What is the value of marrying the customer service imperative with the mandate of the Chief Digital Officer?
Definition:
Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is tasked with growing their organisation by converting traditional "analogue" business to digital using the anticipated potential of online technologies and data, including mobile applications, social media and related applications, virtual goods and "wild" web-based information management and marketing.
Customer Service Manager is tasked with providing customers (and potential customers) with the right information or product when they want it, at a price they are happy to pay, through the most convenient delivery channel or process and for THEM so they are willing to go through the experience again and will, without being incented or prodded, spread the good news about the quality and personal service they received.[1]
In a world where businesses are grasping for the next best gadget, fad or trend, it is important to keep grounded in the reality of what is, because as exciting as tomorrow sounds, it is today we must contend with.
More Channels Do Not Guarantee Satisfaction or Success
With the CDO has come more channels to sell and service the customer. What has been sacrificed is customer stickiness, loyalty and advocacy.
Today, as the customer wrestles with being forced to deal with digital channels, many of which are quickly built and ill conceived and typically without the customers' needs in mind, this is silently driving traffic into an organisation's customer service centres.
For any organisation who has customers, their support before, during and after an interchange is critical. Nearly 59% of all customers are said to be "always ready to switch to a competitor for better customer service". We've made it so easy too. Almost 90% of customers have quit doing business with a company simply due to poor service.[2]
Customer Service is Already Engaged
International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) research reported that nearly 86% of today's customer service centres are multi-channel and that around 74% of customers are having to use three or more channels to complete a customer service related issue.
By the way, most (84%) prefer using the phone and 72% want to speak with a person, not a machine.[3] Here are some statistics from an infographic by Forrester Research regarding traffic into a multi-channel contact centres. Phone support remains the most popular offering[4]:
Why the CDO Needs CS
Today, more than a billion consumers around the world have smartphones[5] and are increasingly turning to them to place and check orders, to schedule or change appointments, confirm reservations, find store locations, etc.[6]
Four years ago, at a Gartner symposium, they reported technology spending outside of IT was 20 percent of total technology spending. They estimated it would grow to almost 90 percent by the end of this decade.[7] Much of the change is being driven by the digitization of companies’ revenue and their services, which is the purview of the Chief Digital Officer.
Willing but Frustrated
Although most customers are willing to try using alternate delivery channels when they don't work customers turn to the phone. The result is that the Customer Service Manager and those who provide support to customers face increasingly frustrated callers.
Many (perhaps most) Customer Service Centres have become default and unrecognised help desks. The wise CDO makes every effort to keep communication channels open between their two teams. When they do they will increase the success of their initiatives and the mission of the organisation by:
· Keeping Customer Service in the loop when new technology is to be released
· Being open to feedback from the Customer Service group
· Giving customer-facing employees training about new channels and tools before they are rolled out
· Customer Service can be a "sand box" for trying out or testing new channels before they are rolled out (as they KNOW the customers so well)
Mutually-Beneficial Payback
The pay back to the CDO comes from the wealth of customer feedback about products, services, channels, etc. and the word-of-mouth "research" that flows into customer service and sales centres and the ongoing support of their efforts.
The payback for the Customer Service Manager comes when they and their teams are better prepared and aware of new customer channels before the fact and the satisfaction that comes from being included in the new channel strategy.
Although the CDO may have to compete with IT, marketing and the supply chain for budget and cooperation. The greatest success for the CDO can be realised by joining forces with Customer Service Manager.
[1] Customer Response Management Handbook, McGraw Hill, Darlene Richard, 2002
[2] Forrester, Enhancing the Retail Omnichannel Customer Experience, 2015
[3] Forrester, "Mobile is the New Face of Engagement, 2012
[4] Forrester, Infographic: "Why Call Centres Won't Go Away", September 2015
[5] Fonolo, Top 10 Contact Centre Trends for 2015
[6] Harris Interactive, The High Demand for Customer Service via Text Messages, 2014
[7] Gartner Research: Gartner Says Every Budget is Becoming an IT Budget, 22 October 2012, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2208015
