Customer service and customer experience blog for call center professionals
Every time a customer comes in contact with your brand, whether it’s in-store or online, each interaction is a touch point that contributes to the customer experience. Consumers are demanding more, and their choices are ever expanding, which means that better service will lead to greater customer loyalty.
Here are 5 customer service mistakes that are negatively effecting your support operations.
The call center industry is a large and evolving space. With so many moving parts and new trends to understand, contact center professionals are always looking for leadership and guidance. Who are the people they can turn to and trust? Whose opinions and predictions are most valued in this industry? Fortunately we have the answer for you. Our yearly roundup of the top analysts in the industry keeps call center professionals like you informed on the best influencers to follow. These thought leaders are always quick to provide updates and analysis on the latest news and innovations in the contact center space.
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![[Video] 3 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on BPO Automation](https://fonolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Video-4-Takeaways-from-Our-Google-Hangout-on-Chatbots.jpg "[Video] 3 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on BPO Automation")
Last week, Fonolo hosted yet another insightful Google Hangout discussing BPO automation. This fabulous panel of BPO experts discussed the growing demand for automation and the new role of humans on the front line. To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.
First, let’s take a quick look at the panel of speakers: Mark Hillary from IT Decisions, Neal Topf from Callzilla, Jeremy Watkin from FCR, Peter Ryan from Ryan Strategic Advisory, and Shai Berger from Fonolo.
Mark your calendars! Sourcing Decisions 2017 is taking place March 2, 2017 at St. Andrew’s Club & Conference Centre in Toronto, Canada.
This is a brand new conference specifically designed for enterprises seeking to advance their knowledge in robotics automation, artificial intelligence and newly emerging digital platforms to better engage customers. The conference will feature a series of panel discussions and presentations from some of the leading minds in enterprise ICT procurement, sourcing and vendor management. Continue reading
Between multi-channel strategies, keeping up with consumer demand, and maintaining service levels, running a successful contact center today is no easy task. With the enormous effort involved, many call centers are turning to outsourcers for help. Although some executives are hesitant to let a function of their business go, others realize that outsourcing a specific function is the best solution. Even the largest of corporations outsource entire departments to firms that have the time and expertise, along with a level of dedication to high-quality performance.
But what kind of promises should a BPO make to their call center clients? What makes them the most ideal outsourcer to choose? Here are four simple commitments a call center BPO should make.
The best way to predict trends in customer service is to look at patterns in consumer behaviour. As customer demographics shift and technology evolves, understanding expectations becomes a never-ending task.
It’s obvious that customer service has become increasingly complex, but it still remains a vital component to the success of every organization. The problem is, many businesses are struggling to keep up with all the changes. A study from NewVoiceMedia indicates that companies lose more than $62 billion each year due to poor customer service. Understanding trends in customer service has become a high priority for most, if not all, organizations.
This whitepaper examines 10 customer service trends that will dramatically affect the success of your support team in 2017. Continue reading
Celebrated on February 2nd, Groundhog Day is when we wait in anticipation to see the groundhog emerge from its burrow. If he sees his shadow, there’s supposed to be six more weeks of winter, and if there’s no shadow it means that spring is near. For me, it always brings back memories of the “Groundhog Day” movie, where Bill Murray wakes up every day experiencing the same series of events he did the day before.
This had me thinking about the endless loop of tasks your call center and its agents perform on a daily bases. Realizing how common Groundhog Day and your call center are, I thought it best to illustrate some tips and tricks to avoid being trapped in the duties of your workday. Continue reading
The customer experience has grown to be one of the leading determinants of customer satisfaction in the contact center. A recent study by Dimension Data shows that 82% of companies recognize the customer experience as a competitive differentiator, and 77.5% recognize it as the most important strategic performance measure.
With the sheer number of individuals talking about the customer experience, it can be hard to find great thought leaders, and as a CX manager it’s important for you to know who the most influential people in the space are. That’s why each year Fonolo sets out to determine the top thought leaders in the industry, so companies can learn from the best.
Congratulations to these 15 analysts who were selected because of their highly regarded knowledge of the customer experience. Continue reading
I recently read a great analogy on what it feels like to call customer service today. Imagine being a child again and asked to do your math homework – a subject you’re unfortunately not very good at. You end up procrastinating the task for as long as possible because deep down you know it will take much longer than expected, and somewhere in the process you’ll be throwing up your hands in frustration. Speaking to a live agent is amazingly similar to doing your dreaded math homework.
Calling customer support is an incredibly annoying task that often becomes overwhelmingly frustrating. First, you’ve got to find the correct phone number for your region, then you have to listen to the maddening automated system to navigate your way to the right department, and more often than not, you’ll be stuck with some elevator music while you wait on hold to speak to an actual human.
In an effort to make this experience a little less frustrating we’ve constructed some ways that you can avoid hold time and get an answer to your question quicker.
Here are 5 tricks to follow: Continue reading
Call centers have a bad reputation for being difficult places to work, specifically for front-line agents. The result is often high agent churn or disengaged employees who are simply not invested in their jobs. This can be a toxic environment for contact centers trying to provide a positive customer experience. If agents aren’t happy, customers won’t be happy. Continue reading
