Self Service Improving the Customer Experience
Self service to date has been somewhat successful. Great news; there’s a new way and it’s changing the customer interaction forever. Make your business available 24x7x365. Come into the office in the morning to find sales that have happened overnight.
In the Contact Centre world, IVRs were seen as the solution to providing a interactive solution that wasn’t reliant on human help. Reliance on voice communication is reducing and Digital Interactions are now outpacing the good ole telephone.
There’s an important dynamic that’s changing the world. Customers, have been for some time, been increasingly reliant on the internet to research solution that will deliver what they require:
- It might be a purchase for home
- It might be a business purchase
- Maybe they’re trying to find their next holiday
- Checking out how to handle a problem
- Expertise to help them achieve a new outcome
There are 100’s of scenarios where people are turning to the internet for answers/solutions. In a business context it could be their intranet. Smart businesses are recognising the fact that potential customers are now choosing their suppliers based on who is able to deliver when they need it.
Self Service Scenario 1: Picture a Gen-Y customer browsing the internet;
- they are a little compulsive when they start looking for something they are ready to buy it
- they want quick outcomes because they’ve more important things to be getting on with
- they are firstly seeking knowledge so they can understand everything
- if they can’t find what they’re looking for on a website they’ll just go to the next website
- if they can find what they’re looking for on your website they are likely to buy it
Self Service Scenario 2: A staff member needs some knowledge:
- an inquiry has arrived about a product or service
- the staff member doesn’t know the answer
- they start browsing through internal information
- the answer isn’t readily available so they talk to peers and send an email
- some time later (could be a day or 2) the answer arrives
- the customer gets the response but they’ve purchased elsewhere
- a similar query goes to a different staff member – the sequence starts again
Can you put your hand on your heart and say yes my business provides self service options. Around 97% of business do not provide self service options (Gartner 2017).
Self service functionality is no longer only for large businesses. There are now viable platforms that deliver can provide an amazing link between knowledge and customers both publicly and using a secure portal/gateway. Browse around our site – have a look our case studies and get in touch if you believe your business is ready to start the exceeding your customers expectations.