After much of the global economy went into recession back in 2008, public confidence in financial institutions took an equally dramatic dive. Whatever the reality, a large percentage of public and media opinion shifted blame towards global ‘bankers’, unseen financial professionals that were painted as the villains of the crisis. Perception and reputation are difficult concepts to quantify, often the evidence for good or bad reactions is anecdotal and is noticeable from talking to individuals or groups. Because the perception and reputation of any business is vital to its on-going success (and indeed its survival!) the use of Voice of the Customer (VoC) technology has become a common and highly prized asset, which the financial sector is readily embracing.
https://mopinion.com/voice-of-the-customer-helps-financial-sector-regain-trust-and-increase-productivity/
Customer service leaders frequently ask me about employee empowerment. It sounds so good in theory, but it’s often difficult in practice.
When I talk to them, there’s usually something missing. Here’s an example...
http://customerthink.com/the-new-rules-of-employee-empowerment/
It’s the rare construction firm that doesn’t pride itself on putting customers first. But are those customers getting what they truly want? And when employees are asked to go the extra mile on a project, are they clear about where to go?
https://www.enr.com/articles/43585-new-customer-service-role-raises-client-advocacy-to-its-highest-level/
GOOD customer service and having an online presence have been highlighted as the keys to competing with Amazon.
After months of speculation, the US retail giant launched Amazon Marketplace in Australia this week.
But Belmont Business Enterprise Centre founding manager Carol Hanlon said service was the only way to competing and building customer advocacy and loyalty.
https://www.communitynews.com.au/southern-gazette/news/good-customer-service-and-online-presence-key-to-competing-with-amazon-says-belmont-business-enterprise-centre-founder/
According to Kantar TNS’s latest Connected Life research, brands still have work to do to build trust in digital channels.
The report reveals that acceptance of chatbots, which are increasingly used in customer service functions, is generally low in Europe: just 28% of British consumers are willing to interact with them online. However, consumers in other markets are even less open to them: less than a quarter (22%) of Australian consumers said they were happy to interact with AI.
https://uk.kantar.com/tech/digital/2017/british-consumers-not-ready-to-embrace-online-customer-service/
October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) and the epic Equifax breach serves as just one reminder of the frequent and rising cyber risks and hacking incidents. For customer service organizations, managing the exponential growth of customer data across multiple customer communication channels and platforms is not easy.
http://customerthink.com/why-the-highest-compliance-should-be-your-baseline-for-customer-service-messaging/
A great customer experience is important in all industries, but in a world of ever-growing consumer expectations, it's critical for retailers. In fact, according to Forrester, "the key to successful retailing in 2018 is obsessing about customer experience." Many retailers are already "obsessed" with the customer experience, but the question is: are they acting upon this obsession?
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/blogs/whats-in-store-for-cx-integrating-insight-for-a-360-degree-view-of-the-customer/
2017 was a record year for hacks of personal customer details. These breaches give fraudsters access to our identities including the answers to those annoying security questions. One thing the fraudsters can’t do much with? Voice data. And that is why banks and telcos are increasingly replacing security questions with biometrics.
https://customerthink.com/2018-5-ways-ai-will-make-you-love-customer-service-in-2018/
According to Accenture’s just-released Digital Consumer Survey, sales of home-based intelligent assistants such as Amazon Echo of Google Home grew more than 50% in every one of the 21 different countries the company surveyed. And according to a new research from Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), voice-assistant sales grew 103% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2017. Adobe also found that 22% of voice assistant owners said that they shop using voice commands.
https://customerthink.com/customers-are-willing-to-pay-a-lot-more-for-a-better-customer-service-experience-if-they-get-to-tell-you-exactly-what-that-is/
Last week, I shared how early on in my career I managed a technical support and customer service center and service was considered a cost center and a necessary evil. How times have changed, and how far most companies have come in changing that perception!
Continuing in that vein, this week I will share our different approach to measuring customer service at that time, and how there are better means of gauging various aspects of service today. (Note: I’m limiting this to live interactions because my time running a service center only saw the beginnings of self-service.)
I’m going to organize this around points in the typical customer service process:
https://customerthink.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-what-to-measure-in-customer-service/
