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Why Good Customer Service Matters

by Jason Napierski, Product Marketing Manager, CallMiner - April 30, 2014

Why Good Customer Service Matters

According to Nielsen research, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than they trust all other forms of marketing. Nielsen also found that 77% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it from friends or family.

With word of mouth marketing continuing to play such a big part in the consumer buying process, providing quality customer service remains critical to a company’s overall success; recent Forrester research, in fact, confirms that 95% of leaders consider good customer service to be a priority. Here are a few reasons why it should matter to your company:

· Increase in customer expectations: In today’s customer-centric marketing landscape, consumers expect personalization, more options, constant contact, response to customer feedback, and specific action taken on that feedback. With consumer expectations rising, customer service agents must respond by providing a positive experience that will satisfy and retain customers (not to mention inspire positive word of mouth marketing).

“We can thank (or blame) technology for most of these new customer expectations,” claims Customer Experience Insight. “The amount of information that’s available at the speed of light and in the palm of people’s hands makes nearly everyone expect more.” So what can companies do to meet (or even exceed) these customer expectations? Manage the customer experience in a way that ensures you don’t lose customers to the competition and instead enhances the experience of today’s savvy and demanding customer.

· Customer experience as competitive advantage: According to Forrester research, three quarters of company leaders want to use the customer experience as a competitive advantage. In other words, neglecting the quality of your customer service can result in dissatisfied customers who may end up taking their business elsewhere (and who may encourage friends and family to do the same).

A 360-degree view of the customer includes customer views of the past (i.e., customer history), present (who is the customer today and how does he/she relate to your organization?), and future (actions that can be initiated to help guide the future of the relationship with the customer). However, “the most effective 360- degree customer view reflects only the most relevant data directly related to the process in which the agent is engaged at any one time,” says Bryn Standrin, business consultant at Pegasystems. “The key is in having access to the right data – and only the right data – at the right time, in the right place.”

· Improving customer service via call center monitoring: The key to meeting customer expectations and providing a positive customer experience is to take a look at the interaction between customers and agents. However, a different Forrester research report shows only 31% of organizations closely monitor the quality of interactions with target customers.

With 92% of contact center leaders seeing high value in sharing metrics in real-time with front-line agents (for such reasons as boosting customer satisfaction and service level, among other benefits), the answer to improving customer service can be to implement real-time call monitoring. Call monitoring software can help managers listen to their agents in action and take steps to proactively address any problems they may uncover, potentially helping to retain customers.


Final Thoughts

With customers becoming more discerning than ever before, your company simply can’t afford to ignore its customer service. By providing a positive customer experience and monitoring the interactions between agents and customers to address issues as they arise (as opposed to after the fact), you can ensure your customers feel valued and remain loyal to your company. Good customer service matters to customers; it should matter to you, too.

Jason Napierski
Product Marketing Manager, CallMiner

 
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