Consumers are becoming ever more selective and critical of the brands they deal with and in some sectors, increasing competition can mean that securing some degree of loyalty is a top priority. Proactive customer interactions can play a key role in developing a relationship with a brand and developing loyalty, but to be cost effective and intelligent, technology comes into play. Yonder Digital Group research has shown that 87% of consumers claim that they will buy again from a company that is able to provide live advisor interactions at the right time, but it is critical that these approaches are meaningful and targeted.
A recent US study reports that taking the initiative in customer care could increase retention rates by 3-5%. First of all, however, businesses need to base their direct interaction on a solid basis of customer data. In addition to this, data needs to be up to date and collected across all channels the customer interacts with to create a truly omni-channel customer experience (CX). Interactions via telephone, web and other digital media need to be tracked and easily accessible to live contact centre advisors to help inform their suggestions and advice to the customer.
To make this data useful to the contact centre it must be structured and stored correctly at capture in order to ensure that it can be analysed. To do this a ‘tagging’ system is preferable. This will enable your system to link up relevant data at the right time effectively drawing up from a pool of otherwise difficult to manage information.
Predictive technologies, AI, bots and machine learning are beneficial tools that can help advisers make timely, targeted suggestions to customers or solve problems faster. Drawing on customer data that the company already collects such as information from billing, purchase behaviours, marketing or customer service, with external data sources – such as live traffic data to car rental customers at pick up – can make the brand really stand out from its competitors.
Customers interact with your brand across a range of channels and have come to expect that the brands they deal with are able to provide a multichannel experience; an angry customer should not have to explain the previous complaints they have made over email to telephone agents for example. In addition to this, ensuring that customers are contacted via the channel they prefer – be it a live agent calling them, an email, text message or tweet – plays a key part in ensuring your brands gets the desired attention from the customer, but also shows the customer your brand values them and their preferences.
Striking the right balance between reactive and proactive customer care is a challenge that can be won with the aid of technological tools combined with live agent assistance. Increasingly demanding customers cannot fail to be impressed by a business that is able to offer timely added value suggestions and to predict which useful information or suggestions will help time-poor customers in their daily life.
Guest Blog by Graham Ede of Yonder Digital Group
