When you are a Consultant in the area of CRM and CX you tend to come across many Call Centres (also known as Contact Centres, Customer Service Centres…). I had the pleasure of seeing and working with some, and I had the displeasure of calling some others.
The main aim of a Call Centre is to provide Customer Service. And Customer Service is mainly provided to existing customers. It should be easier and less costly to get business from those customers than acquire new ones. Customer Service is therefore key.
The truth is Customer Service is the main reason why existing customers leave a company. Sometimes they leave because they found something cheaper, or because they found a better product or service. But the main reason is poor Customer Service.
Sometimes poor Customer Service may not have an immediate effect – I am not giving up my newly bought iPhone because of one poor experience – but it will definitely make the customer open to other brands, as soon as he comes across them or they approach him.
Customer Service is part of the overall Customer Experience. Actually, as I see it, it is a key part. Thus, Call Centres must be able to deliver a good Customer Service. Unfortunately the reality shows that most Call Centres cannot deliver a good service and experience.
They don’t know who we are despite our phone number is generally the same. They don’t know why we are calling despite we have chosen 3 options in the IVR. They don’t treat us as a valued customer although we are customers for a number of years.
This is something that can be amended, by implementing a Customer-Centric strategy and enabling Technology. With a mix of these two, any company will be able to deliver the key ingredients for a good Customer Service and Experience: Personalisation and Resolution.
To deliver Personalisation, the Call Centre advisor needs to treat the customer as a person (rather than an account number) and know his history with the company. For that, the company needs to empower the advisor with the necessary information and a 360° view of the customer.
It is crucial that the customer data is accessible, accurate and clean in the CRM system. The CRM system must be able to identify the customer regardless of the channel, and respond through his channel of choice. The CRM system should also route customers to the right queue/advisor.
To deliver Resolution, the Call Centre advisor needs to have the wisdom required to deal with any inquiry or issue, and the ability to do it as quickly as possible. For that, the company needs to empower the advisor with the necessary knowledge at a click of a mouse.
It is therefore critical that the CRM system has a comprehensive, rich and dynamic source of information able to leverage knowledge throughout the entire ecosystem (Customer Service and Self-service) delivering relevant in-time information when and where it’s needed.
Oracle RightNow CX (also known as Oracle Service Cloud) has all the necessary capabilities that would help a company deliver a great Customer Service and an outstanding Customer Experience.
Doctor CX 