Why Changing Attitudes is Key to Improving Housebuilders’ Customer Service Offering

With the new homes industry as competitive as ever and the government's "Help to Buy" scheme increasing demand, housebuilders have never been under more pressure to distinguish themselves from their competition. But despite new homes being at the epicentre of political and topical discussion, how many new home builders have really stamped their brand authority onto the market place?

Whilst housebuilders have done a great deal of work to promote the quality of their offering, developing a brand and a respected identity requires more than just slick advertising.

Speaking to Showhouse magazine before the New Year, EWA's Michael Mosley, suggested that housebuilders should focus on the quality of their customer experience in order to build a better image of their brand.

"People talk about promoting the new homes industry louder, but what about quieter? Branding is not and never has been an advertising campaign – branding is something you live."

No great brand can get by without a great product offering and focusing advertising campaigns around the quality of new builds plays an important part in building a positive identity. But in an age where a competitive marketplace and the forum of social media has never given consumers so much power, focusing on the product alone isn't enough any more.

"When you walk into a Five Star hotel you expect excellent customer service. Before you've seen the room, used the bar, or checked in, so much of what goes on has already been a Five Star experience" continued Michael.

"But according to our own research, homebuilders simply aren't doing enough to maximise the customer experience, with consumers consistently feeling ignored when making enquiries."

"'They've ignored my online enquiry'; 'They've ignored my voicemail'; 'Once I bought my house they ignored my problems' – this appears to be the shocking norm of the industry."

"So let's change those comments into: 'I couldn't recommend a new home enough,' or 'They were so helpful and even after I moved in, the service was excellent.'"

 Michael commented further, going on to say:

"It will change when the industry starts treating people who buy new homes as customers and not as cash cows. Another hotel analogy: Premier Inn. I get a decent bed and a great service every time I stay there and it doesn't matter what the location is, I will recommend them. If I recommended a housebuilder to a friend in the Midlands because of my experience in Cornwall, I will bet good money that their experience won’t be the same."

Improving the quality of customer service within the industry requires a real change in attitude, with a need for new home builders to embrace customer service completely across their organisations and at all levels. The sooner housebuilders begin to embrace change, the stronger their brand identity is likely to become. The overall message? Acquiring leads and enquiries is important – but finding a way to generate advocacy through consistent customer service is arguably even more vital.

Fighting Back Against Customer Churn

In this sustained period of economic gloom that businesses are continuing to battle within, the fight to attain new customers has never been more important. But while so many of us are focusing our resources on bringing new customers to the table, organisations of all shapes and sizes are continuing to take existing ones for granted.

Battling against customer churn is a perpetual reality that businesses have always had to face. But in a retail environment which has given customers more power and choice than ever before, keeping hold of your existing customer base is no easy task. Certainly, with a recent study by the Institute of Customer Services (ICS) revealing that British firms fear losing 10% of their customer base over the next three years, increased customer churn spells bad news for business.

What is customer churn?

Customer churn – also known as customer attrition – is in its simplest guise, the loss of clients/customers. The logic behind customer churn is the notion that it costs businesses a lot less to retain a customer than it does to attract a new one.

With the same ICS study placing the cost of replacing that customer in excess of £6,500 as of 2011, there’s a strong incentive for British businesses to centre their efforts on maintaining their customer base rather than simply adding to it.

But why is this now such a problem for businesses?

The concept of customer churn is nothing new, with the loss of some customers an unavoidable reality for businesses of all sizes. But with customers now possessing an abundance of choice in the digital age and a stronger resistance to more traditional forms of marketing, the retailer is no longer in complete control. When you add to this the challenging economic circumstances that British enterprises have had to deal with, retaining customers has become increasingly difficult.

ICS’s study also underlined exactly why businesses’ shouldn’t be underestimating the power of customer retention. Nearly 65% of customers are spending less with 86% admitting they now take a lot more time to shop around and research the best deals available before they purchase. Once they’re gone, winning back defecting customers has become an almost impossible task.

So what’s the key to preventing customer churn?

Nearly two thirds of UK business leaders agree that customer service is likely to be a key market differentiator over the next few years. Poignantly, this is something that customers are also in agreement with – a staggering 83% identified quality of service as an important driver of loyalty.

But here’s the disconcerting truth that businesses have to face up to - the vast majority of customers believe that their defection to another company could have been prevented.

Customers are loyal by nature, but are growing tired of poor and misleading customer service. With many companies sacrificing their investment in customer service as a result of the economic climate, the culture of unhelpful customer service has only been exacerbated.

What can I do to fight against it?

It’s time for businesses to stop viewing customer service as an extension of their business and start viewing it as an integral element that’s imperative to growth.

Look to place an emphasis on making your customers feel valued at every single touch point. Optimising your existing service network is always the best place to start. Ask yourself the following:

How long is it taking us to respond to enquiries?
Are we dealing with those enquiries in a clear and coherent manner that always offers customers the solutions that they need?
Are we equipped to adequately respond to these enquiries across all possible channels?

Whether you’re a fledgling SME or an established high-street retailer, the changing balance of customer power ensures that doing the bare minimum simply isn’t enough anymore. Customers need to be treated as individuals and whether that involves something as simple as apologising  for an error (and then fixing it) or a wow factor that’s a little more complex, always strive to create a positive memory during the service experience.

When broken down, the importance of maintaining and improving your customer service experience can feel like a daunting task. But taking stock of your current set-up and taking the necessary moves to solve any issues is vital in giving your business the edge.

Why new home builders must be prepared to handle the Help to Buy boom

With the government’s Help to Buy scheme getting off to a scorching start in the first two months since its April launch, new home builders are dealing with a welcomed period of demand.

Despite the uncertainty that’s surrounded the chancellor’s flagship scheme, the first stage of Help to Buy has attracted huge interest from aspiring homeowners, providing a well-timed boost to the industry.

But while home builders are welcoming the influx of prospective buyers with open arms, dealing with the added deluge of interest has proved difficult for some companies. With the UK’s tough economic climate currently showing few signs of respite, it’s absolutely vital that home builders are geared up to adequately deal with the Help to Buy boom.

Why it’s important to prepare for the continued boom

While the Help to Buy scheme’s affect on house prices remains contentious, there can be little doubt of the positive affect that it has had for homebuilders.

The first phase of Help to Buy – which allows buyers to put down a deposit of 5% and take out an equity loan from the government of up to 20% of a property’s value – has seen interest in new homes soar. Just this month, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) described interest in the scheme as “huge.”

Stuart Baseley, chief executive of the HBF, underlined the influx of interested that home builders were having to contend with.

“Four thousand reservations in just two months shows both the consumer demand for the scheme, and developers' commitment to it,” he explained. With figures like that and the second part of the scheme set to start in January, it’s imperative that home builders don’t underestimate the sustained influx of interest.

Why is this potentially a negative for home builders?

The boost in interest for home builders is of course an overwhelming positive, but for those who are struggling to deal with the unprecedented influx of enquiries, the Help to Buy scheme can produce some difficult times.

From sales departments struggling to reply quickly enough to enquiries, to failing to cope with responses over a variety of channels, the added interest means little if your company is unable to cope. Given the consistently competitive nature of the marketplace and the continued difficulties that the financial climate is producing, home builders cannot afford to miss out.

What’s the problem?

Sustaining an optimum level of service from the initial enquiry stage, all the way through to an eventual sale, is vital to keep your business at the top of the trade. Identifying when your sales arm is in need of of some help, possibly from an external source, is key to keeping this level of service the very highest it can possibly be.

But far from simply seeking an extra pair of hands, it’s important to consider the impact of increased interest across the entire sales process. Can you adequately

• Ensure that new enquiries are responded to promptly and assertively?
• Respond to all enquiries across multiple channels? (Email, online, phone, sms etc.)
• Accurately capture data in a dedicated database to seize the moment and help equip your business for potential follow ups and successful marketing campaigns.
• Qualify leads from a whole range of sources so that sales teams can concentrate on the most valuable prospects?

Making the most of the Help to Buy boom is important to all home builders, but with the continuous economic gloom refusing to subside, the incentive to maximise sales has never been greater.

It’s important that home builders can effectively manage enquiries all the way through from the first point of contact, to accurately reusing customer data for future marketing purposes. Maximising your conversions from enquiries to sales is always a key goal for businesses of any size. But given the golden opportunity that homebuilders have been handed through the Help to Buy scheme, now is as good a time as ever to re-evaluate how your company handles its enquiries.

10 Cast Iron Customer Service Tips

Providing great customer service is essential for any business, from the local high street shop all the way up to the largest multinational corporations. Customer service however is not about simply providing countless sales and promotions; it is about building relationships, strengthening your reputation and ultimately achieving a healthy bottom line. But how do you build these relationships? Here are ten practical tips on how you can deliver the service your customers demand.

1. 1. Give your customers a exceptional experience
   Ultimately, your customers want two things. The first is for you to meet a need that they have. The second is to meet this need whilst delivering an exceptional experience.
2. 2. Keep your word and over-deliver
   Only promise what you can deliver and do everything you can to keep that promise. Broken promises breed distrust, so keeping your promises helps to build loyal relationships with your customers.
3. 3. Apologise when a customer complains
   The first step of resolving an issue is to always apologise to your customers if the company has made a mistake. Then try and ask them if they have accepted your apology so that you can go forward and find a solution.
4. 4. Treat customers as individuals
   Every customer wants to feel as if they are being treated like they’re the only customer in the world. Treat your customer as an individual, don’t generalise because of the limitations of your processes, at the front line, personal service is essential.
5. 5. Give them that WOW Factor
   Do something to wow your customers, something out of the ordinary. For example, keeping your contact centre lines open 24/7 so your customers can contact you at the time most convenient to them.
6. 6. Make them feel secure
   If you can prove that you can deal with queries quickly and efficiently, showing that they will always encounter a good helpful member of staff, your customer will feel more secure with keeping their business in your hands.
7. 7. Never ever say No
   Never say No to a customer. Use language wisely, for example you could instead say that the request is outside of your service and that you will try your best to find the right person to fulfil the request.
8. 8. Listen to your customers
   Nobody likes being ignored and customers who do not feel like they are being heard will go elsewhere even if your product or service is best. Subsequently, you can try to take on board their comments and work them into your service, at the very least, make them feel like they are being listened to.
9. 9. Pay attention to the little things
   In the day to day delivery of customer service it is easy to become complacent. For a customer however this is an important interaction meaning they will notice the little things. So pay attention to them and the big things will take care of themselves.
10. 10. Do something extra to create a positive memory
    When you’ve finally resolved your customers complaint, do something extra for them to leave them with a positive impression of you and the brand i.e. give them tips on how they can use the product or service better.

These are just ten of the considerations you can make if you want to deliver great customer service. Ultimately, if you make your customers feel special, deliver on your promises and listen to them when they comment you are setting the foundations of a solid relationship that over time will achieve repeat custom and positive word of mouth.

Excellent Customer Service and the Power of Brand Advocates

It’s a widely held belief that in many industries it costs five-to-ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing customer, which is why looking after your customers with exceptional service is a priority for any business.

Looking at the customer service experience from the customer’s point of view is essential in keeping customers and building relationships with new and existing ones, but it goes deeper than that. It’s long been established that the average satisfied customer will tell two-three people about their experience with a company and a dissatisfied customer will share their lament with eight-ten people to avoid the company responsible for the dissatisfaction (and that was before the days of social media). But what if those customers have a positive customer experience? Is this not just as powerful an emotion to share with their friends, colleagues and social media connections?

The simple answer is, of course customers that have a positive experience will share their thoughts and opinions... enter the brand advocate.

Brand advocates are a hugely valuable tool for businesses, providing a marketing asset and genuine opportunity for engagement with a well defined peer audience, contributing to the growth and profitability of the company. But as a business, how do you create brand advocates? Here are two recent examples I have experienced.

Providing Great Service

I have been using a certain shop for some time and they have offered value as well as reliable delivery. To my surprise, the shop was one of the biggest distributors in the UK, although I had no idea how big they were as each time I called to place an order they would always treat me like I was their only customer. They also seem to listen to their customers, are adept at finding a solution for any complaint and ultimately, make me feel like they know me better than any of their competitors.

This exceptional level of service leaves me satisfied, ensures I recognise their brand and is enough for me to choose them over their competitors. Going further, I will happily recommend this particular retailer to people I know, which is a huge step in trust and loyalty.

Investing in Customers

Another example is a close friend that is a passionate follower of a particular technology brand. Because of his support for their products on social media, he has picked up a wealth of free products and tickets to showbiz events. This is a “win win” for everybody involved; the technology company is able to turn someone who already follows their brand into a vocal advocate across the social media landscape, whilst the customer who receives free gifts, is made to feel valued and part of something bigger.

Understandably this won’t work for every business, but both examples have a common feature – the delivery of an outstanding customer experience. All businesses can learn that giving a WOW experience to customers is key to building loyalty, trust and advocacy. Whether it’s providing fast, convenient and reliable service, or being responsive to your customers’ needs and investing in them, customer experiences are now the key differentiator and can provide a competitive edge.

The Value of CRM to the Customer Life Cycle

Whatever your business, whatever its size and whatever its proposition, your customers are fundamental to its success. This is why it is so essential to provide great customer service, to ensure that customers are happy with each interaction and are more likely to return in the future. Part of delivering exceptional service is building relationships with customers and managing them effectively.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an approach to managing these interactions, either with existing or potential customers. Typically this is achieved with software that tracks, monitors and analyses each step in the relationship, enabling you to understand and nurture your customers’ life cycle.

The Five Stages of Customer Life Cycle

Speaking broadly, the customer life cycle is the different stages of a customer’s relationship with your business. The stages are:

• Reach
• Acquisition
• Conversion
• Retention
• Loyalty

On a simplistic level, the value of CRM to a business is being able to manage each stage, so that you can first grab their attention, teach them what you have to offer, convert them into a paying customer and finally keep them as a loyal (and profitable) customer.

Customer life cycles depend heavily on the type of service or products you offer and as such the way you approach CRM needs to take this into account. For example, you may have a long customer life cycle, like a child who sets up a bank account, grows up with the same bank, uses them for their mortgage and pension right up until the end of their life. In contrast not all customer life cycles are that long, if you are a book retailer it may simply be a case of advertising a new release, converting the sale and then following up with marketing around similar books over the space of three months.

It’s important to realise that CRM systems can be relevant to any customer life cycle, helping you to track the progress of sales deals, record particular customers and track the action in relation to the deal, using this data to then build on customer relationships. Customer insight of previous customer data can also help you map out exactly the next steps your customer will take, such as the products they are more likely to choose over other products and how long their relationship with you might last. By having such an understanding of your customers’ life cycle, CRM systems can also allow you to plan ahead, using data gained to forecast the number of new customers required if your business is to remain sustainable.

Ultimately, CRM solutions are crucial in managing each step of the customer lifestyle cycle but are also fundamental in ensuring customer relationships progress smoothly as part of your wider customer service objectives. Blended with effective marketing messages CRM has the potential to nurture customers throughout their life cycle, maximising the profitability of each and every relationship.

Contact Centres Metrics – Are You Measuring What Matters Most?

In the past the success of a contact centre operation has been measured with metrics based on efficiency, call duration being just one example. Today however, there has been a significant change in approach, contact centres are now measured by how effectively they serve customers, not just the speed at which they can do so.

In an age where customers expect a level of service that is personal, professional and delivers on what it promises, it is now about measuring ‘what matters most’ – the metrics that can give insight into customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has always been a primary focus, but the explosion of social media has added a new dimension to word of mouth, making it more important than ever to ensure customers leave any interaction satisfied with the service.

That is not to say that metrics such as average call handling time should be discounted, they still have a place in optimising contact centres at an operational level, but their value in understanding how customers are being served is limited. With customer experiences being paramount to running a successful contact centre, metrics, like the four below, provide a far more qualitative view.

1. Service Level

The accessibility of your contact centre sets the tone of every customer interaction. Poor response times leads to an increase in bad conversations with customers, negatively affecting morale and ultimately the service provided. As such service level is the ideal accessibility metric for understanding the percentage of calls answered within the appropriate amount of time.

2. Contact Quality and Customer Satisfaction

To truly understand the quality of service being provided it’s vital that the customer’s point of view is utilised. C-Sat surveys following interactions are a frequently used method of gaining this understanding, and can be utilised to calculate on an individual level, a particular agent’s quality score and more widely, an appreciation of the overall service being delivered.

3. First Call Resolution (FCR)

FCR is a critical metric for contact centres because it has a significant impact upon customer satisfaction and costs. It should be a priority for all contact centres to equip agents with techniques and tools necessary to resolve calls in the first instance in the most appropriate way possible. Rapid, effective resolution leaves customers satisfied, which is why increasing FCR is a target for all good contact centres.

4. Employee Satisfaction

Probably the most overlooked metric in measuring customer satisfaction as it requires contact centres to look inwardly, but valuable nonetheless. The happiness of your employees correlates strongly with the service being delivered as unmotivated, unhappy agents will soon pass this negativity on through each interaction. The best way to grasp this metric is to undertake independent, anonymous satisfaction surveys, the findings of which can be used to shape future initiatives to improve employee satisfaction.

These four metrics are just a snapshot of how it is possible to measure ‘what matters most’ and ultimately provide the insight required to enable consistent improvement of customer satisfaction and experiences.

Forget Fearing Change; Embrace it!

It’s a fairly common assumption that people do not like change but as a rather simplistic view, it fails to recognise that people will typically respond well to positive change. People make changes every day, new jobs, children, marriages, travelling and on the whole these are made voluntarily. It shows that even massive changes aren’t resisted by people – as long as it’s positive and will improve their lives.

Negative change on the other hand is naturally resisted, for instance, having to reduce the size of the workforce without changing the workload is a negative change, one that could well be caused by a crisis.

Change, regardless of whether it is positive or negative requires careful consideration for businesses, not only for the reasons such change is being initiated but also in the way it is presented and managed.

What causes change?

Market forces

Marketplaces are in a constant state of flux, and as such it is vital that businesses commit to changes to innovate, to maintain a competitive edge or to continue providing the right level of service to their customers.

Technology

In similar vein businesses must also react to technological developments, to ensure that they stay ahead of the curve and do not miss out on a potential advancement that could improve productivity and enhance services they deliver.

Customer needs

As the world evolves, customer needs change and grow, creating demand for new types of products and services. Reacting to these changes can open up opportunities for companies to meet these evolving needs.

The economy

The economy plays a huge role in organisational change. A strong economy increases demand for products and services meaning companies must expand operations to cope with this demand. A weak economy will result in a business making difficult decisions that will have an impact on employees and stakeholders.
Managing the business through good and bad times is important to maintain a strong brand and strong relationships, although this should be achieved without jeopardising the business’ ability to react to change in the future.

Why agility is essential

In order to respond to these causes in a successful and timely way, it’s important to be agile. Agility can be gained in a number of ways, including the utilisation of outsourcing where possible, which limits the financial and logistical restraints of enacting rapid change, particularly as they take the financial and operational weight of staffing and technological investment. The right outsourcer can actually be an instigator of change, and in a successful outsourcing partnership you would expect to see a two way discourse of ideas on ways to change operations, identify new markets and maximise the service delivered to customers.

Why it’s important to change

Change is important for growth within a business; it can enable the exploration of opportunities, facilitate creativity and increase security. Businesses benefit especially from change that results in new ways of looking at customer needs, new ways of delivering customer service and new ways of strengthening customer interactions.

In today’s world of disruptive, 24/7 change, responding well is critical to success. Being unprepared for change could quickly lead to becoming a victim to shifting socioeconomic conditions. Change is always a risk, but in many instances it is a necessary risk to develop new avenues for revenue generation. Outsourcing this risk is sensible, as it minimises the implications to your business whilst allowing you to diversify revenue streams and become more robust in the future.

Avoiding the Dangers of Social Media to Your Customer Relationships

The ways in which customers engage with brands has changed. No longer is it a one-way relationship interspersed with the occasional interactions, today it is two-way discourse, carried out through multiple channels. Of these channels, one that has had a growing effect on engagement is social media.

In most business sectors and in both B2B and B2C contexts, social media has permeated marketing and communications. But whilst the importance of social media has been widely acknowledged, there is still a large number of businesses out there that don’t understand social media, do not know how it should be measured, or aren’t fully equipped to utilise social media for marketing to, or communicating with, customers.
This lack of understanding can have detrimental consequences, resulting in misleading expectations as to what social media should be achieving.  In the wake of failing unrealistic goals, it can also lead to the abandonment of social media as a channel in favour of more pressing, instantly rewarding marketing such as PPC or advertising.

The issue here is that running social media poorly, or half-heartedly following a failed attempt can have a disastrous impact on a business, its customer relationships and its reputation. Equally damaging can be a willingness to use social media, but a reluctance to dedicate sufficient budget to running a campaign, or investing in the time to integrate social media within the existing mix of channels and communication strategy – both are key in building customer relationships and enhancing retention.

These issues are prevalent across business, with companies jumping head first into social media without understanding how to leverage the best results, or deliver a level of customer care commensurate with other communications channels. In one recent study conducted by Forrester Research, a survey of 7,000 consumers found that majority of brands were only achieving an “okay” or “very poor” ranking for their social media management. Ratings demonstrating that whilst brands are happy to jump on the bandwagon, few are delivering an outstanding customer experience through the channel.

So what can businesses do if they want to realise the opportunity that social media offers whilst avoiding these pitfalls? 

One option is to recruit an internal resource to conduct social media activities, but with a wealth of experts, evangelists and gurus out there, it can be difficult to realise precisely what skills you are looking for. Proficiency with the various social media platforms is essential, but you may also want to consider looking for a more rounded marketing skill set; one that includes strategy, analytics, reporting, customer services and communications.

Another option is to outsource social media to a customer relationship agency. This provides access to experts in the field that know how to deliver exceptional customer service across multiple channels. It also ensures that customers are receiving a consistent level of care and offers the assurance that your brand reputation is in safe and capable hands.

Clearly social media is becoming an increasingly important part of the marketing mix and vital to the way that customer relationships are managed and maintained. Ignore it and your business risks being left behind. Fail to invest in and implement it effectively however and you could be risking much more.

Why Integrating Your Data Systems is Key to Positive Customer Experiences

Working within the customer contact industry does make me particularly critical of the experiences and communications I receive in my everyday life and whilst I try to leave my professional hat in the office, I frequently find myself critiquing the service and communications I receive from companies.

Recently I used the Odeon website to book my tickets for the latest film in the Bond franchise, Skyfall. As a regular cinema-goer I have a profile on their website which lists Chelmsford as my local cinema; using this profile I booked my tickets, before anybody has the chance of ruining Skyfall for me.

The Odeon online booking system is straightforward and easy to use and as you would expect, I received a confirmation email from them after completing my purchase. However, two days later I received a marketing email from Odeon saying “we can see you haven’t booked tickets for Skyfall yet at your local cinema. It’s not too late as there are still tickets available ... just click here.” 

Receiving this email brought two thoughts to mind. My initial reaction was whether my ticket booking has been successfully completed. The second thought was why their two systems (booking and marketing) aren’t integrated, preventing me from receiving emails that are misleading and misinformed. Fortunately my booking was successful so I will be able to see Skyfall unimpeded. I did however email Odeon to question the marketing message and as of yet, have not received a response.

There are important lessons to be learnt from this experience for customer contact and service professionals.

1. The data that you collect should be used to shape your customer communications; ensuring that if you are going to use marketing emails, that the messaging is accurate and relevant to the recipient.
2.  If you are going to request information from your customers it is important that you use it effectively to deliver personalised marketing and communications.
3. There is significant value in linking up your data systems, not only does this allow you to avoid such mistakes, but creates additional opportunities to cross and up-sell.
4. Companies need to be prepared for responses from customers, particularly if they get it wrong, answering their queries quickly and efficiently can minimise the negative impact.
5.  Ignoring the value of integrating data systems and communications can be detrimental to brand image.

Whilst this may only be a relatively minor mistake in delivering an integrated marketing experience to customers, it does highlight to companies the confusion and negative impact a mistimed or misinformed communication can have. It will not however limit my enjoyment of the film, even if the booking experience was compromised.

How to Support eCommerce with Additional Communication Channels

The eCommerce platform has grown massively in recent years and has made purchasing products easier and more convenient than ever (if executed effectively).  Unlike the high street, the internet enables businesses of all sizes to compete directly. As long as companies think rationally about their pricing and user experience, there is significant opportunity out there to generate revenue through eCommerce.

eCommerce also provides customer insight, a constantly open shop-front and global reach. If implemented correctly, it also allows customers to seamlessly move from researching to purchasing. That is not to say there aren’t problems with eCommerce platforms however; and whilst online retail sales are expected to grow to $250bn by 2014 (Forrester Research), around a third of UK online shoppers still report problems when they shop online (Aspect Online Shopping Service Experiences 2012 Survey).

The reasons behind these poor experiences are myriad and range from failing to deal with the growth of online business, or as we have experienced with one client, website navigation that was hampering the order process and leading to abandoned baskets. Whatever the reason however, the outcome is the same, poor customer experiences and the loss of a customer to a competitor.

This doesn’t have to be the case. Whilst the online space makes it easier than ever for customers to choose an alternative, by embracing additional communication channels it is possible to deliver an integrated customer experience that helps to achieve sales whilst building trust and loyalty. This could be as simple, (as we did with the example above) as offering a contact number so that customer issues were resolved in minutes by specialist agents. Alternatively, it could involve a more advanced cart recovery email marketing campaign that picks up abandoned baskets and guides the customer back to a purchase.

But what is the right communication channel?

Understanding which communication channel is right for your eCommerce business can be a challenge, with options that include live help (voice and web chat) and contact centre facilities, (email, phone and SMS). The equation is fairly simple, look at the channels that meet your customers’ needs, understand the limitations of your eCommerce platform and look at the products you are selling.

The Aspect survey highlights that 77% of online shoppers prefer to be contacted through email, whilst 14% prefer the phone and 8% web chat. This indicates that email is consistently the better option, but this may not always be the case:

For example, if you are an e-tailer of CDs, then an abandoned basket may warrant an email or SMS as a method of cart recovery.  Larger items however, such as white goods or technology may require an outbound telephone call, to better understand the reasons behind the abandonment and to encourage the customer back to purchasing.

On the other hand if you are regularly seeing basket abandonment, then web chat or social media may be the perfect way to provide real time assistance to customers, reducing the number of abandoned shopping baskets and subsequently, the number of inbound calls that could be resolved easily online.

With 97% of shoppers reporting that they had abandoned a shopping basket at some point (Aspect) the priority for e-tailers is clear: use an integrated blend of outbound and inbound customer contact to support and assist the user journey. Achieve this and your eCommerce platform has the potential to be highly successful, profitable asset to your business and will hopefully bring those customers back to order again.

8 Training Tips to Improve Your Customer Service

Every business today needs to stand by their customer service and the actions of their frontline staff. Getting this right however is about more than polite telephone manner, but is about creating a company-wide culture that emphasises the importance of building trusting and loyal relationships with customers.

Delivering outstanding customer service means creating memorable and extraordinary experiences for customers. It goes beyond having a friendly telephone call – customer service should be woven into your entire business and emphasized with every employee. There are two fundamental factors in achieving this, first is selecting the right employees and second is training them so that they possess the skills and expertise to leave customers happy after every interaction.

Training that encompasses skills provision, role play and post programme support can be highly beneficial to employees, enabling them to transfer what they have learnt in a meaningful and effective way. Training programmes such an NVQ qualification for employees are a huge benefit for employees and the company. The NVQ confirms a person’s competence in a certain field and therefore demonstrates confidence and self-assurance in performing crucial work, increasing their value as an employee and improving their career opportunities. Find out more about NVQs here.

But if you are going to achieve a first class customer service culture, what can you do in terms of training and development?

1. Recruit the right candidates – Recruitment is about finding people with the attributes that cannot be taught; motivation, attitude and personality. The right people make training much easier.

2. Educate new starters quickly – Every new employee should understand the service objectives and culture from the outset, helping them to appreciate and work towards the wider company goals.

3. Create internal training procedures – Your existing employees are a valuable training asset and can share their experiences and skills with the entire workforce. Subsequently, regular internal workshops and the structure in place for employees to put into practice what they have learnt should be encouraged.

4. Do not script – With wholesale recruitment (sometimes present in contact centres) it can be tempting to give new employees a script to handle customer interactions. This does little to enhance customer service and rarely motivates staff. Training instead gives them the freedom to be human and create positive interactions, whilst following guiding principles. (Read more about scripting - Frontline Service Employees Building Rapport – To script or not to script?).

5. Effective monitoring – Just because your employees have completed induction training does not mean their development journey has ended. You should be taking the time to interview them, monitoring their progress with the initial training and finding out what their next steps might be.

6. Giving Best Practices – By ensuring your employees understand the best practices of their job role you are setting the standard. This is particularly important in a data input situation where data entered incorrectly can be disastrous to effective usage and insight.

7. Don’t forget the management – Your customer service culture must permeate every facet of your business. The management may be busy but if they choose not to undertake the training, they are limiting their effectiveness in a management role and are also setting a poor example to rest of the workforce.

8. Train staff as they are promoted – When contact personnel are promoted to team leaders and then managers it is important to understand that each job role requires a different skill set. As a result it should be procedure that anyone who is promoted is trained effectively for their new role.

Development and training, taken seriously, is evidence that you care for your employees and their future. People care to the extent that they are cared for and have a yearning to grow, to develop, to understand and be all that they can be.  If you develop your carefully selected candidates properly, their desire for career development becomes evident. Do this at every stage of their professional career and you are one step closer to creating a customer service culture that is understood at every level at the business and by every employee – leading to outstanding customer experiences.

Getting the Most from Loyalty Scheme Data

As the economic climate drives customers to hunt better and better deals, loyalty schemes have become an increasingly popular way to gain discounts and special offers. But while loyalty card schemes offer a wealth of data about customers, using this data to its greatest potential remains a challenge for many companies, as does building true loyalty and brand commitment.

 These challenges have been highlighted in recent research pieces. A Forrester report found that 40% of chief marketing officers are disappointed with the “erratic” performance of their brand loyalty schemes. Similarly, a report conducted by The Logic Group and Ipsos MORI argued that while over two thirds (68%) of consumers are members of supermarket loyalty schemes, less than half (47%) actually feel loyal to their supermarket.

Successful Loyalty Schemes

That is not to say that loyalty schemes are wholly unsuccessful, many companies aspire to replicate the two most dominant schemes today; Tesco’s Clubcard and the Nectar points system. These stand out not only because of their size and reach but because they have permanently influenced the way customers behave and built long standing brand/customer relationships. Achieving a scheme as popular as either of these is unrealistic for most businesses, but through intelligent use of data, it is possible to run a loyalty scheme that drives significant revenue and profits.

What should a loyalty scheme do?

Ultimately a loyalty scheme must offer strong financial rewards and a clear value exchange for the customer. It must also differentiate itself from the myriad schemes out there and ideally provide customers with targeted offers relevant to their behaviour and interests. Naturally the ways you manage your data are key to achieving this.

Research from LinkShare states that 41% of customers have purchased something online that they would never have bought directly because of a voucher or special offer, showing the value of communicating the right deal, at the right time. Such results can be accomplished through effective data management, which can also help to improve customer retention, increase customer engagement and brand commitment through relevant communication. (Read more about The Value of Data Management).

What it shouldn’t do?

Loyalty schemes are not an excuse to bombard customers with offers and are not an extension of your mailing database. Customers join schemes because they want to be rewarded for their purchases and repeat custom, not because they are interested in every sale or offer you are running. As such, a different approach to communication is required, motivating loyal customers to purchase more regularly by clearly stating the rewards they can expect as they collects points, interspersed with offers directly relevant to their data profile.

 

Intelligently using loyalty data

A loyalty scheme has the potential to gain detailed information about your customers and can help you to engage, build trust and loyalty. This is only possible however through effective data management and responsible, intelligent use of data.

In order to get the best out of your loyalty scheme it is important to make sure your data is kept up-to-date and relevant, as this can help gain your company valuable customer insight. Insight that is crucial for understanding which customers to target, when to target them, what rewards are relevant, as well as their behaviour patterns and interests. Do this effectively and you will see an increase of customer loyalty through building a successful loyalty scheme.

If you are interested in the role data has to play in understanding your customers, why not take a look at our Why Data Management is Vital to Customer Insight blog?

How Volunteer Games Makers Revealed the True Meaning of Customer Service

Amidst the accolades being given to the athletes at the recent Olympics it is fair to say that the volunteer Games Makers deserve just as much recognition. Before the Games started many people did not realise how pivotal these volunteers would be to the overall success of the event. But with their enthusiasm, commitment and outstanding service they not only pulled off what has been considered a major accomplishment for the nation, but gave visitors and competitors alike a world class customer experience.

Lessons can certainly be gained from the success of the Games Makers. Just as the athletes trained to ensure peak performance, the volunteers underwent training and development programmes. These programmes gave them the tools of communication, empathy and problem solving so key to achieving great customer service.

But while the technical abilities of the volunteers to solve customer issues were demonstrably important, the culture of enthusiasm and motivation created by the organisers also played a vital role. This culture was at the heart of everything the volunteers did, and it clearly shone through in their dealings with members of the public.

So what lessons can be learned for businesses?

If the volunteer Games Maker programme has taught us anything it is that making people feel part of something special is crucial in achieving a first class service culture. When staff have a sense of pride and are enthusiastic about their role, it will be evident during their engagements with customer, leading to fantastic service.

It also shows us that putting customers at the heart of everything and radiating a positive attitude around the working environment are both fundamental in motivating employees and injecting enthusiasm into the way they deliver customer services and go that extra mile. Such a customer centric approach transcends industries, sectors, products and services; it is relevant for all businesses.

The Games Makers were aptly named; for many they made the Games. They showed the rest of the world that Great Britain can deliver a first class customer service culture and that we have the people, skills and motivation to do it. The next step is for businesses to take up the torch, set up effective training programmes and create company cultures that put customers at the core of every activity, motivating staff to provide outstanding customer service in every interaction.

Outsourcing the 80/20 Rule

Without doubt, sales and marketing in a business to business (B2B) environment has its own distinct set of challenges, especially when dealing with commodity goods and complex distribution models.

In our experience, more traditional models of marketing and sales processes persist. Typically businesses operate in-house marketing departments whose primary function is to stimulate the market and generate interest (email, DM, catalogues) and field sales teams whose job it is to convert the interest into sales.

In theory, this principal works well if properly conceived and managed, however issues can arise both in terms of resource, managing costs and return on investment. And in more than any other marketplace, the classic 80/20 rule is evident...

80% of effort goes into the 20% of accounts which generate 80% of the sales.

But what about the remaining 80% of accounts generating 20% of the sales?  

Key accounts receive the regular, proactive contact from field sales personnel but lower value accounts are often only serviced on a reactive basis. This can lead to a number of challenges:

• Little customer development or product cross sell
• Missed opportunities to upgrade customers to key account status
• Lower value accounts often complain of “only being contacted when there’s something to be sold”
• The perception of the brand in lower value accounts doesn’t match that of key accounts

So what’s the answer?

First and foremost it’s a question of identifying the development opportunity in smaller (or tier 2 for want of a better phrase) accounts. This can be done by performing analysis on the make-up and profile of the overall customer base, identifying those tier 2 accounts and the products they purchase, their frequency and the revenue generated.

Once the opportunity has been analysed , a communication strategy can be put in place, preferably one which integrates both the marketing and sales functions. It’s at this point that we always advocate the use of Relevance Marketing – relevance of channel, relevance of message and relevance of timing. If you can say the right thing via the right channel at the right time you will significantly increase your chances of successful conversion and make your sales team’s job much easier.

This leads me on to channel. The current or potential value of tier 2 accounts can mean it’s not cost effective to perform regular field sales visits. Indeed an existing client of ours has calculated that it costs somewhere in the region of £150 per successful field sales visit. Telephone based account management however is much more cost effective. For the same cost of a field sales visit, approximately 60 phone calls can be made in a working day of which you could reasonably expect 60% to be constructive conversations with decision makers. This is of course only true in an internal account management scenario where the businesses being called are already customers.

In-House or Outsourced?

Many businesses already operate telephone based account management models supported by structured marketing activity. With the right facilities and structure, it can be preferable to manage this function in-house however this can prove to be costly and problematic when factors such as recruitment, training, retention and contact centre infrastructure are taken into consideration. This is where an outsourced model can be attractive.

It is important though to choose the right partner when outsourcing something as important as your customer communications but what are the key points to look for? I’ve previously written a series of blogs on these topics which cover the following:

Choosing a Contact Centre Outsourcer

Outsourcing Contact Centres – A Path to Reduced Costs?

What are the factors behind a good client/agency relationship?

Whatever the primary reasons for seeking an outsourced partner in the first place, for me the most important are finding a partner who takes the time to really understand your business and products and one who can demonstrate a measurable return on investment.

Specialist business process outsourcing companies (such as ours) will have mechanisms and metrics in place to ensure that the results of the campaigns are measured and that continuous improvement is sought. What sets exceptional BPO providers apart from run of the mill ones is the investment they make, not only in the early stages but on an ongoing basis in really understanding your culture, proposition and the results you’re looking for. This way they can truly become an extension of your own business and a valuable addition to your sales and marketing function. 

7 Reasons to Integrate Your Marketing and Customer Service Teams

Consumers have always had opinions on the products and services they buy (and the service they receive), but the growth of social media has made voicing these opinions easy to do and therefore more visible than ever.  As a direct result, how your customer services handle these opinions is now in the spotlight. As marketing operates in the same channels, bad customer experiences can have a seriously detrimental effect on your marketing activities. The result is that marketing and customer services can no longer operate in isolation and here are 7 reasons why collaboration between the two departments is essential.

1. Improving Customer Service on Social MediaYour social media manager is unlikely to be the most qualified person to handle customer service on social media channels. To improve effectiveness, bringing members of your customer service team into the equation means they can deploy their expertise and participate in the handling of enquiries or complaints.
2. Creating Engaging ContentYour customer service team understand the needs, wants and problems of your customers. As such they are a source of valuable and engaging content. Using their experience in the creation of content benefits your marketers’ efforts with information that contains true insight.
3. Understanding Purchasing BehaviourThe basis of effective marketing campaigns is understanding your customers. As the personnel on the front line, your customer service team is likely to be the most valuable resource at your disposal in discovering the triggers and reasons that drive your customers purchasing decisions.
4. Managing Customer Expectations The offers made during marketing campaigns unfortunately may not always deliver what they promise. In such instances the customer service team are ideally placed to help marketers understand which elements were misleading and how campaigns can be improved in the future.
5. Unifying Your Messaging and GoalsFor many customers the first port of call with a question about a campaign goes through the customer service team. As a result it is imperative that the team know which marketing activities are being carried out, so they are adequately equipped to handle any issues or questions. Briefing sessions or documents are a painless way to implement this unified approach.
6. Identifying and Promoting Customer SuccessesCustomer services don’t just handle negativity and equally, positive experiences feature. Having your customer service team pass these positive customer experiences onto marketing is a fantastic source of marketing collateral. The feedback can be used in case studies and testimonials for PR or customer-centric marketing campaigns.
7. Realising the True Worth of Your OfferingMarketers base much of their work on the supposed benefits of a product or service. But these benefits, often developed internally may not actually align with the real world advantages of your offering which can be sourced from customer services, helping to make marketing more effective.

The increasingly joined up world in which marketing, sales and customer services operate has made these departments indivisible. Inter-departmental communication, combined with collaboratively developing strategies and plans is the best way to achieve successful campaigns that are perfectly aligned with the needs of your customers and the objectives of your business.

12 Top Tips for Contact Centre Management

Last year we saw many people take to mobile smart phones and social networking sites to communicate with brands, clearly marking an evolution in customer engagement. According to a recent Econsultancy report on the 30th November 2011 however, the customer contact centre remains at the forefront of customer experience and can often be the only ‘human’ interaction a customer has with a brand.

This is quite possibly the reason why so many still prefer a phone call to a tweet or a Facebook message, so the demand for exceptional customer service is as relevant today as it always has been.

Despite this, contact centres are not always received well by customers. Understandable when the myriad reports surrounding contact centre performance, especially abroad are considered. Whilst some practitioners are certainly getting it wrong though, there are many that are providing exceptional customer service.  

So how can a contact centre make sure that they are exceeding their clients’ and customers’ expectations?  The following 12 tips are key to running an efficient contact centre that drives revenues, maintains service levels and increases the customer base.

•       Quick response – Having a team of agents trained to react quickly to incoming calls and outbound calls is vital. Ultimately, all calls should be answered at all times.  
•       Eliminating repeat calls – Focusing on eliminating repeat calls to save time and ensuring enough staff are covering the lines is something which should embedded in the running of every contact centre.
•        Accurate data capture – This is a crucial element to contact centre management and helps achieve greater customer insight. Bespoke data management systems can be adopted to make sure that the correct data is captured accurately and consistently.
  
•      Become an expert– In-depth information about the client’s products and services should be learnt by the agents and management. The more knowledge an agent has, the more professional they will be in their dealings with customers. 
•      Do not script – Building rapport with a customer is a vital constituent of customer service and sounding robotic through the use of a script is unhelpful. Empowering customer service agents is something that should always be the main focus.  Why not read this blog to see why scripting should be avoided? 
•      Treat customers fairly – Putting customers at the heart of each and every operation, whilst treating them fairly and ensuring that agents are able to work around their needs are the foundations of excellent customer service management 
•      Follow up – Exceeding customer expectations by making a brief phone call to customers, even after an enquiry or query has been resolved, shows the customer that the business has taken their problem on board and is seeking to avoid similar situations in the future. 
•      Take ownership of the problem – There is nothing worse than being passed from pillar to post when you are trying to solve a problem. This is why it is so important for customer service agents to stop the cycle and take ownership of the problem themselves, subsequently limiting the damage to the company’s reputation. 
•      Communicate the overall goal – Making sure that the overall message and objectives are clearly defined and measured by management is imperative. Creating guidelines and goals for staff to work towards are both key in fostering a company culture of achieving and exceeding targets. 
•      Real-time statistics – Team leaders and supervisors should have the insight into their individual and departmental statistics in real-time, as it has an immediate impact on behaviour and performance. 
•      Managing peak time calls –Being fully prepared for the busy periods of calls and ensuring that right staffing levels are utilised will improve overall performance. To achieve this it is vital to forecast future staffing requirements and to implement a flexible shift model which adapts to call volumes, as these can vary day to day causing overstaffing /understaffing. 
•      Call-handling staff performance – Key performance statistics/ indicators (KPIs) should be applied as this will help keep track of staff performance and can indicate the quality of service delivered by individuals. KPIs could include the number of answered calls per person and average call duration. 

These 12 tips can form the basis for an effective and successful contact centre that has the capability to deliver exceptional levels of customer service and ensures that enquiries are dealt with professionally, rapidly and positively.

 

Why Keeping Your Data Safe is Key to Customer Confidence

In modern business capturing data, in whatever form, is a common activity in companies large or small, in retail or hospitality, B2B or heavy industry. But whilst everyone understands and appreciates the role that captured data plays, not everyone takes data security as seriously. 

Whenever someone fills out a form and gives their data there is an expectation that it will be kept secure and used discretely, working to improve the information and service they receive. The truth is that this is not always the case. In the recent Adestra Email Marketing Industry Census 2012 it was stated that of client side companies, only 56% have policies in place to guard against data breaches, and worse still, just 47% of supply-side companies have data security processes in place. 

The report further evidenced the problem by stating that around a quarter of agencies failed to know what data security policies were in place and amazingly, some didn’t even know if policies existed in their company. The statistics reveal that in some sectors there is an utter lack of awareness of the issues surrounding data security and that many operators are woefully underprepared to respond to and proactively protect against security breaches. 

It is not simply inadequacies in preparation and negligence of the issues however. A recent article in the Sunday Times and Marketing Week highlighted the malicious misuse of data and the burgeoning black market surrounding the personal details of UK residents in Indian contact centres. This illegal sale of data is according to one police source; “out of control” although fear of negative publicity has led to many cases being covered up.  

The illegal sale of data in Indian contact centres is currently being investigated by the ICO, providing yet more impetus for UK companies to keep their contact centre operations onshore and appear more committed to protecting their customers’ data.  At EWA it has been one of our objectives for some time to make sure that we make sure we promote and protect our clients and their reputations through pursuing robust data security measures.  

To do this it’s critical that we keep client information secure. If we fail, then we compromise our clients’ integrity and their customers’ rights and even safety. If you are looking for a contact centre or outsourced contact solutions then from a security point of view, ISO27001 Accreditation should be seen as a priority in your selection process.

So how do you keep data secure?

We protect against internal threats by having a clearly defined barrier between contact centre agents and the data centres where raw data is stored. This prevents a member of staff from manipulating or downloading data directly and is achieved by not storing data locally, and insisting that remote servers are used to view data. This ensures that the employee can see the data, but will never have access to all of the customer’s details. 

We protect against external threats such as third party hackers by ensuring all access points into the IT infrastructure, whether they are agency of client side are secure. This security is ensured by installing multiple layers of firewalls and implementing infrastructures which can be segmented to enforce traffic segregation, eliminating data traffic misrouting. 

Dealing with threats is one thing; protection from the technology itself is another. With huge amounts of personal data being stored it is vital that contact centres have the ability to not only store data securely but also to return intact data on request. This requires the contact centres to not only be experts in customer contact, but also experts in the archival and retrieval of data. 

Having these security measures is vital for any agency that holds customer data, it is equally important however that there are tools, processes and procedures present that will monitor and test the ongoing performance of such security measures.  Only through this continued vigilance over the data being passed from the database to the right client or agent is it possible to instil confidence in customers that their data is being actively protected from risk.