Enhance Multi-Channel Customer Service

Keeping your customers happy is a key facet of running a well-respected, profitable business. But how do your customers get in touch with you to let you know when they have a question about your product or service? Some customers may simply pick up the phone, while others may prefer to search your FAQ section on your website.

No matter what channel your customers use to communicate with you, they have certain expectations for how the communication should flow and how long it should take. With that in mind, it’s becoming increasingly important to improve your customer service across each of your channels. By analyzing your customer data and identifying their preferences, you can develop strategies to proactively improve your customer service across multiple channels. Here’s a brief overview of how you can enhance the customer experience across a variety of channels:

Phone and Interactive Voice Technology

With the vast majority of customer service interactions taking place over the phone (roughly 92%), many brands are turning to interactive voice response (IVR) as an efficient way to assist customers over the phone. With IVR, customers can use automated self-service to solve many problems, cutting down on the need for a live agent and time consuming conversations. For customers who do require the help of a live agent, improve their experience by using a skill-based routing system to ensure that the customer reaches the most appropriate agent for their problem. Also, integrate your phone-based service with other channels to give the agent a full picture of the customer’s information and communication.

SMS/Text

Customers appreciate SMS/text messages as proactive, convenient notifications. Make sure that your messages stay appreciated rather than an imposition by using SMS only between the hours of 11 am and 9 pm, and monitor peak mobile usage times among your target audience to identify when your messages will be most effective.

Email

With over 3.9 billion active email accounts at the end of 2013, it’s logical that 60% of consumers want to be able to reach customer service over email. Make sure that your customers know that you’ve received their query by sending an automatic confirmation email that acknowledges their question and lets them know when they can expect a response (most consumers agree that within 24 hours is acceptable). Write your email copy in a clear, easy to understand tone that aligns with your brand.

Social

99% of brands are on Twitter, but few of them are meeting customers’ (high) expectations; 72% of customers expect a response to complaints within an hour, which only 10% of companies on Twitter achieve. You can improve your response time by 43% and double the rate of response by creating a dedicated customer service handle for your company.