a corner. Unfortunately, the consequences eventually catch up. Combat complacency and burnout by rotating staff, retraining, and updating processes to better support your team. Consider any feedback your staff provides and empower them to bring concerns directly to you and ultimately solutions as well. Those closest to the opportunity are best equipped to identify what is needed. Lessons in Rushing The Flight Manager responsible for the Columbia mission was reported to have been in a hurry to complete the landing and move on to the next launch. The International Space Station was behind schedule, and another delay was unacceptable. Managers discounted precautions. Your call center is also under pressure to perform quickly and efficiently. Fast Calls : Your customers want to get through their calls rapidly, after all time is money. Poor Listening : The first convenient answer to a concern is not always the right answer. Cutting Corners : Agents might ignore essential details in your procedures to speed the process. Your staff needs to avoid the temptation to overlook procedures. Help them remain focused on each call and update processes to eliminate redundancy and waste without sacrificing quality. Lessons in Frustration Although the damage done to the heat shielding was thorough, the investigating committee found that a rescue mission, should it have been done in time, was possible. The flight managers did not act in time favoring a wait-and-see approach. The crew on board was not even aware of the potential risk before attempting reentry. The management destroyed all credibility and trust along with the shuttle and crew. Managers need staff to trust their judgment. Frustrating the efforts of your agents damages the future of your department. Avoid this conflict by: Empowering : Give your staff the tools, processes, and authority to respond to customers. Validating : Reward performance but also reward consistency. Responding : Listen to feedback from your team and balance input against other objectives. This is a valuable lesson from history that is relevant within many businesses today, especially within the contact center. By protecting your team from burnout, preventing shortcuts, and minimizing frustration you and your team will be better equipped to handle today’s busy contact center transactions successfully. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Understanding How Servant Leadership Improves Employee Engagement

Even though it’s important that leaders exemplify the traits a good leader needs to be effective and guide employees to success, leaders should also be seen as servants and helpers to their teams. Servant leadership is a concept that can improve how leaders connect with their employees and how their employees perform. Learn more about the idea and how it should be implemented to its full capacity. Bridging the Gap Leaders should not only be found at the head of the pack, but within the pack as well. What this means is that leaders should be wherever they’re needed, whether it’s front and center or in the middle of the battlefield providing troops with aid. Before taking care of their own needs, leaders first take care of the needs of others, recognizing that doing so benefits the unit as a whole. Fostering Trust No matter how much experience a leader has, team members are more likely to trust and follow a leader if he or she embodies characteristics and qualities that promote a sense of trust. Such qualities include being authentic, relatable and free of ego. Once the seed of trust has been planted, practicing these qualities and characteristics is the water that helps the seed to grow into a stable and healthy tree of trust that’s sure to last for years to come. Listening More Than Speaking Employee engagement is also improved when a leader listens more than she or he speaks. Listening helps leaders to better understand just what it is the team wants to accomplish in order that their objectives can help support that desire. Leaders should also take out time to truly study and reflect on what they hear so they can become the leaders their teams need rather than the leaders they want to be, which may be at odds with what’s best for the team. Self-Care Leaders should be servants to themselves as well as their employees and teams. What this means is that leaders should take out time to take care of themselves outside of the workplace. Self-care allows leaders to operate at peak efficiency, and it also makes for a better work-life balance. Matters outside of the workplace that are neglected often have a way of encroaching on work performance, which can trickle down into team performance. Creating Something Sustainable When a leader starts to embrace the servant aspect of her or his role, it sets the stage for building something that’s sustainable and will remain with the company long after the leader and team move on. The company will become one known for its fair and impartial leaders, ones who are willing to help employees just as much as they are willing to lead them in the right direction. This can be a key factor in bringing in new employees, ones who can help build a company and make it better than ever before. If you are a leader or are thinking about taking up a leadership position in your place of employment, be sure you embrace the core concepts of servant leadership. Doing so is sure to make you more of an asset and a better leader than you ever imagined yourself to be.

Implementing A Customer Effort Strategy Effectively

An effective customer effort strategy makes your products and services more attractive to buyers by simplifying offers and increasing customer support. Basically, customers who can spend less effort toward the same end are happier customers. More and more, the markets reward firms who take the time to implement new strategies aimed at reducing customer effort. Not all techniques are the same, and good data analytics is the key to your company’s future success. The Customer Effort Challenge It isn’t enough to just produce a product and plop it down on the store shelves. You might sell a few units that way, but if you expect to stay competitive you must support your customers throughout the entire exchange. From the moment you first make contact until after the product’s life comes to an end, you are there to provide the customer with an exceptional overall experience: Information – Educate your customers on your brand and the benefits of your products. Easy Transactions – Make it simple to buy through multiple channels. Service and Support – Streamline complaint resolution and product returns. Follow Up – Encourage repeat business with rewards programs and special discounts. Customer effort is the most important variable and customers consider the amount of time they waste when evaluating their experiences with your company. If disappointed, they may not buy from you again. Reducing customer effort often comes down to eliminating lost time, but the customer also expects humanized interactions: Accessible – Make your products, website, and call center available to your customers. Accurate – Information needs to be consistent, current, and relevant. Expertise – Your agents must answer questions about products and processes with authority. To make things more challenging, most customers also expect personalized service. They want to feel a connection with someone who understands what they need without being told the same information repeatedly. Data Collection with Technology You need useful information to build and coordinate your strategy. Most companies rely on customer feedback metrics to tell them how their service representatives are performing. CSAT surveys and Net Promoter Scores are proper information tools for sampling specific interactions, but they both have a limited scope over a limited range. ETECH Insights puts a robust AI to work gathering data and supporting your agents. Software listens in on conversations and makes decisions about which inputs are the most important. That data identifies customer preferences and compares them to agent behaviors. Analysis of this information highlights patterns and predicts behaviors. This helps management to organize better responses reduce your customer’s effort. Streamline Customer Experience Once armed with better information, your business processes can focus in on the most common points of interest for your customers. It’s hard to implement these solutions without good data: Develop procedures to standardize responses to customer concerns across departments. Train agents to respond to common challenging situations. Empower customer self-help by supplying demanded information and features on your website. Customize experiences by predicting customer desires and behaviors. Automate follow up with customers to encourage repeat business. Customers typically reward businesses able to keep up with the rapidly changing market. Lowering their effort incentivizes more purchases and leads to higher revenues. Technology and AI driven data collection help you develop the efficient customer effort strategy that your buyer’s demand. It combines the best information with a human responder to deliver superior results.

3 Reasons Servant Leadership Increases Call Center Customer Satisfaction Rates

Today’s consumers have many more options for interacting with businesses than they did in years past, thanks to technological advances. They can chat in real time with a company, shop online, and easily leave business and product reviews on many platforms. With consumer voices louder than ever, its not a surprise that some even refer to this modern marketplace as the age of the customer. In the face of so many changes, leaders in call centers must also be flexible and willing to change. They should focus on providing outstanding customer service and fostering positive interactions between companies and clients. Servant leadership, a management style first proposed in the 1970s, helps businesses improve customer satisfaction rates in multiple ways; from reduced hold times to more satisfied, better-trained agents. This concept calls for managers to serve first and then lead, often resulting in happier employees —and customers. Here are three reasons why: Employees are Prouder and More Confident In a servant leadership culture, leaders stop focusing on being “The Manager” and instead consider how they, and every employee, are a vital part of one team with the same goal—providing excellent customer service to ensure long-term business success. When leaders work alongside other team members, serving them, coaching them and offering sincere praise and encouragement, team members responded by working harder to meet and exceed expectations, both from the leaders as well as the customers. Employees Raise their Standards When leaders model the “servant first” behavior their employees will follow. While communicating clear expectations and standards is important for team leaders, setting a good example is even more vital to success. When leaders serve, care, celebrate, engage, listen … their team members will begin to emulate this behavior. When this happens, results begin to rise and are sustained. Employees Meet and Exceed Customer Needs By improving and sustaining results, team members will quickly experience the effect on the customers. They will notice what pleases callers, as well as what dissatisfies them. The will share best demonstrated practices. Ideas will flow bottom up. Team members will feel and become empowered to delight their customers. Service at Every Level When service becomes a way of doing business for everyone on the team, starting with the manager, call centers can start to see improved customer satisfaction rates. When call center employees feel empowered and prepare, they will respond to customer inquiries, requests, and complaints in efficient and effective ways. They will learn from each experience, sharing their lessons with other team members so that the entire operation can evolve. Higher-functioning call center representatives, led by a leader dedicated to serving them, will promote business success now and in the future. Until next time, make you make a difference in the lives of those you serve. God bless.

Why Your Customer’s Experience Is Important

Your customers do more than just buy your products or use your services. They experience your brand. Good experiences lead to higher revenues. Deliver a lousy experience, and you may end up lining the pockets of your competitors. Customer experiences are the interactions your company has with the buyers you depend on for revenue. It encompasses more than just call center responses. It’s how your website works, the warranty you offer, and your public image. It’s every possible factor that might influence the way your customers interact with your brand. The Emphasis Shift to Customer Experience A competitive market becomes more intense for suppliers as buyers start refining their demands. Product offerings start to become less and less distinguishable, and your customers begin to take more notice of your service habits. Market research confirms the following insights: Customers make their buying decisions based primarily on how they feel. Most consumers report being willing to pay more for a better experience. Customer experience will replace price as a critical predictor of consumer behavior by 2020. Your customers will throw their support behind companies able to deliver higher quality interactions. The demand signal from the market shows that the experiences you provide matters. Now, most companies report that improving customer experience is a top priority, but few leading firms really know how to go about achieving such a lofty goal. The Current Demands of Buyers Customer service is just a small part of the overall experience. The way your business advertises and follow up with potential buyers is also essential. Businesses need to adjust their habits to take advantage of the market’s new demand for complete experiential treatment. Here are some common points of failure in the business/customer relationship: Making customers repeat themselves when attempting to get concerns resolved Forcing customers to wait more than five minutes for assistance Leaving questions unanswered Failing to disclose pricing information Customers are twice as likely to report a bad experience to their friends than share a positive one. To make matters worse, it requires more than ten times the effort to overcome a negative experience and rebuild lost trust. Customers are willing to give your competitors a chance and often abandon transactions entirely. Poor customer experience accounts for higher rates of customer churn. Omnichannel Product Delivery Technology drives the market by opening new channels to distribute goods. In addition to store fronts, businesses must also be ready to sell products through online markets, web pages, and cell phone apps. Customers demand consistent positive experiences across platforms, but many companies are not keeping pace: Failure to integrate data gathered through different sales channels Customer service agents unable to resolve complaints from multiple media sources Unprepared to address customers using multiple channels at the same time Those firms able to coordinate their different channels and provide a consistently positive experience have the best chance of retaining the most business. Customers demand quick answers and consistent responses regardless of how they try to purchase your products. Many buyers in stores carry mobile devices and price check your goods before heading to the checkout counter. Gathering Customer Experience Data Knowledge is the key to developing a successful customer experience strategy. ETECH Insights helps you gather the data on your operations you need to make better decisions. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

3 Things to Know While Leading Change Management

Change is always difficult; people are by nature creatures of habit. If you are in a leadership position and it’s up to you to communicate the executive management vision during a shift in your company’s plans, here are 3 steps that can help you manage change with minimum friction. Change Doesn’t Have to Be Scary People tend to be skeptical of upper management when it comes to big changes. Remember though, your executive staff has the big picture, and what doesn’t make sense at the lower levels is simply a lack of this wider perspective. You can make up for this by communicating regularly with your workers about the values and mission of the company and how that applies to these new changes. The message must be clear and consistent; this is one of your best leadership opportunities to steer a new course. When employees understand the underlying reasons and purpose for change, they will be willing to accept the momentary inconveniences. Get Everyone on Board at the Beginning What you need to explain must be done right at the start of the change; don’t wait for trouble and then try to react to it. You need to have the courage to reveal information that may ruffle some feathers, because this will build trust and respect in your leadership. If you don’t want nay-sayers and negative attitudes, which are contagious, to spread through the ranks, you need to get all your employees to accept the new direction at the outset. Do whatever it takes to be sure the message is thoroughly communicated and understood, or you will be redirecting a lot of your resources during the change process to quelling mini-rebellions and it will take you longer to get where you want to go. An email memo won’t do the job; depending on the size of your company, you should consider table-top discussions and workshops to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions, be heard, receive feedback, and have the changes explained so that the reasons behind them are fully understood. The Importance of Company Values If your mission statement is just a plaque on a wall, your company will lack cohesion and focus. Values are not just sales gimmicks; they are the foundation of a well-run organization. Your company’s values not only should be well-known to your employees, but mentioned often and most importantly, put into practice regularly by your managers. Team members must see values in action, or they will drift away from these norms and work according to their own ideas and standards, and unity will be lost. Some of the great ways you can emphasize values are: Give awards to employees who shown exemplary adherence to them Use social media to broadcast in real time the application of values in projects and among workers Dedicate a section of the company newsletter to highlight how company values are put into practice Just a few straightforward actions can make change management less of a hurdle, and save you a lot of strife and confusion.

3 Ways to Enhance Customer Experience in the Call Center

Call centers have come along way from the institutions that emerged in the 1960s to efficiently handle high volumes of customer calls. Today’s call centers have evolved with emerging technologies, and changed tactics based on consumer needs, but at the root of call center developments still stands the ever important need for high-quality customer service. For many consumers call center agents are the face of the companies they are reaching out to, as they may be the first, if not the only contact customers have. The level of service received in a call center can determine whether or not customers continue to do business with a particular company. It is crucial that agents do all they can to improve customer satisfaction rates. Some key tactics for success can be: reducing hold times, providing excellent servant leadership, and managing the call flow effectively. Keep Hold Times Short Most customers enter into interactions with agents expecting them to be able to solve their problem or answer their question without placing them on hold. While putting a customer on hold is sometimes necessary, it is important to remember that most customers do not view a company as having multiple layers and teams. Customers, may view a firm as one massive structure, and they expect the call center agent they have been connected with to have the right information for their need. Though it is best to keep transfers or hold times to a minimum there are a few simple steps that can decrease waits and increase the chances of giving customers a good experience and a positive impression. Explain the necessity of a short hold. When call center employees need to put someone on hold, they should explain what they are about to do and why. When a customer understands how the process is unfolding and that a brief wait is vital in order for an agent to solve their problem, they are more likely to be patient and understanding, thus streamlining the entire process. Regularly train agents. Call center employees are a direct link between a company and its customers. Positive or negative, the experience will define what customers think about a business. Recurring training and coaching for call agents is vital to reducing waits and producing a high level of positive interaction with the public. Daily refresher courses can help agents remember what to do and provide them with the latest product and service information so they have the best possible chance of providing customers with good experiences. Use a knowledge base. A pool of information available to agents can dramatically lessen waiting times as well as enhance customers’ experiences. Empower Employees Modern business is fast-paced and globalized, and companies are expected function quickly and make the most of resources. By empowering and building up employees through servant leadership, businesses can enjoy success both now and in the future. Servant leaders focus on finding new ways to encourage others through helping them discover and exercise their own powers and abilities- and then giving them the tools to use them. When businesses focus on enhancing servant leadership within the ranks of call center employees, they can provide improved customer service. Organize Call Flow Call center agents specialize in different areas. One agent is not going to be equipped to solve all problems they may be presented with alone. Businesses should ensure that their call center has measures in place that efficiently route customer calls to the agent who can best help them. There are a variety of useful software available to help companies develop an effective forwarding system. Enhanced Experiences for Agents and Callers By incorporating enhanced practices and techniques, businesses can further the call center experience for customers as well as for agents. Reducing hold times, empowering employees by fostering an atmosphere of servant leadership, and managing call flow are just some of the ways companies can build future success by raising customer satisfaction rates today. Putting good practices in place in these are areas will push your customer interactions further, and make your agents more successful. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Elements of Great Customer Experience

Providing great customer service is a top priority for most businesses, and for many businesses, providing great customer service can often be what gives them the edge over their competition. However, even in companies with solid customer service operations, it is not uncommon, when delving beneath the surface, to find a few inconsistencies and at times, a lack of understanding. So how does an organization overcome these issues and lay a solid foundation of customer service? Below are some tips that may be helpful. Defining the concept The first step to laying a solid foundation of customer service is to develop an understanding of and improve any inconsistencies in your customer service program. The best way to do this is to come together as a group and define what customer service means in the particular context in which your company operates. For example, a business consultancy is going to interact with its customers very differently than a cinema yet both can be great in their own way. While a business consultancy will likely have fewer customers, they will work with their customers on a more close and personal level. They’re likely going to have a very long-term relationship with their customers and will have the luxury of getting to know their customers personally, and over time, understand their needs and what makes them “tick.” Their customer service is going to look very personal and slightly different with each customer. On the other hand, a business such as a cinema will see many customers throughout their day and have very brief but similar interactions with each one. For them, great customer service may be as simple as moving their customers through their lines as quickly and courteously as possible. This is why it is so important that everyone involved understands the particular framework that defines great customer service within the context that the company operates. Internal Marketing from the top down The second step in laying a solid foundation for customer service is the development of a strong company culture of service that originates with the company leadership. The process by which employees are inducted into the company’s culture is known as internal marketing. When the CEO and CFO are profoundly committed to excellent customer service, then the necessary resources and training for each employee are more likely to be prioritized. This commitment has a way of “filtering down” through the entire organization thus fostering a culture of excellent customer service. The most successful customer service operations are those where the drive for customer service excellence comes from the top down. Strong leadership, consistent communication and high-quality training are key. Stay true to who you are, but be flexible Finally, the third step in laying a solid foundation for effective customer-service program is to be true to who you are. In other words, don’t get caught up in changing market dynamics that may tend to alter how you do business. Stay committed to your priority of excellent customer service, but use change and technology to your advantage. Remember, you drive your company’s customer service “engine” not changing market dynamics, so keep your principles and priorities at the forefront of your daily operations. In doing so, your company will always have the competitive edge.

Why Human Intelligence is Essential for Customer Loyalty

In recent years Artificial intelligence has come to lead many call centers. It has grown to the point that when seasoned callers reach customer service numbers and are not sure if they’re dealing with a human or a robot, they immediately try to bypass the AI and “speak to an agent.” These interactions make it clear to us that although this powerful technology been integrated throughout the call center industry, people still crave kind of service only human interactions can provide. The human touch in a customer interaction can go a long way toward making people feel valued. Customers like to feel that the agent they are speaking with cares about solving their problems. While the human element is critical, customer loyalty has the potential to increase even more if forward-thinking call center managers introduce technology that can better understand customer needs. Customers Want to Be Heard One thing that many automated call centers lack is a highly personalized element of service. Some robotic solutions may be able to address customers by name, but frustrated or confused callers desire much more than that. They want an assurance that the person on the other end of the line is listening to the information provided and is working out how to solve the associated problems. That kind of human-to-human customer service can be improved as some AI-driven platforms that record and analyze agent calls, allowing call center managers to ensure expectations are consistently met, and customers feel satisfied. Humans who care are truly the most important part of any effective call center. Humans Take Action After Analyzing Data Customer loyalty can weaken in just one bad interaction or failure to meet expectation. Unmet quality or service expectations can cause customers to downgrade services, or even move their business to competitors. It is crucial that call center agents are able to see where their customer interactions are successful, and where improvements need to be made to retain business. Data analysis is an effective method of identifying problems before taking decisive action. Many automated technologies sort through data and illuminate potential issues, but they can’t solve those problems by coming up with solutions. Instead, humans must learn how to evaluate the metrics they see and create action plans that bring positive outcomes. Humans Make Sure All Needs Are Met Most conversations between call center agents and customers come to an end when the agent asks if more assistance is needed before the interactions cease. The human touch provided by a real person who is committed to making sure callers are as happy as possible makes a meaningful difference, causing many customers to feel comfortable enough to state what their remaining needs are. Higher customer satisfaction rates get a much-needed boost through human interaction. Even the most powerful technologies cannot replace human interactions. Talented call center employees, aided by AI metrics, help customers feel cared for and sustains their loyalty. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Screening your Employees

Hiring the right people for the right position takes huge resources, if not done properly; it could cost the company more. There are several tools and resources used that will provide an Employer with adequate information about an applicant. 5 important tools used for screening Application forms – An application allows you to obtain basic information your applicants. If you use a customized template where the applicants fill in their details, then you can pick out other things like completeness. The application clarifies the applicant’s position of interest; provide insight into experience and skill set. Resume- A resume should tell a brief history of the applicant. In addition, a resume will also provide a glance at the applicant’s attention to detail, skill sets, current and past experiences. Reference checks – Typically, an applicant will provide a three-five references. It is important to check the references before short-listing the candidates. In addition, you may learn information about the candidate that was not included on the application or resume. Past employment –This can be found on the application and also in the resume. The past experience can show how long an individual has worked for each company. Most employers are looking for applicants that are loyal and can show a work history of commitment. Criminal record check –Policies per company may vary depending on the role for which the applicant has applied. Employers may want to know the criminal record and nature of the criminal activity. Three brief reasons why Employers should screen applicants Saves resources It is expensive to hire and train a new employee every so often. The upfront costs might be high as you carry out the onboarding exercise, however; in the end it will be worth it. The other resource to put into consideration is the human capital and time it takes to hire and train. Protects your business There are several scenarios that can negatively impact an organization simply by hiring the wrong applicant. For instance, you may have heard of unending embezzlement cases between former employees and companies. Such a case exposes your company in the wrong way to you consumers and affects your reputation. Thorough screening can protect your business from such unpleasant scenarios and being exposed. Following a proper screening process will protect your business. Reduces employee turnover A major problem that can set your company back is a high employee turnover. Thoroughly screening applicants will reduce employee turnover. You can then empower and develop the right people who will grow the company. In conclusion, not all positions within the company are the same, therefore screening criteria should vary to match the requirements of the job. The screening process will assist an on boarding process that helps employers find a sustainable workforce.

Top 7 KPI’s to Measure Your Customer Experience Levels

Enhancing customer experience is an absolute priority for corporations today. To determine if customer service meets expectations, you need the ability to measure the key performance indicators (KPIs). There are numerous KPIs for measuring the success of your customer service strategies. Following are the top seven KPIs your business might consider utilizing to measure customer experience and service levels. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Customers who are pleased with your customer service may suggest your business to family and friends. This becomes your company’s NPS. The rate of people who recommend your company to others can be a valid measure of customer satisfaction. Brand attributes Obtaining feedback about how customers describe your brand is a good measure of customer service and an indication of where you stand in your customers’ eyes. Also, you’ll discover what qualities to focus on to enable customers to see your brand in a selective light. Competitor comparison While customer retention and overall satisfaction are useful metrics for measuring service, it is critical to discern how your company stacks up against competitors, because even loyal customers may choose competitors for single purchases or interactions. External industry benchmarks It is crucial to recognize how your brand stacks up against the competition. Collect external benchmarking survey data to compare your brand to your closest competitors because even the highest-rated companies only succeed about 88 percent of the time, leaving plenty of room for improvement. Conversion rate Following an interaction with a customer, determine the likelihood that they will take some action, such as making a purchase. This number should be high if your customer service is excellent. Resolved issues Looking at all of the issues that your customer service team has fixed is an ideal method to form a snapshot of your company’s customer service. Regardless of your firm’s success, there will be problems and grievances. However, if your team can solve them efficiently and in a manner that creates a good experience for the customer, that is evidence of valuable service experiences. Overall satisfaction Although every business aims for 100 percent satisfaction 100 percent of the time, it just isn’t realistic. What is realistic is to expect customer satisfaction KPI to always be rising. You can track whether or not your rating is going up by setting internal benchmarks. You can target problem areas, set goals, and make changes to enhance your customer satisfaction rating the intelligent way. To improve upon something, it must first be controlled. To control something, measurements are required. Your business provides an experience, satisfies the customer, and builds a relationship that ultimately translates to conversion. Monitoring the health of your business requires measuring customer experiences and understanding which KPI to select to enhance customer experiences. With the right KPIs, you can recognize the direction your business is going and whether or not your customers are satisfied with your service. Etech Global Services delivers intelligent sales, technology, and customer service solutions. Contact us today for help building a stronger brand, strengthening customer relationships, and gaining your share of the market.

Organizing Customer Support on Social Media the Right Way

These days, social media and customer services are essentially one and the same. Companies are better able to take care of their customers, and customers are better able to connect with the companies they support. No matter how large or how small your company is, there are a few things you can do to better organize your online customer services. Respond in a Timely Manner Technology has accelerated our expectations, and that has never been truer than when it comes to social media. Take a lesson from airline companies dealing with customers with lost luggage and work on responding to social media questions and comments as quickly as possible, at least within 60 minutes. If not, you risk angering and potentially losing a customer. Use Tools to Better Manage Your Social Media While it’s good to have several different social media accounts, those multiple accounts can become a bit of a hassle when you have so many different lines of communication to keep up with. If you find that you’re constantly feeling overwhelmed, consider offering customers live chat and implementing social media tools like HootSuite, Tweetdeck and Klout to manage all of your platforms in a single place. Make Your Responses More Personal Instead of sounding like a robot in your responses, make them more personal and inject them with a bit of personality. A canned response can not only send the wrong message about your company, it can also anger the person and make it seem as if you don’t pay attention to what’s being said. A bit of humor can also help to lighten the mood while making sure the individual is still being taken care of. Train Your Customer Service Employees Utilizing the most effective and up-to-date online customer support strategies and technology won’t do your company or your employees much good if your customer services team doesn’t know how to use the technology or strategies the right way. Before you cut your team lose to dominate the world of customer service, train them properly and thoroughly. Not only that, but you should update and refresh their training as necessary. Just as businesses aren’t operated the same now as they were ten years ago, the same is true of customer service. Give your team the tools and education they need to stand the best chance of succeeding. Have a Backup Plan in Place Just as there are bound to be people complaining about your products or services no matter what you do, there are bound to be times where you experience a power loss or lose your network connections. Despite unfortunate circumstances, your customers still want answers to their questions and want to have their concerns addressed. Have a customer service backup plan in place to handle these situations and make sure your company’s reputation doesn’t take a hit during times of technological crisis. For instance, you might have to temporarily outsource your customer service department. If you do, you’ll want your outsourced team to be familiar with how you handle customers to keep things flowing as smoothly and as normally as possible. An organization is one of the essential cornerstones of operating a successful business. Keep your online customer service department well organized and informed and you’re sure to remain in your customers’ good graces. Original Source : LinkedIn

Understanding the Leadership Qualities that Lead to More Engaged Employees

One of the most widely-used yet misunderstood terms in the business world is “employee engagement.” While plenty of executives, team leaders, and consultants call upon this statement in their attempts to motivate, few actually use it correctly. That’s because most interpret it to mean working hard. While hard work is certainly found amongst the effective skills that successful teams of professionals share, it doesn’t equal employee engagement. Rather, the former is merely a byproduct of the latter. To understand what employee engagement truly means, we have to take a closer look at the term itself. “Engaged” is defined as “having ones full mind, energy, and attention.” Herein lies the difference between an engaged employee and one that is simply hard-working. Whereas a hard-working employee can potentially only be partially-invested in that which he or she is doing, an engaged employee has his or her mind fully concentrated on the task at hand. This requires a certain level or “buy-in” into a company’s culture, which is not something that’s achieved easily. The Skills Needed to Facilitate Engagement Engaged employees require an equally engaged leader to guide them. That person has to convey through his or her leadership skills the importance of the work that each and every member of the team does, and why only the utmost effort on their part is acceptable. To do that, it helps if he or she can demonstrate the following qualities: Focus: Every company has a vision that should drive every decision and action that it employs. Yet far too many allow the pressures of meeting their everyday job duties to keep them from stepping back and seeing how their particular roles benefit their companies as a whole. What’s needed is a boss or team leader that keeps members focused on the mission, vision, and values of their company, and how the work that they do supports that. Creativity: This may sound strange, but many people actually fear doing their job too well. That’s because they worry that should they create effective solutions for the problems they’re meant to address, they’ll be out of jobs. A good leader helps inspire trust in that no matter the results of his or her employees’ current work, they skills that they bring are in high demand and can easily be applied elsewhere in another way if needed. Empathy: This includes not only being empathetic towards employees, but towards corporate leadership, as well. Too often, the higher-ups are painted to be cold, calculated number cruncher that only care about results on paper. However, that’s rarely the case. Their concerns over those results are typically driven by their equal concern for their employees. Once subordinates are able to see that, the beginnings of a healthy company culture in which they are not afraid to fully invest themselves are born. As we conduct analyses of the many businesses with whom we work here at Etech Global Services, we find that those that are the best at incorporating the skills and services that we introduce share the same attribute: a highly-engaged workforce. Having seen the tools and practices needed to create such an effective environment, we’re more than capable of sharing these with you. Together, we can help create a shared vision and commitment from the top to the bottom of your organization.

5 Things You Can Do to Become a Great Leader in the Contact Center

Great leaders aren’t born that way, and most dedicate their lives to learning, applying and mastering leadership skills. When it comes to being a leader in the contact center, don’t be discouraged if authority doesn’t come naturally to you. With a little training, hard work and perseverance, you have the capacity to become a respected part of your contact center leadership. Here are five things you can do to start transforming yourself into a leader. Promote Action : Contrary to popular belief, a leader isn’t someone who bends the will of others. A leader is someone who shows the way and encourages others to make their own choices. Even if you can see that someone’s decision is likely to lead to inopportune consequences, it is important to give them the freedom to choose. This doesn’t mean you can’t give them your opinion or try to help them see a better way, but you should never coerce them into doing things your way. Recognize Achievements : Never ignore the achievements of your fellow workers. Instead, publicly recognize their good work and genuinely congratulate them for their efforts. The best leaders are those that encourage the repetition of good behavior by giving praise and encouragement when it is due. While monetary reimbursement will always be excitedly accepted by the recipient, it is not always necessary. In most cases, employees are more than content to simply be recognized for their efforts and given a verbal “thank you”. You might also choose to randomly reward a superior performer with movie tickets or a gift card to a fancy restaurant. Keep generous monetary reimbursements reserved for special occasions or very rare achievements in order to keep them from becoming mundane and expected occurrences. Take Advantage of Training Opportunities : Training opportunities most likely arise on a daily basis, but if you aren’t actively watching you can easily miss them. When you see an opportunity to train someone, consider training the entire group at the same time instead of singling out one person. You may also want to reinforce the importance of proper training by holding annual or monthly training conferences. Always maintain a positive tone and focus on the way training can elevate the entire department and give them the knowledge necessary to further their skills. Listen and Learn : A good leader recognizes that there are always opportunities to learn from others. Make it a habit to carry a notepad and paper with you, and jot down notes anytime you hear or learn something new. When you listen to others and take their words to heart, you will make a positive connection with them and enhance your leadership qualities. Learn to Act : The best leaders are better at acting than hesitating. Rather than second-guessing yourself and letting opportunities pass you by, seize the moment and take action. If you see something that needs to be done in the call center, just do it, even if it doesn’t technically fall under your list of responsibilities. Being a leader is more than holding a position of authority. In fact, it is much more about becoming than being. Become the best call center leader you can be by following these five simple leadership tips. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

How to BRAND Your Company through the Hiring Process

At all times, your employees determine the rate at which you company grows because they make your customers either happy or unhappy. When you have a dedicated, competent, and loyal team you experience growth annually. However, when you have the opposite, your company struggles to grow. The secret is in attracting and keeping the right employees. As you think about the ideal candidate to work with, job seekers are also looking at whether you qualify as a good company to work for. What does your brand stand for? Is the information found all over the internet about your company building or killing you? Remember, your PR department needs to be continually building and maintaining a positive brand reputation. First impressions matter. You also need to brand your recruitment process to attract the right candidates. It is important to do this because It helps you stand out in the noisy marketplace. It improves your application rates from the right candidates. It improves employee engagement, which will lead to loyal employees who attract other loyal employees to the company. With that in mind, here are top three tips to guide you through the branding process. Market the Vacancy The first thing job seekers rate your company with is the job description. The job description should sell the available position, not just be a list of requirements and qualifications. Look at the job description as an advertisement. The job is your product and the target audience is the potential candidate. Follow the simple marketing AIDA principle. Create Attention to the right candidates Create Interest by giving relevant details of the job and its benefits Create Desire in the minds of the prospects to pursue the wonderful opportunity Make the advertisement lead to Action – the potential candidate applying for the job And don’t forget to have your company logo somewhere in the advertisement. You are not the only one looking to get the best talent in the market; your competition is also looking. Your job announcement should stand out and represent who you are as a brand. Shortlist the Candidates With the right job advertisement, you will be sure to attract many applications. The next step is to shortlist these candidates. Most resumes today are professionally written; just reading them will not give the best result. Shortlisting is narrowing down the candidates to a manageable number who can then move to the next phase. Because we are so connected, how you respond to the rejected candidates can affect your brand negatively or positively. Keep in mind what these rejected candidates say reaches so many others searching for a job. You can stand out in the eyes of all applicants by making the screening criteria public thus building credibility with them. Remember to be polite when communicating to every candidate who applies for the job. Carry Out Face-to-Face Interviews After shortlisting the candidates, it is time to carry out interviews. There are different ways of conducting interviews; you do not have to change your current style if it is working. The commonly used method includes these various stages: Pre-screening – Draft your online application forms well to capture the essential data you need from the potential candidates. You can also take them through a personality test that will determine the right fit for the particular job. Speak to them over the phone and ask more questions before inviting them to the formal interview. Structured interview – This is the second stage of the interview where you get to meet face to face with the applicants. You are both weighing each other out for the best fit. You can either meet in the office for them to experience the company culture, or have a breakfast interview. Reference checking – The last step is to speak with the references provided. Maintain professionalism throughout because once they put the phone down, they will be calling your prospective candidate. You can heighten this further by arranging a meeting between the selected candidates and the immediate team members followed by the senior management. All parties will be in a position to interact more and learn a little bit more about each other. The aim is the find the right fit for the opened position. In a nutshell, branding your company to potential employees is as important as branding for customers. Take proactive measures today and brand your business. Incorporate the company core values in all steps and the selected candidate will pick it up from the onset. In what ways are you branding your company through the hiring process? Enjoy!

How to Maintain Policy and Procedures for Effective Quality Analysis

Quality analysis is an ongoing process in the call center to guarantee that agents are delivering superior customer service. Thus, monitoring is essential to keep your finger on the pulse of how your teams are interacting with the end customer. This allows for timely coaching and behavior modification as needed. A quality monitoring system must operate under established policies and procedures to consistently deliver calibrated results. You may have an experienced quality analysis team with an expert leading them, but if you lack commitment to adhering to policies and procedures you are at risk in the effectiveness of the analysis this team delivers. Here is a list of how you can maintain policies and procedures for effective quality analysis. Step 1: Outline the Policies and Procedures First you must create the policies and procedures that will govern the quality monitoring of the call center. Policies are documentation of rules, principles, and guidelines that an organization establishes to reach a long-term goal, in this case, quality control. Procedures, on the other hand, are the specific methods that will convey the policies in the day-to-day running of the organization. This process may take a while, but it is important to invest your resources in setting a good foundation. You can look at policies and procedures as your quality delivery strategy and tactics. Areas which need to be addressed include: Productivity measurements Workflow Calibration expectations Reporting standards Escalation process Dispute process Audit the Analyst (ATA) process and communication Monthly scorecard requirements and review Company policies Career Development Step 2: Document the Standards You should have an outline of the policies and procedures governing your quality assessment process within the call center, but you need to take it a step further and document it. By publishing your policies and procedures, you make them available to all within the company. This will easily facilitate the review with new hires and allow for documentation for all team members’ adherence to standards. Step 3: Train the quality analysts Leaders are responsible for formulating policies and procedures. However, the people to implement them are the quality analysts. You need to do an intensive training for the QA’s to ensure they understand the policies and procedures and thus be in a position to deliver quality service. Step 4: Coach the quality analysts Employee coaching is paramount for continuous performance improvement. When managers coach the team members on a regular basis, they further develop their knowledge and skills. Proper coaching supplements formal training and goes beyond on-the-job training. Matters relating to quality need reinforcement regularly so that the weaker QA’s can catch up and the strong performers can become better. There is always room for improvement and as a manager and coach your role is to guide all members of your team to engage in continuous performance improvement. Step 5: Monitor and review Finally, monitor the implementation of the policies and procedures. Policies should be formally reviewed annually to ensure that efficiencies are captured and modifications are made. Adding analysts to the review team will give you a hands-on perspective as well as allow for more ownership from the QA team. In conclusion, when you create policies and procedure, document them properly, train and coach your quality analysts on the best practices and then monitor and review the process, you will maintain the policies and procedure and carry out effective quality analysis. You can have an in-house quality monitoring team that is dedicated to only quality measuring and analysis. However, it is advisable to incorporate a third party audit team to audit your internal QA team. The external team will give you additional data based on their analysis that will help you improve your quality standards and provide the operations teams with actionable data to help modify agent behavior.

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