they'd rather clean a toilet than speak with customer service.â2. And THIS is where the ... Almost half of respondents
Not Knowing Your Customer is Costing You A Case for Single Customer View
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When it comes to customer experience, companies are missing the mark with their customers. In fact, one study revealed that while 80% of companies say they deliver superior customer service... ...only 8% of their customers agree.1 So, why is there such a major disconnect between how companies think they’re doing (CX) vs. what customers perceive?
Companies don’t really know their customers. Sure, on a broad level, companies know things about their customers. For example, they know they want more communication channels and self-service options.
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There’s a lack of individualization. They are telling the agent their name, their account number, and detailing past interactions with previous agents. If they are transferred, or use another channel to resume an interaction, the process starts over. The experience is painful and annoying, which is why “one-third [of consumers] say they’d rather clean a toilet than speak with customer service.”2 And THIS is where the disconnect is happening. Customers appreciate perks, but what they really want is to be known. Walker Research Group sees potential for the disconnect to grow in the coming years if companies can’t make meaningful progress in the meantime: Changes such as the explosion of digital, the empowered customer, and the acceleration of innovation are having a profound impact on customer expectations. The customer of 2020 will be more informed and in charge of the experience they receive. They will expect companies to know their individual needs and personalize the experience. Immediate resolution will not be fast enough as customers will expect companies to proactively address their current and future needs.3
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Blame it on
the agents?
According to CEB, customers are likely to become disloyal after high-effort or time-consumptive interactions. Among the most frustrating issues cited by customers: 62% had to recontact the organization, 56% had to re-explain their issue, 59% were transferred, and 59% had to put forth moderate to high additional effort to resolve their issue. Companies shouldn’t assume their customers aren’t experiencing these issues (like the 80% of companies who say they deliver “superior” customer service). In fact, the reality is quite the opposite. These issues are so prevalent when contacting customer service that customers are four times more likely to leave a service interaction disloyal than loyal.4 All too often, these issues are perceived to be the fault of the agents on the other end of the interaction. However, the real issue is beyond the control of the agent. The technology and information agents have access to isn’t conducive to efficient interactions. In other words—they’re the scapegoat for a much bigger problem. Customers expect to feel known, valued, and understood by companies they do business with. In too many contact centers, agents have to switch between multiple screens/interfaces (in real time) to access the information they need to resolve even simple customer issues. The customer becomes increasingly impatient with what they perceive to be an apathetic or incompetent agent, or worse—a company that simply doesn’t care about them...
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So, now we have irritated customers, frustrated agents, and companies who are totally out of touch with the actual state of their customer service. No big deal, except…all of this has a major impact on business success. Remember, only 8% of customers believe companies deliver “superior” customer service. And customers are four times more likely to leave a service interaction disloyal than loyal. It’s clear that there are a lot of unsatisfied customers out there who are taking their money elsewhere until they find a company who meets their service expectations. Faced with poor customer service... 51% of respondents indicated they’d never use the offending company again, 38% would change suppliers, 35% would write a complaint email/letter, 26% would tell friends and colleagues not to use the company, 23% would post an online review, and 19% would complain publicly via social media.
Unsatisfied Customers + Frustrated Agents = Big Problems Almost half of respondents (49 percent) reported leaving a business due to inadequate customer service… …and those who switched were spending an average of $511/year, which adds up to businesses losing $62 billion per year through poor customer service (up more than $20 billion since 2013).5 When it comes to agents, they are wasting their time looking for information rather than being able to help customers. This inefficiency is impacting company revenue to the tune of millions. Customers are unhappy, agents are unhappy, and companies are losing profits—whether they realize it or not.
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The solution to all of this is comprehensive and easily-accessible customer data, otherwise known as a single customer view, or SCV. SCV is a 360-degree view of the customer, in one place. By centralizing product & service information and customer transaction histories, and engaging in more inter-departmental collaboration, companies can see their customers with increased clarity. Let’s take a look at how SCV solves for the 4 most frustrating issues cited by customers: recontacting the organization, re-explaining their issue, being transferred, and making moderate to high additional effort to resolve their issue. 1. Having a robust customer profile allows for more intelligent call routing, which leads to fewer transfers.
Better
Service Through SCV
2. With the details of past interactions at their fingertips, agents can be confident that the resolutions they provide are relevant to the customer’s individual needs. They don’t have to assume anything about the customer’s situation; they have facts. This prevents the customer from having to re-explain issues. 3. Customers are free to use multiple communication channels without the details of the interactions being siloed in different systems. 4. Agents can personalize experiences, and spend less time collecting and/or finding information. As for agents, their job gets less complicated and they are able to more effectively and consistently solve their customers’ issues.
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85% of executives with service oversight believe customer experience is a key competitive differentiator. Specifically, customers want personalized care—69% of consumers (and 82% of business buyers) say it has a major or moderate influence on their loyalty.6 And they want it in real-time. 68% of consumers say it's absolutely critical or very important for agents to know their service history so they don't have to spend time explaining it to them.7 With functional silos being the most commonly-cited barrier (cited by 52% of respondents) to delivering the relevant and timely experiences customers expect...8
Better
Service Through SCV
...a clear case emerges for better service through SCV. A shared, single view of the customer empowers agents to provide consistency and continuity in every customer interaction, by helping them to:
better connect with customers (81%) provide personalized customer experiences (80%) provide a more consistent experience across every channel (80%) be proactive instead of reactive (78%).6
Simply put, meaningfully improving customer experience means empowering agents with the right tools for the job—tools like Single Customer View. When agents can more effectively resolve customer issues, those same customers who are switching brands to poor service will be likelier to become more loyal (according to 70% of survey respondents). Not only that, but… 65% say they would recommend the business to others, 43% would use the business more frequently, and 40% would spend more money.5
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Ready to Explore SCV Further? This eBook barely scratches the surface of the research we have done on the benefits of a single customer view in the contact center. Our white paper, “Not Knowing Your Customers Is Costing You,” explores SCV in depth and how it impacts operations, technology, agents, and customers. It’s a must-read for any company wanting to explore how data can solve for a number of issues related to customer satisfaction, technology, operations, and budget. Click here to download your copy. Sharpen is a cloud-native contact center platform that helps businesses create perfect customer experiences.
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Sources [1] Stop Losing Money and Focus on Customer Service. Entrepreneur, 2013. [2] The Aspect Consumer Experience Index. The Center for Generational Kinetics, 2015. [3] Customers 2020: The Future of B-to-B Customer Experience. Walker Information, 2013. [4] Blinded by Delight. Harvard Business Review, 2015. [5] Serial Switchers Strike Again. NewVoiceMedia, 2016. [6] Second Annual State of Service Report. Salesforce, 2017. [7] State of the Connected Customer. Salesforce, 2016. [8] Pursuing Customer Relevance in the Digital Age. Harvard Business Review, 2016.
You’re good. Let’s get better. Sharpen is a cloud-native contact center platform that enables customer experience teams to establish a better relationship with their customers. This global platform eliminates costly on-premise hardware, increases agent efficiency, and makes customers happier through frictionless interactions. Sharpen is committed to building a global community of companies who believe that a happy customer is a loyal brand advocate waiting to happen. For more information about Sharpen’s products and services visit sharpencx.com or contact us at 855.249.3357. SCV EB 0317
