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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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Brand Spotlight: How Glossier Uses Customer Service to Perpetuate its Business

By Janki Lodhia on October 30, 2019

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If there is one modern-day company that is re-inventing the ropes of customer experience, it’s Glossier. Having completely shattered the standards of how to run a beauty business, Glossier continues to be the fastest growing beauty company that is predominantly focused on e-commerce.

It’s not surprising: One of the brand’s differentiators is its customer service offering. In fact, most businesses could learn from Glossier’s customer service structure as they leverage a modern approach to customer support, which promotes overall brand success. Glossier proves that it’s possible to innovate in the realm of customer service. Here are some insights into their successful, unique approach.

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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 Tips For Providing Quality Customer Service Training

By Jessica Suezin on October 15, 2019

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Great customer service starts with making great hires. But, that’s not where it ends. Providing excellent customer service has never been more critical. According to a recent marketing report by Gartner, 89% of businesses are now expected to compete on customer experience alone, compared to only 36% just a few years prior. No matter how talented your new hires are, they will not be successful without proper training.

So, how can you provide a great training experience for your customer service team? Here are five tips to help you get your team started on the right foot.

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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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RingCentral Gives Avaya the Gift of Focus

By Shai Berger on October 9, 2019

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The RingCentral-Avaya announcement from last week had a lot of industry watchers scratching their heads. The benefits to RingCentral were clear: They just bought an exclusive position for their UC offering with the world’s largest reseller ecosystem. But what is Avaya’s main benefit? Obviously, the cash component was a key to it. (Although I don’t fully understand the inner-workings of that cash-crunch.) But was hobbling their UC business too high a price to pay?

I think the real benefit here is that the deal frees Avaya to focus fully on its crown jewel, the contact center business. A Mitel merger, or any merger for that matter, was going to add confusion in that area. All the moves in the last few years make sense if you think of it in terms of clearing away distractions from a focus on contact center.

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Fonolo Investigates: How Retailers are Using Customer Data to Gain a Competitive Advantage

By Drew Wilkinson on October 8, 2019

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Back in 2017, The Economist boldly declared that “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.” As we head into 2020, no one would bat an eyelid at this statement. Big data is now used to address an increasing variety of business problems, from product launches to fraud and compliance.

As retail contact center leaders gear up for the busiest time of the year, big data may be the last thing on their minds. However, effective use of customer data offers a significant competitive advantage. This data, gleaned from social media, web visits, call logs, and other sources, can help you improve customer experience (CX) and maximize the value delivered. For example, retailers can provide personalized offers, reduce customer churn, and handle issues proactively.

Achieving this data-centric approach to CX may sound quixotic. However, the reality is that big data is working in the retail industry, and gleaning insights from how other brands have already put it into practice can start you on your own big data journey.

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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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