How Smartphones Changed the Customer Service Landscape

09 March, 2017

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Smartphones and social media have transformed the call center industry over the past decade.

Companies use to dictate to the customers how and when they would be taking calls and via what method. Consumers were frustrated trying to reach tech support or customer service in the middle of their workdays because they would be closed when they get home.

How things have changed.

Now customers are dictating to the companies how they want to interact, and it’s usually faster and using technologies with which they are familiar. Companies are on the defensive, but understanding a few key components might help you get ahead.

First, think about your social media strategy. Do you have someone in-house or outsourced managing customer complaints via social media in real time?

You know the old saying “a happy customer tells a friend; an unhappy customer tells the world?” I’d argue social media has made unhappy customers tell the universe! With one tweet, Facebook posting, or Yelp review, customers are now able to voice their opinions on your company.

If you haven’t visited your social media strategy recently, I encourage you to take a look at the comments on your company’s social network pages and see if it’s time to start managing that.  You should also have someone monitoring social media websites.  You can now order a pizza on Twitter… shouldn’t you be responding to your customers there as well?

Second, think about alternative channels than voice. Web chat and email have become more common, and it’s important to make sure you’re ahead of the curve. With advancements in call center technology, agents can handle multiple chats at once. You can blend chat, email, and phone across one efficient team.

In addition, you can now do co-browsing or screen sharing — a useful tool to show a customer a product on your website or for them to provide information that they’re looking at for even better support.  Make sure agents taking your calls are well-versed on all these platforms.  They may be the first contact — and first impression — for your customers

Finally, it’s time to get rid of that old, complicated, self-service IVR.  Companies use to think they could save money using these since the IVR is infinitely cheaper than a live body.  But the amount of customer dissatisfaction they cause is staggering.  Keep IVRs simple with basic routing but get them help through multiple channels instead.

My belief is the customer experience comes first at all costs. A great outsourcer can help keep your metrics in line with creative efficiency tricks.


About Transparent BPO:

Transparent BPO was founded in 2009 to provide its clients with superior omnichannel nearshore call center services and business process outsourcing at competitive pricing. Belize is Transparent’s ideal call center location as it offers an educated English-speaking population, reliable telecommunications, and an overall friendly environment. With Spanish being the second language of Belize, Transparent BPO can offer highly qualified bi-lingual agents. Transparent’s state-of-the-art call center system development and IT support allow for seamless integration, resulting in a transparent business relationship.

Contact Transparent BPO for more information HERE.