Customer service in the news – w/c 17th September
This week – the importance of keeping customer service simple, why brands are overestimating the level of service that they deliver and the surprising way that Generation Z prefers to shop.
Mind the gap: Disconnect between brands and customers is bigger than they think
New research has found that businesses are wildly overestimating the standard of support that they’re delivering through customer service.
According to research from software firm LogMeIn and tech research firm Vanson Bourne, four in five businesses say that their consumers would give them a favorable review, despite them failing to resolve fewer than half of queries immediately.
The reality is that brands are taking an astonishing 11 hours to solve the average customer query – three times longer than consumers think is acceptable – and that more than four in every five people has had at least one issue when connecting with a brand.
But with customer interactions expected to continue to rise, firms need to think seriously about how they can improve standards – and quickly. The research says that investment in chatbots and AI are the future, with the new technology making workflows more efficient as well as speeding up the time to solve queries. Read the full story here.
Keep it simple, stupid
A report from market research firm Forrester suggests that businesses that deliver an authentic customer experience are more likely gain the trust of consumers and race ahead of their competitors, so far, so logical. But what does it take to be authentic in a world that constantly reinvents itself?
The solution is astonishingly simple – don’t make promises that can’t be kept. The report – titled ‘Root your CX vision in your brand’ – says that the majority of customers just want their experiences to be in line with a brand’s values, but factors such as a lack of planning and unclear product offerings, means that the reality often doesn’t live up to expectations.
In fact, 57 per cent of marketing decision makers globally admit to not aligning their brand values to their customer experience plan. Forrester says the answer to this problem is, wait for it, pretty simple, and ditching vague visions and values for realistic and easily understandable messaging and guidance will help to solve the issue that’s been bothering brands for years. Read the article here.
Success is just a tweet away
It’s no secret that using social media can help companies to promote their products and deliver a better level of customer service. But research from social media management platform Hootsuite says that an effective social strategy is now not just a consideration for marketing, but a vital factor that can help to determine a business’ overall success.
Questioning firms across the Asia Pacific region, the research found that 90 per cent of brands now believe that social media is key to helping them to remain competitive, with 74 per cent also thinking that it’s now a vital part of helping them to build their bottom line.
But as firms increasingly use social media to boost business, the vast amount of data that they‘re receiving in return is causing a headache for many, with more than half of the respondents not able to interpret what it even means.
Social media can help brands to build relationships, sell products and recruit new staff and, for those who use it correctly, success is just a tweet away. Read the full story here.
Shop ‘til they drop: Gen Z’ers prefer in-store experience
For Generation Z (those aged 18-22) everything has always been just a click away, which it’s why it’s surprising that most Americans’ that fall into the age group still prefer to shop in a physical store rather than online.
Research by cloud-based analytics company Profitect Inc. found that 42 per cent of Gen Z’ers prefers shopping in-store only, with the enjoyment of browsing the biggest reason to leave their house and visit a retailer.
That said, brands shouldn’t abandon their online strategies just yet, with 34 per cent of people surveyed enjoying the benefit of shopping both in store and online, and 23 per cent favoring to make purchases only online.
The research also recognizes that consumers are using the internet to heighten their in-store shopping experience, with shoppers using sites to find out if certain products are available before making the effort to visit a shop.
But this preference for multi-channel shopping also presents its own risks, and one in five Gen Z’ers said they would never shop with a brand again if a website said that it was available in-store and it wasn’t. Read the full story here.
Launch of new product signals the end to ‘systems of oppression’
Microsoft has announced that it’s adding three new products to its Dynamic 365 CRM offering, in a move that it says will eliminate the previous ‘systems of oppression’ that merely capture data without providing any benefit to the end user.
Instead, Microsoft is billing the new Dynamic 365 CRM programmes for Sales, Customer Service and Market Insights as systems of empowerment, that help to analyze natural language and sentiment to equip sales managers and customer service agents with the information they need to take actions that will benefit the customer.
Within her impassioned statement, Alysa Taylor, Microsoft Corporate VP for business applications and industry, said that similar technology is on offer from competitors, but what sets their programs apart is that they’re not cumbersome for companies to adopt. Read the full story here.
Author: Editorial team Future. Customer.
