When it comes to product and service feedback on digital platforms, the power is in the hands of the consumer. However, if a business can harness this information correctly it can be a significant advantage. With 74% of adults having bought goods or services online in 2014, customers can share both their good and bad customer experiences at the touch of a button. This means that where once customer interaction happened on a one-to-one basis, customer conversations are now shared and public so can significantly affect the organisations reputation.

Research from Gartner states that by 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, reiterating the need for customer service to become a priority, not just for customer service representatives but also for senior management.

One of the challenges for businesses looking to prioritise customer service, is the speed of change when it comes to platform evolution and new collaboration methods, not forgetting the change in customers’ expectations. With an array of digital platforms to manage, how can companies maintain the human touch and personalised customer experience without sacrificing quality or drastically increasing costs?

1. Everywhere

As we say goodbye to standard store opening hours, digital customers can connect with businesses whenever it’s convenient for them whether it’s by phone, or via social channels, over email or even within an app.

Building an effective multi-channel customer support function, system or environment allows the company to tie these touch-points together so it’s manageable and visible for the team and they’re able to easily add new ones to meet demand. Furthermore it provides you the opportunity to consider solutions that can expand to include phone, email or live chat support alongside social media, self-service and embedded mobile offerings.

2. See the Whole Picture

Keep the audience front of mind at all times and tailor the social media messages accordingly. As each enquiry can vary, context is required to respond in the most helpful way. For example, you’d respond differently to someone who’s emailing you after calling three times that week as opposed to a VIP club member. It is essential to provide data to your team about the customer in a timely manner so that they can deal with it most effectively.

3. Empower

All interactions can build a brand so when the customer can find answers easily, everyone wins. The first port of call should be developing a well-designed help centre, online knowledge base, community or customer portal. This deflects customer enquiries and appeals to the 67% of customers that would prefer to use self-service rather than contact support.

4. Keep it Personal 

The danger with digital platforms is responding to large-scale customers with a default robotic response, however true customer service brings the brand’s personality to the fore, just as you would speak to someone if they walked through the entrance of your store. Implementing technology can help provide a solution with time-based escalations or action-based alerts, and writing pre-configured templates for frequent responses, whilst adding that personal touch.

 

By Nick Peart, Marketing Director EMEA at Zendesk. 

Do you have any more top tips for effective customer service? Share your thoughts below! 

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