Contact Center

How Chatbots Can Support Your Live Chat Customer Service Strategy

By Jessica Suezin on November 7, 2019

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People often hear the word ‘bots’ and immediately think about some dystopian science fiction flick they’ve seen where robots ultimately take over the world and usurp humanity. There is still a lot of misunderstanding and miscommunication in the marketplace about bots, and artificial intelligence generally, which explains in large part the resistance some people have in adopting bots for their lives and businesses.

The truth is, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and messenger bots are a new frontier in technology that can be an excellent tool to support our businesses, particularly when it comes to customer service. When used and integrated into your call center and customer service strategy correctly, messenger bots have the potential to relieve backed up call center queues, assist busy customer service agents, and ultimately help serve more customers and increase sales and revenue for the long term.

This is how messenger bots can increase the efficiency of your customer service call center, improve customer satisfaction, improve the workflow of your customer service and call center agents, and increase the overall value of your company. Continue reading →

How to Prepare Your Call Center For Spikes in Call Volume: Credit Unions

By Drew Wilkinson on October 31, 2019

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Credit unions’ commitment to serving their members is reflected in their healthy growth: these financial institutions now count more than 110 million people as members and hold deposits totaling $1.1 trillion. When a growing sector builds its reputation on customer service, customers themselves can feel the strain of growth when that reputation is no longer met or exceeded. The bottom line is that keeping customers happy during an expansion is no easy feat.

Credit union call centers face a unique set of challenges beyond brisk growth. Traditionally smaller in size, credit unions often lack the resources to implement “best-in-class” technologies, making it especially tricky to tackle surges in call volume that come from rapid growth. With 76% of customers viewing customer service as the real test of much a company values them, long wait times can leave brand new members (and existing ones) annoyed and frustrated.

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Calls Are Taking Longer, and That’s a Good Thing

By Shai Berger on October 29, 2019

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It’s hard to get clear, objective data about the overall state of self-service technology. Case studies about specific projects are plentiful, but, as the saying goes, “the plural of anecdote is not data.” In addition, you always have to account for bias in that reporting: Vendors are going to highlight the data that makes their technology look good. Projects that succeed will be touted, and projects that fail get buried quietly.

If we want hard answers, we have to get a little more clever. Data released last week allows us to do just that.

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Are You Prepared for Unpredicted Spikes in Call Volume? [Slideshare]

By Drew Wilkinson on October 24, 2019

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While today’s tech-savvy consumers are using more non-voice channels to connect with businesses, the act of picking up the phone to quickly and verbally resolve an issue (complex or otherwise) isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The problem with this? According to an Accenture study, consumers’ top two complaints were:

Having to contact customer service multiple times; and
Being kept on hold for too long.

This consumer pet peeve is exacerbated by the fact that contact centers routinely face expected, and unexpected, spikes in call volume. Expected spikes can be a result of seasonality and promotional events, and unexpected spikes can stem from product recalls or natural disasters.

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How To Provide Exceptional Customer Service Throughout The Holiday Season

By Jessica Suezin on October 22, 2019

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! For most retail companies, the fourth quarter of the year is the busiest and most crucial part of the year for business. This can put a lot of pressure on customer service workers who are not only dealing with a higher volume of tickets but also, potentially, a more stressed shopper.

It’s important for retail companies to have plans and strategies in place when heading into the holiday season to ensure that customer service workers have the tools and resources they need to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction despite the influx of calls, chats, and emails from consumers looking for the perfect holiday gift (often, at the last minute!).

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5 Best Practices for Providing Excellent Customer Service on Social Media

By Jessica Suezin on October 10, 2019

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If you were to check your company’s social media mentions right now, there is a very good chance you would find customers trying to get your attention. According to J.D. Power, 67% of online users are leveraging social media to get in touch with companies for support. There is no question that ignoring them is a major customer service faux-pas. If your team is going to engage with customers on social media, there are a few best practices to keep in mind before you get started.

Here are five tips for cultivating successful interactions with your customers and clients on social media.

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Are You Prepared for Unpredicted Spikes in Call Volume? [Webinar]

By Drew Wilkinson on October 3, 2019

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After the grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, calls to Air Canada’s customer service prompted a recording that said call volume had “temporarily exceeded the company’s capacity to answer or even place callers on hold.” While this was an extreme event, every call center faces the same problem at one time or another: Unpredictable spikes in call volume. These causes can be understood, even anticipated. However, as in the case of Air Canada, these peak periods can also come as a shock to the system.

While today’s tech-savvy consumers are using more non-voice channels to connect with businesses, the act of picking up the phone to quickly and verbally resolve an issue (complex or otherwise) isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The problem is that when calls spike, hold times spike, too. The effect of this on the customer experience is significant: 60% of customers will abandon a call after just one minute of waiting on hold. A quick glance at onholdwith.com confirms how much hold times infuriate consumers. If you want to improve customer loyalty and keep your CSAT scores healthy, you’ll need to make sure you have the right safety nets in place.

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How to Prepare Your Call Center For Spikes in Call Volume: The Financial Industry

By Drew Wilkinson on September 26, 2019

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Like most companies competing in the modern marketplace, the financial industry is subject to spikes in call volume due to seasonality. Despite the increased offering of digital channels for handling customer service requests, surges in call center activity for financial institutions are a regular occurrence. The reason for these surges varies: They may be the result of unexpected crises (such as a data breach) or more predictable events like annual mortgage renewals or tax season. Added to this are the challenges brought forth by the digital era, which have the financial sector rushing to adapt to meet the increased demands of contemporary customers.

As banks close their physical branches, with more services being offered through their digital channels, customers take to the phones to have their questions answered. 30% of customers calling in are doing so with “moment of truth encounters” that “have higher emotional stakes for the customers.” These become key interactions in maintaining – or losing – customer loyalty. When call volumes spike, the stakes are even higher as customers deal with frustratingly long hold times.

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Best Practices For Integrating Messaging Into Your Customer Service Strategy

By Jessica Suezin on September 24, 2019

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From SMS to live chats, messaging is becoming an important part of different companies’ sales and customer service strategy. Many major brands have adopted some form of messaging to assist customers prior to, during, and even after a sale has been made. This powerful feature has the capability to help companies both drive sales and increase customer satisfaction.

Despite the rising popularity of messaging features like SMS, live chats, and social media messaging, it’s important to adopt this strategy in the most effective way. Here are a few best practices to ensure that your messaging strategy helps your customers, your employees, and your revenue. Continue reading →

How Can Customer Service Agents Help Upsell and Cross-sell? 3 Techniques and Tips

By Drew Wilkinson on September 19, 2019

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Your airline has updated your flight details, shortening an already tight connection time. After being on hold for 45 minutes, you spend a slow afternoon going back and forth with an agent before you are finally booked on another flight. Just as you’re about to hang up, the agent asks, “By the way, would you like to upgrade to our Premium Economy for only $70 more?”

You decline and make a mental note to never fly with that airline again.

Often customer service leaders believe that with a few simple moves, they can transform their customer service department from a cost center into a profit center. It’s just a matter of encouraging service reps to push your products or services aggressively. The problem is that, as the above example illustrates, this often comes across as clumsy, or worse still, tactless.

That is not to say that cross-selling or upselling isn’t a huge opportunity for your company. It just requires you to carefully train your agents on how to tactfully spot opportunities and subsequently act on them. This ensures that your customers can choose from the full range of products and services you offer, and, if done correctly, it can actually enhance the service your team provides.

Are you unsure of where to begin? Let’s take a look at three techniques and tips your customer service agents can use to drive upsells and cross-sell while on the front lines.

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