Mega News Week in CPaaS and Messaging: Twilio, SendGrid, SignalWire

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Big News in Messaging -Twilio SignalWire SendGridA year ago, the CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) space seemed settled into comfortable middle-age. Twilio had won the game in terms of “API for sending messages and making calls”. Nexmo had been acquired by Vonage. Tropo by Cisco. Zang by Avaya.

But, it turns out that this was just a pause before the next verse in this tune. Twilio launched an ambitious expansion “up the food chain” with a call center platform in March (which went live this week), invested heavily in IoT (Should that be part of CPaaS?) and continued last week via the massive acquisition of SendGrid, now moving into the email distribution space.

Meanwhile, Nexmo is newly relevant via Vonage’s acquisition of NewVoiceMedia. And we have a new entrant: SignalWire.

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How to Successfully Implement Customer Self-Service Strategies

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How to Successfully Implement Customer Self-Service Strategies“I just want to speak to a real person” has become a token phrase used by people during almost any type of automated customer service experience. Even so, gone are the days when talking to ‘a real person’ is the customer’s preference: Today, 70% of customers expect self-service options and most brands are taking note.

Customer Self Service, or CSS, is any type of electronic or automated support that allows customers to find answers or resolve problems without having to connect with a customer service or call center agent. Examples include FAQ sections on websites, help center blog forums, self-service account creation, password resetting, and interactive voice technology in call centers.

Despite the clear demand for these services, 55% of consumers find self-service portals difficult to use. So, how can these customer self-service strategies be implemented in successful ways that not only increase efficiency but also cut costs for companies? And, using self-service offerings, how can brands create happier customers who are more likely to become repeat customers (or brand evangelists)?

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How Can Your Call Center Improve Service Levels?

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Improve Service Levels in Call Center

Meet Jane, the co-founder of a start-up that makes software for independent designers. Last year, her business received a round of seed funding and, as a result, its volume of orders quadrupled. Although this growth was positive, Jane was left struggling to keep up with customer (and internal) communications; processing new orders; investigating logistical issues; optimizing marketing strategies; and testing and updating product features. There was also no time left to visit clients and hear their needs.

Jane’s CEO observed the bandwidth problem and implemented a solution: She formed an internal call center and hired and trained a team of 10 agents to support it. Soon, agents were placed on calls with clients and within a month the agents had streamlined pending projects; followed up on account receivables; and reached out to new clients via cold calls. This surge in productivity helped Jane focus on key accounts and core business functions.

This story demonstrates that call centers help companies improve overall service levels. To achieve and maintain a good holistic service level, however, it is imperative for call centers to improve and maintain their internal service levels, too.

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Inspiring Customer Service Advice in Less than 280 Characters

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Inspiring Customer Service Advice in Less than 280 CharactersAs we transition into autumn, it’s easy for us in customer service to lose the steam, energy, and focus we coveted during the rejuvenating days of summer. This is certainly not ideal given that the late fall and early winter months are some the busiest for call centers and contact centers in many the vertical: Black Friday, Super Saturday, and most of the days book-ending December 25th see a dramatic upsurge in customer support requests, which accompanies a similarly dramatic upsurge in shopping on these days.

Customers also use social media as a preferred communications channel at this high-octane time, a public, digital soapbox upon which to shout out about frustrating customer service experiences (anything from being put on hold to never reaching a customer service agent). But while social media can reflect the negative, it can alternatively offer positive viewpoints and inspiring wisdom, often in 280 characters or less. Specifically, Twitter and LinkedIn have sprinkled throughout its many vestiges a series of short, sweet, thought-provoking tidbits from insightful customer service professionals that can dig you out of the winter doldrums, and catapult your customer support strategies into action. If you want to be inspired, invigorated, and ready for anything, read on and soak in the quick’n’dirty advice from CS and CX professionals and enthusiasts.

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How to Create Brand Evangelists and Reap the Rewards

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How to Create Brand Evangelists and Reap the RewardsMost marketing decisions today are driven by data. With CRMs, social analytics, Google analytics and e-commerce platforms readily available to most companies, marketing teams are able to pore over and analyze enormous amount of statistics, numbers, charts and trends. From product development to launch strategies and content planning, data is often behind many key decisions being made by company leaders.

However, there is a very powerful kind of marketing machine that brands are learning to leverage: Brand evangelists. Brand evangelists are customers that will repeatedly sing the praises of companies to their networks of friends, family, and social media followers. Creating, identifying, and leveraging these evangelists requires a much more personal (rather than data-driven) approach for a very important reason: Other consumers are more likely to trust this kind of ‘advertising’.

There is no question that brand evangelists are powerful assets for any company, but the question lingers: How do you create this level of brand loyalty? Here is how customer service teams, call center agents and community managers can create, identify and leverage brand evangelists.

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Toronto’s Tech Explosion a Mixed Blessing for Start-Ups

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Toronto’s Tech Explosion a Mixed Blessing for Start-UpsBy every measure, the tech scene in Toronto is exploding. Venture capital (VC) investment is hitting new records. The pace of start-up activity is very high. Lately, it seems like all the major tech companies have announced a new office or a major investment in the city.

While we all cheer for our city to succeed, this ramp-up does have a downside. And, for start-ups and smaller tech companies, it can be a mixed blessing.

 

 

 

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Effective Customer Service Strategies from the World’s Biggest Brands

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Effective Customer Service Strategies from the World’s Biggest BrandsThe rise of digital commerce and the growth of social media have given consumers powerful tools to share their thoughts and feedback with brands. The ability for customers to tout their distinct opinions with far-reaching audiences is a new phenomenon that has shifted the way brands must think and operate. Excellent customer service must become a central component of companies’ strategies if they hope to survive and thrive in this digital age.

From creative call center strategies, to social listening, to large customer service budgets, there exist a multitude of techniques that will aid brands in continuing to delight consumers. But, since the cost of acquiring a customer can be steep, it is in a company’s best interest to create a happy consumer with a high customer lifetime value (CLV).

Many brands have recognized this fact, and are responding appropriately with innovative strategies. Turn your attention to these great examples of how the world’s biggest brands are putting their customers first and seeing massive customer growth as a result.

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Join Fonolo at SOCAP’s RE-IMAGINE Customer Care Conference

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Fonolo at SOCAP conferenceSummer may be over, but the sun is rising on a busy 2018 fall trade show season. Fonolo has many events on the horizon, but is especially excited to be a first-time exhibitor at SOCAP’s REIMAGINE Customer Care Conference,  October 21-24, 2018, at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Produced by SOCAP International, a collaborative community of leading customer care experts from diverse industries, the Re-Imagine Customer Care Conference will bring together renowned brands and solution providers to engage in meaningful conversations on the role of customer care and how it can adapt to meet the growing needs of future consumers. Continue reading →

Proven Strategies to Improve Customer Loyalty

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Business must be run at a profit, else it will die. But when anyone tries to run a business solely for profit … then the business must die as well, for it no longer has a reason for existence. – Henry Ford

Proven Strategies to Improve Customer LoyaltyFord started out with a dream: Build a horseless carriage affordable enough for every American household. He wanted Ford Motors to be special, not just another giant, aloof institution in the marketplace. Ford dreamed of an inspired business built upon customer-first principles and propelled by innovation. As history shows us with the Ford legacy, forward-thinking businesses with inspiration as a core part of their mandates yield inspired workforce, higher employee productivity, and increased customer loyalty.

Fast forward to  2018 and you will see the majority of the world’s population ordered online retail products via Amazon, streamed videos on Netflix, bought the latest iPhones, treated themselves to Dunkin’ donut, or wore Nike shoes while working out. This is simply owing to the fact that the dominant majority were loyal to these household brands, and would likely purchase similar products in the future, too. It’s no surprise, though: Like Ford, the aforementioned brands value innovation and customer-first principles, even if it means an increase in cost. And, most importantly, these brands invest heavily in developing customer loyalty.

 

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What’s Holding Back the Contact Center Industry?

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What's Holding Back the Contact Center IndustryContact centers are like people: We’re all at different stages, chugging along healthily but sometimes faltering along the way.

As we begin to look back at 2018, one thing is becoming clear: Not every contact center is created equal. While some are overhauling and optimizing their entire operations and adapting to the demands of modern consumers, there exist some (even those belonging to notable brands) that lag a step or two behind the speed of change. This is not a criticism – it’s simply the reality, an industry-wide circumstance brought about by the learning curves and rapid technological changes to the customer service space in contemporary times.

 

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