Success factor – service quality: establishing omni-channel customer service
Providing customers with the right information throughout the buying process, and especially after the purchase, gives you a clear competitive advantage. After all, it is often the quality of service that tips the scales in favor of or against a company. For many companies, “capturing” the customer through multiple communication channels is becoming an important service goal. In technical jargon, this is referred to as omni-channel customer service. But which channels do you really need to serve as a company? For customers, telephone support is still the most popular communication channel. However, other channels are becoming increasingly important: email, WhatsApp and self-service are on the rise. The customer decides which channel to choose depending on their problem and preference.
It often becomes problematic when “channel hopping” occurs, i.e. when customers change channels in the course of communication. In many cases, there are still gaps in the communication structure of the companies that inhibit the flow of communication and are noticed in a negative light by the customer.
Understanding the customer and their communication preferences necessitates a Business Case, which can be used as a guide. If one assumes, for example, that the customer:
- uses media platforms opportunistically,
- is confident and informed
- and knows your competitors,
it becomes clear that a differentiation factor is necessary for your company.
From Customer Journey to Customer Experience
With a positive customer experience, which meets the omni-channel requirements of customers and garners you great rapport! To do this, pay closer attention to the user behavior of your customers. Keyword: Customer Journey!
To understand the Costumer Journey, it’s best to imagine a customer. For example, if Karsten (37 years old) “can’t get his Internet to work” and “has already pressed the button on the back of the rooter several times,” he will go to his internet provider’s site. There he will find a “Self-Service” section. However, unfortunately, the suggested solutions are of no use to him. Next, he probably finds a contact request form, which he fills out. But because he wants to get on the internet quickly and does not receive an answer after 30 minutes, he becomes impatient. Maybe he’ll get in touch through a social media channel. Although he receives an individual response there, he is unable to implement it because he is only marginally familiar with the technology. To save time between questions and answers, Karsten finally chooses the telephone hotline, even though he has been using many channels. In this context – a customer with little knowledge of the product with a complex problem – the channel also seems to be the right one.
Modernize telephone communication
As you can see, being able to adequately assess a customer requires near-psychic abilities. We may not have the solution for everything, but we at least have a solution that allows the customer to have trouble-free telephone communication and therefore keeps them precisely on that communication channel: virtualQ®. With our software solution, the customer is informed about the time until they can talk to a vacant agent. At the same time, they don’t have to wait on the phone because our software solution takes over this task for them – virtually. This changes his experience of waiting, and by improving phone support, “channel hopping” is minimized. Another advantage – in line with omni-channel customer service – is that the solution can be offered not only when calling the hotline itself, but also via your website or within your app. This means less effort for you in changing your communication structure and at the same time it bundles the communication channels to your service center. This gives you the great advantage of being able to actively influence the customer journey and at the same time offer the customer a better service – on various channels. In short, virtualQ® gets the customer to use the best channel for them and for you. This is omni-channel customer service at its best!
