As a startup, it's easy to get caught up in the massive amounts of day-to-day work -- but that doesn't mean that entrepreneurs can forget about the customer experience. Scott Nowicki, Enterprise Sales Manager at Quiq, a platform that makes it simple for consumers to connect with companies, shares a number of messaging tips and consumer-driven technologies that are guaranteed to improve the customer experience.
Chris Albro, VP of Sales at Quiq, discussed the evolution of service in the contact center at a recent event held by Quiq, the National Customer Service Association (NCSA), and 1871.
Guest Author: Scott Nowicki, Enterprise Sales Manager, Quiq
You generally won’t find a lot of people waxing poetic about their customer service experience. Mostly because people who are dissatisfied with your product or service won’t bother to tell you. In fact, 96% of unhappy customers don’t even complain -- they just leave -- and 91% won’t ever come back.
Those are startling statistics. We all read the stories about terrible customer experiences with brands and hope that our company won’t get spotlighted next. What we all want is to be recognized for the hard work and efforts that our customer service teams put forth. Not only that, we don’t want people to dread reaching out for help. Think about it. Would you want to call or email a company for help? Or, would you rather shoot them a text message and get on with your life while you are simultaneously getting help?
You want to hear from your customers so that you can help them, so you can answer their questions, and of course, so that you can make whatever went wrong, right again. Make it easy and convenient for them to contact you. Text messaging provides that channel and creates a better experience for customers. In fact, text messaging interactions have at least a 5-7% point higher customer satisfaction score than any other channel. That is certainly more appealing than the alternatives.
People generally don’t get tired of saving money, but coupons in newspaper inserts or mail-in rebates can be too cumbersome for customers to take advantage of; if you have an offer that could get a customer to try your service for the first time or to come back for repeat business, then use outbound messaging to grab their attention.
Research shows that 55% of smartphone shoppers used a mobile coupon on their phone (Nielsen) and that statistic is bound to climb with the proliferation of mobile devices. Check out these other stats: when you compare that to the 20% open rate for emails and 6% response rate, the choice becomes clear. It makes sense to use messaging as the method to get relevant offers in front of your customers.
Consumers trust that the messages they have opted-in to receive from brands are valuable to them. Send a 1-to-1 personalized outbound text to a customer or send the same offer to all your customers. Chances are high that they will take advantage of that offer or promotion and your top and bottom lines will benefit.
Customers know when they have a fairly easy or straightforward question. The vast majority of those customers do not want to pick up the phone to call for help when their issue isn’t very complex. They would actually prefer to use messaging to get help with order and shipping status, password resets, and other simple questions. Messaging allows customers to get the answers, while getting on with their busy day, without having to be tied to the phone.
With a phone call, agents can only help one person at a time, making it a “synchronous” channel. With messaging, agents can handle multiple, simultaneous conversations with ease, which makes it an “asynchronous” channel. Companies have found that their messaging work time is 25% less than the next closest channel. Not only do customers prefer to reach out to your company this way, it will save your contact center money by shifting 1-to-1 phone calls and emails to the 1-to-many messaging channel, where agents can handle more questions, faster.
Customers have a lot of choices and just meeting their expectations just isn’t enough to get a great review. When you anticipate your customer’s needs, help them avoid frustration, and go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional customer experience, you provide them with something that stands out from the status quo. Quiq clients are adding text messaging to their mix to wow their customers with proactive, time sensitive communications.
These innovative companies are not only thinking long-term and ensuring that customers keep coming back, but they are also getting the benefit of immediate word of mouth. A satisfied customer will tell at least three friends -- and with social media, that number grows exponentially.
Text messaging invites your customers to engage with you by putting them in control of the conversation. Customers are able to text you at the pace and place that works best for them. Let’s face it, no one is going to hate the idea of more convenience and control.
Your Facebook ads are working hard to drive traffic to your site, but if your customer wants to speak with you immediately, there could be multiple clicks before they even find how to contact you, let alone find the time to email or call you. You can minimize that delay by allowing customers to click-to-message directly from your Facebook ads.
The Chicago chapter of the National Customer Service Association (NCSA) recently teamed up with 1871 and Quiq for their March event, where over 40 professionals from several Chicago-area firms gathered to discuss the evolution of service in the contact center. Quiq’s VP of Sales, Chris Albro, was the featured presenter. He discussed how messaging and other digital engagement channels are redefining the way customers are served. Chris also joined Rudy Pamintuan, from Sherman Worldwide, and Brooke Saucier, from Knektar, for a panel discussion focused on emerging and popular technologies that are driving the future of the contact center.
The opinions expressed here by 1871 guest writers are their own, not those of 1871. To learn more about Quiq, follow this link.