With an economy that becomes more global daily, the product and service provided becomes less and less a factor with services becoming more important. Added to global competition is the question of social media influence on purchases. These factors and others have started to make businesses realize that if they want to stand out, they need to focus on Customer Experience.

Regardless of the size of the organization, there are some strategies that need to be considered when building a plan for a great customer experience.

Training Matters

Agent training is essential for companies looking to improve and enhance customer experience. Many businesses provide a variety of different products and services and without dedicated training, agents will simply not have the right information needed to assist customers.

Added to the products themselves, are the tools being used by companies. As contact centers become more complex with different systems, processes and technologies, agents need to be trained on what to use and when. Technical systems and CRM tools are useful, but only if an agent knows how they work.

Dealing with Attrition

Agent attrition can be a pain regardless of the size of the contact center. Sourcing and hiring new employees can be a task in and of itself and added to that is the training curve to bring them up to speed.

Companies need to look at techniques and strategies to minimize agent attrition where possible. In many cases, the factors causing attrition are related to the work environment itself, things like safety, scheduling issues and even the work itself.

However, technology can help with many of these factors. Whether it is by updating systems and technologies to better forecast demand and improve scheduling or using omnichannel solutions and AI to remove repetition. Companies need to remember that happier employees lead to happier customers.

Finding the Right Technology

Companies grow over time and their processes and tools change. However, siloed technologies can have a negative impact on the overall customer experience. This is where tools like an omnichannel can help as they allow customers to reach your agents regardless of the platform being used. Whether it is online, chat, telephone or cases. An omnichannel solution can improve the overall customer experience as it ensures all the customers information is available across a multitude of different tools.

KPIs and Metrics

Contact centers need to ensure that they are measuring the right data if they want to focus on customer experience. Historically, these businesses focused on call volumes and wait times, but didn’t account for customer journeys or satisfaction. By focusing only on the numbers, merely a portion of the picture is provided.

Fortunately, companies have come to realize that it’s not just how fast you pick up a call, but rather, what happens next that matters. These companies use detailed analytics and dashboards to build out unique customer journeys and look for solutions to help reduce incoming calls.

Leadership from the Top

The world today has changed from what it once was. COVID-19 has impacted many businesses and services globally. With companies around the world furloughing employees and laying off staff, the fight for efficiencies is even more prevalent in business than it was ever before.

Within a support and service team, resources are always at a premium and making a request for new resources or technology can be difficult in the best of times. However, by emphasizing the ROI that these teams can bring to a business in terms of driving customer experience, the landscape and picture can be adjusted. While it is not always possible to fully transition a contact center from a cost center to a profit center, there are ways to demonstrate how these costs can lead to future profit.

Focus on Customer Experience

Creating a unique, one-of-a-kind experience is difficult and costs a significant amount of money. However, consumers are not looking for the Ritz every time they contact you. Rather a key point to realize is that they do not want to call you at all, so what is actually more important is the provision of a service and product that works the way they expect it to out the gate.

Building an organization that has customer experience at the heart takes some time and effort though. It requires planning and organization and an ability to ask hard questions. It also requires buy-in from all departments as they each have a place to play in providing exceptional customer experience.

Taking the Next Step

If these challenges sound somewhat familiar, contact us for help. For companies looking to take that next step in improving customer experience, contact Nectar Services Corp. Companies today cannot continue to work the way they always have. Global competition and customer expectations have changed, and businesses need to adjust to this new landscape.

We understand the contact center space and know how to help organizations work through these and other customer experience challenges. Using our suite of innovative tools, we can help your organization reduce costs while improving efficiencies.

Our tools assist in digital transformations and cloud migrations faster by automated testing of applications coupled with in-life monitoring of the customer experience. Let us help you take your organization to the next level.

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