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.

How Data Management Can Bring Value to Your Business

How are you approaching your data management and do you think you are extracting the greatest value from the information at your disposal? In this blog we will explore just how effective data management can be in bringing value to a business.

The value of data management is largely subjective and dependent upon the sector in which a company operates. For instance the value of data management for Wiltshire Farm Foods, a food retail client is wholly different from the way adidas or a local council perceives the value they gain from our data management services.

On this blog we have widely discussed what data management means to different companies and have argued that larger multinational organisations tend to have different but no less complex data management issues than smaller companies. We have also revealed the significance of data accuracy in Why Data Cleansing is So Important, highlighted the role that data management has in understanding your customer base in Why Data Management is Vital to Customer Insight and shown how this helps to improve customer relations in How Customer Insight Can Improve Customer Relationships.

In all of these pieces it has been demonstrated that through managing and cleaning data it is possible to improve the ways in which a company understands their customers, build better relationships and save costs through improving marketing efficiency (i.e. through the reduction in duplicate marketing mailings and improved customer service). The question is however, what value could data management bring to your business?

Approaching Data Management

The unfortunate truth is that many businesses see data management as a chore and purely a number crunching exercise best left to those with no imagination. It is often the case companies that see data management in this way do not appreciate its importance and that fail to recognise that a lack of accurate and readily accessible data can be disastrous for a company.

At EWA we see things a little differently and believe that data, and specifically accurate, complete and up to date high quality data is one of the most valuable assets at any company’s disposal. Unless data is fit for purpose, consistent and available the business cannot function, in the same way that operations would cease without money, people, buildings or equipment.

To reach the point where your data is this valuable the goal should be to capture data in digital form once only, as close as possible to the time and place of the observations, decisions and results that it is required to reflect. Understandably, determining the costs associated with managing this information or calculating the ROI can be challenging. When data has the potential to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness the company and shape business strategy however, the question should be whether your business can afford to ignore effective data management in the future?

Extracting Potential from Data Management

The insight which effective data management provides can help make strong and healthy strategic decisions for a company by analyzing a company’s historic and future performance, its customers’ present and future needs, the performance of their competitors and information relating to the external environment. The key is having the imagination to analyse and present data in a consistent, accurate, timely and easily understood way, so that is can be used to the greatest effect at the most relevant time.

Up to date and timely reporting ensures that these decisions can be made at the correct time, before the opportunity has been missed. For example, in a retail situation a manager reordering stock needs to have accurate and up to date information on the current stock levels so that the costs incurred with both under or over stocking are avoided. Similarly, a district council sending out letters must have accurate information to avoid wrong addresses, missed bills and correspondence. In both instances, costs can be saved in the long run through having timely insight and accurate data.

So What Can You Do?

We understand that in many organisations, both large and small, there are some major, yet unrecognised or misunderstood data problems; problems such as duplicated and inconsistent data which lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

To cope with and resolve these problems you can reach out for a better data management strategy over the next 12 months. You can also elevate the importance of data management so that it becomes a vital asset to your business, helping you to improve your operations and stay ahead of the competition. By reading this blog you are half way there to recognising the importance and value of effective data management. Why not take the next step to bringing your data back to life and get in touch today?

Improve Your Email Marketing – Getting Back to Basics

When I receive an email from a company I am often quick to judge its content on its relevancy to me based upon my previous purchases or website usage. This ingrained behaviour is a result of having been involved with email marketing for years and in fairness could be considered a reflection of my inability to switch off when outside of work.

Over the years I have witnessed email marketing as a discipline become increasingly advanced and whilst I am all for innovation when it comes to developing strategies and campaigns, there is still a great deal of worth in getting back to basics.
There are many businesses out there which are able to exploit advanced email marketing tools and tactics, ensuring that they are utilising the latest integrated marketing technologies available. The problem with becoming transfixed with the latest technologies and tools though is that it is easy to lose sight of the basics.

Email Marketing Basics

• First and foremost assess your resources, your website and see whether they actually convert visitors and meet objectives.

• Effective email management is about the relevance of the message to the customer and the timing of the email - contacting customers early with promotions and incentives and in a timely manner, instead of bombarding them with messages.

• You must understand the customers you are reaching out to and how you plan to interact with them (Customer Insight). This requires an in depth understanding of you customers’ wants and needs, which can be achieved through effective data management and segmentation.

• Any campaign you enact must be executed in a way that is measurable. This requires the creation of a control group and using data from previous campaigns to gauge effectiveness.

• You should ensure that your main engagement points are optimised. This could involve optimising your sign up form, addressing the clarity of your unsubscribe process (giving the opportunity for alternatives to commercial messages) and also ensuring that any sends have been fully tested in a variety of inbox preview tools.

Email Marketing Pitfalls

When there is pressure to secure new leads or generate profits it can be easy to simply ramp up email marketing efforts. This is a common mistake that reveals a misunderstanding of the fundamental proposition of email marketing; communications should be focussed on the consumer’s needs and motives, not your business’.

Bombarding consumers can result in serious damage to your brand. Email marketing is based upon trust, reputation and permission, once these are lost you will see fewer opens and fewer subscribers, while getting trust, reputation and permission back can be near impossible.

Email is such a flexible and fast method of marketing that it is easy to start overestimating the value of the emails being sent out. At every stage it is vital to consider the consumers mindset and whether a particular piece of news has any relevancy to them.

Email marketing has the power to elicit a positive reaction with your consumers; equally however there is the chance that by overusing email marketing and sending irrelevant emails you could damage the reputation of your business.

Email Marketing Tips

So you understand the basics and know what to avoid, but how can you make the most of your campaigns in the future?

• Consider using subject matter other than just the hard sell. For instance you may want to offer incentives through a campaign, use it to say thank you or even provide your consumers with an entertaining email filled with games.

• Being unique is vital if your emails are going to stand out. To gain this individuality be creative with your visual and content whilst striving to give each and every email personality. Personality will help to make your emails memorable and irreplaceable, helping to differentiate you against your competitors.

• Make small changes to your email campaigns over time whilst testing and testing again. This iterative approach helps you to optimise you emails over time and makes you future campaigns more successful.

There is still significant value to be gained from email marketing IF it is performed effectively and if the basics are heeded during the creation of your campaigns. Equally if you understand that relevant messaging is paramount in every send you undertake then you are on the right path to success.

Frontline Service Employees Building Rapport – To script or not to script?

Within the consumer services industry a great deal of emphasis is placed upon the ability of operatives to build rapport with consumers. Rapport is a vital constituent of consumer service and building relationships, although equally important is to ensure consistency of communications and messaging for brand reasons. This often results in arguments both for and against the use of scripts in consumer interactions.

It is my belief that consistent and positive consumer experiences are what make a successful contact centre. I also believe that scripted conversations are unhelpful and that empowering consumer service agents to conduct operations without scripts is a priority if positive consumer experiences are to be delivered. Put simply, the robotic conversations that result from scripts should be avoided; instead natural interactions should be the mainstay of consumer communication.

Achieving this however can be a challenge. Rapport is easy enough to build in a face to face situation, over the phone it is a much more difficult proposition. Fortunately there are some techniques that can be employed to help contact centre agents to build rapport through natural conversation, not by using scripts:

• Even over the phone a smile has a huge impact upon the way we interact. It may be an old adage that “smile and the whole world smiles with you” but in consumer service this is advice worth heeding. Smiling helps to subconsciously promote friendly, approachable and familiar conversation and should be encouraged.

• Any operative worth their salt understands the importance of listening to their caller and recognising their emotional drivers. Your operatives should be tapping into their callers’ mindset, asking “Why are they calling?” “What problem can I help them solve?” to ensure helpful and productive discourse.

• Conversation goes much deeper than simply the words we use, instead interactions (particularly telephone interactions) are based upon the tone, pace, volume and inflections used. By considering, understanding and using these conversational traits effectively it is possible to show the consumer a caring, supporting and warm side that helps to build rapport.

• Rapport can also be built using ‘clean language,’ the process of using the same words as the caller during conversations. By communicating using the caller’s language it is easier to build understanding and empathy, which in turn can rapidly result in positive rapport.

Whilst I am not arguing that scripts should be done away with completely (scripts can be extremely helpful for agents when guiding callers through a step by step process) these techniques work best when operatives are freed from the constraints of scripted responses. This greater flexibility fosters conversations that flow through and around subjects, creating more natural dialogue in turn.

Understandably inbound and outbound callers have different objectives and as such the techniques may be adapted to suit these different objectives. The principles of building rapport however will remain, for example if a caller phones with a specific technical issue, an agent would follow the procedures but use language such as “let’s try and get to the bottom of this for you” appealing to the caller’s emotional driver whilst encouraging natural conversation through unscripted and positive language.

Ultimately, building rapport with consumers is essential at every interaction, whether it is inbound or outbound and whatever the subject. Key to achieving this is to choose the right language but importantly, to approach in the correct manner using tone, volume and inflection to create a bond and foster productive relationships. If this approach is maintained it is possible to have consistent and effective consumer services based upon honest, organic and amenable discourse, not a predefined script.

Managing Consumer Feedback – Listen, Understand, React

Recently I filled out a consumer survey for a company that I shop with regularly. The company in question will remain nameless; suffice to say that with my consumer hat on, I found myself getting fairly frustrated with the way in which the survey was structured and delivered.

As is frequently the case, this led me to put my professional hat back on and started me thinking why, with consumer feedback and insight being more important than ever in the current climate, would a company rollout such a substandard survey? Surely collecting and analyzing consumer feelings and opinions is critical in determining how your business is doing and how you can improve services?

Having a feedback programme is an extremely valuable asset, although embracing it and using it to its largest potential is equally important. My recent experience has shown me that having a feedback programme is not enough on its own; there must be a culture within the business that embraces it. As a consumer it is easy to spot when a company is simply paying lip service to consumer feedback, it is also clear when a company cares for the data gained from their programme and understands their consumers purchasing behaviours and attitudes.

A commitment to consumer feedback should be evident in different channels, not purely with consumer surveys. For example, social media is an excellent resource of honest consumer feedback as are face to face interviews, as long as you are aware that different channels will produce different sorts of results (typically responses gained through social are far more likely to be honest than those gained in person).

Somewhere in the middle of this scale is not responding to a disgruntled person effectively, which on Twitter is in some ways worse than not responding at all. Given the immediacy of the format, any interactions deemed to below standard can quickly proliferate around the Twitterverse, particularly if the user is well connected with a large following. Embracing feedback and being committed however is wholly different from being obsessed. Listening and reacting to feedback is appreciated by consumers, whereas a contiguous barrage of surveys is likely to be a nuisance. On a practical level, survey questions should be kept relevant and the surveys generally should be kept as short as possible or your consumers will be left as frustrated as I was during my recent surveying experience.

But where do you start? If you want to gain valuable consumer feedback and use it to improve your business, you can follow these best practises below:

1. Implement a feedback programme and commit yourself to building a culture of understanding the important of consumer feedback to the direction of your business in the future.

2. Make sure your employees are encouraging consumer feedback although they should also appreciate that their approach and manner is critical if they are to avoid annoying consumers.

3. Manage and analyze consumer feedback with systems to gain valuable insight into consumers’ needs and wants as well as buying patterns.

4. Take action with the consumer feedback information. Use your insight to correct any issues or concerns and let your consumers know when they have been corrected in order to build rapport. Never ignore your consumers’ feedback; this is will have a negative effect on your consumer loyalty.

5. Learn to share the feedback with the whole company and don’t leave valuable insight sitting in one department; the entire business should be aware of consumer service data.

6. Act promptly with all feedback however it is gained, if a consumer has a poor experience with one of your products or services and defects to a competitor there is little point in contacting that consumer 2 months later or even a month later. The opportunity has been missed and the chance of retaining that consumer has gone.

7. Decide your communication methods and the mixture of channels in order for your consumers to feedback using the medium they feel most appropriate and comfortable with i.e. Twitter, email or telephone.

The ultimate objective of consumer feedback is to create new ideas from recommendations, resolve problems and improve consumer service. The increased engagement with consumers can help form tighter purchasing relationships and build significant brand value. In turn, it will also help your business make better informed decisions based on your consumer’s behaviours, attitudes and experiences; decisions that will be more profitable in the long term.

Customer Service on Twitter– Handling Negativity

I’ve been using Twitter for a while now and follow a whole host of different people both from a personal interest point of view and for more professional, work related reasons. It’s an amazing source of information and a highly effective means of sharing thoughts with like-minded people.

What I have noticed with increasing regularity though is the pack mentality that seems to proliferate on Twitter around contentious or divisive issues. Whilst often the tweets posted by the Twitter community can be humorous, occasionally they can become a little “close to the mark” with users seemingly attempting to outdo each other with more and more witty or scathing comments.

It occurred to me that the relative anonymity of Twitter may be somewhat responsible for this phenomenon and perhaps users feel able to say things that they almost certainly wouldn’t in a face to face, real world scenario.

I have to be honest and admit that I have been guilty of the odd ranting tweet, especially when I first started using Twitter. One or two were directed at a brand with whom I’d had a poor interaction and others where simply because I felt able to sound-off with impunity. The difference being with the former is I expected some form of a response from the brand in question in order to address the issue I had raised. What surprised me were the differing levels of engagement I experienced. One in particular responded quickly and managed my issue through to resolution very efficiently, whereas at the opposite end of the scale, I was simply ignored.

Somewhere in the middle of this scale is not responding to a disgruntled person effectively, which on Twitter is in some ways worse than not responding at all. Given the immediacy of the format, any interactions deemed to below standard can quickly proliferate around the Twitterverse, particularly if the user is well connected with a large following.

Avoiding the envelopment of negative press requires effective management of company Twitter accounts. From what I have viewed and experienced in both a personal and professional context, effectiveness can be achieved primarily by providing an adequate response that diffuses the situation quickly.

Responding to negative press often requires tact and judgment. It is as fine balancing act with humour and empathy on one hand and the corporate identity on the other. Understandably ensuring your tweets are in line with brand communications is a constant for any company hoping to establish a consistent online/offline presence.

Of course there is always a significant chance that finding resolution through Twitter will be impossible. In these instances it is important to recognise when to take the matter offline, using a one to one method of communication such as email, the phone or even a face to face meeting to resolve the issue away from the public world of Twitter.

Twitter isn’t simply about playing a combative role however; equally important is promoting and engaging with those customers that have had a positive experience with your brand. Re-tweeting positive comments (particularly after resolving a customer issue) is an excellent method, although it is crucial to make any positive promotion look and feel organic and never forced.

For better or worse, Twitter has provided us all with the means vocalise our opinions. Whilst some users may go too far, using Twitter to voice concerns about a company is wholly legitimate and responding to these concerns swiftly and effectively is now a responsibility for customer service professionals.

Bespoke CRM – back in vogue?

It does seem that age old question IT Directors are faced with when their business has a CRM requirement, just won’t go away – “do we buy off the shelf or do we go for a bespoke CRM solution?"

The past few years have seen many companies shy away from bespoke CRM solutions, maybe due to the perceived higher cost and risk, or maybe as a result of numerous high profile government IT initiatives that have badly failed and served to simultaneously make everyone in the IT industry shudder at the cost.

Whilst business leaders have always understood the inherent benefit that a solution tailored to their existing business practices and make-up provide, that understanding has been tempered with a large slice of should they invest in a bespoke solution that does everything or trade a proportion of that functionality for an off-the-shelf product that everyone else uses

No doubt there are some very good off the shelf CRM solutions out there, with differing delivery options, packaged components and as the saying goes ‘no one ever got fired for recommending the market leader’.

So are Bespoke CRM solutions back in vogue?

Well it would appear the tide is turning in favour of solutions that meet all the CRM requirements of the business, bridging existing operational solutions, collecting data and insight from all channels, integrating Social Media and in so providing that one-stop-shop that customers demand.

These days bespoke CRM solutions are not built from the ground up, but from the customers’ existing data layer and intended touch points, utilising proven, scalable, reliable software libraries and hardware platforms – reducing the risk and costs previously associated with the bespoke CRM solutions of yesteryear.

Finally, given these uncertain economic times it would seem to make sense that business leaders are more inclined to buy into CRM solutions that fully support their own, very specific, business and customer requirements, over the functionality that maybe provided by an off the shelf product which is probably being used by their competitors – after all, everyone needs an edge!