Delivering Exceptional Customer Experience – Try, try and try again

Japan is the first Asian nation to host the Rugby World Cup. Rich in culture, famed for their hospitality, Japan is proving to be a transformational driver of sporting and social legacy across Asia.

The sport of rugby, in many ways functions like an enterprise business. Each player brings a specific set of skills, strength, fitness and tact which attribute to the strategy to ultimately win the game. Teams must constantly adjust their strategy to maintain their victorious status and should never underestimate any of their competitors. Think of the stunned reactions when Japan beat Ireland a few weeks ago and in 2015, when Japan beat South Africa in their first match of pool play 34-32, which to this day is referred to as the “greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever”.

It might be painful to watch a team when their performance isn’t up to scratch, but unlike loyal fans urging their team to do well at the next game, in business, not being on top of your game can lose you valuable customers.

So, what lessons can be learned from the World Cup about customer experience?

Although the aim of the game is simple, new rules, TV referees, camera angles and even the kit players wear, has not only changed the game significantly since school prefects wrote the first codified rules of rugby in 1845, but in the last two decades, the game has become big business. Players are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before with training, strength programmes and better nutrition meaning those who take to the field are now in the peak of physical condition.

Enterprises have had to up their game too, with customers more connected, over more channels than ever, and their expectations of brands set extremely high. Customer Experience has become the brutal playing field where businesses must constantly adapt their strategy to beat the competition.

Although Customer Experience is a key competitive differentiator, according to Forrester’s Customer Experience Index, 2019, it’s stagnating. The study reports 81% of brands having stagnant sores in 2019, with no brand making it into the “excellent” category. And 5% of brands saw their scores dip, many of them being industry front-runners.

It would appear the term ‘Customer Experience’ like the overused buzzword ‘AI’, has some brands a little confused. Is it customer service or customer satisfaction or something else?

The best way to explain customer experience is as the impression you leave with a customer, resulting in their perception of your brand, across each stage of the customer journey.

When a customer is satisfied with a company, they are also lower in the cost to serve, but also have a higher potential to be more loyal and maybe they’ll even promote this company among their friends.

When customers interact with a company, they want to achieve a specific outcome. The different touchpoints businesses make available for customers to interact with, are the drivers with which customers can fulfil that need or solve that problem. The channel that customers choose to achieve the desired outcome might be different depending on the query e.g. a request for more information about a product or service, needing assistance in paying a bill or placing an order, however there are four key elements to delivering exceptional customer experience, regardless of the channel chosen by a customer.

Digital Customer Experience must be:

• LOGICAL
• SEAMLESS
• IMMEDIATE AND TIMELY
• FRICTIONLESS

And while there is a plethora of technology available that can contribute to enhanced customer service like AI, Chatbots and Virtual Assistants, it is extremely important to not just invest in technology for the sake of it.

It has become increasingly apparent that many channels are being bolted on with little or no consideration for how they are integrated with the rest of the organisation. For the customer, the existence of siloed channels can be apparent in a variety of ways, such as inconsistency in actions from channel-to-channel; different tone of voice; duplication of messaging; or having to start the conversation anew every time it shifts to a fresh channel.

To put it simply: Customers view their experiences with a company, not with discrete channels. They want an omni-present world where they can transition seamlessly from channel to channel, picking up where they left off in their purchasing or enquiry process, with consistent support throughout their journey.
Businesses that want to be classed as delivering ‘World Class’ customer experiences will have to engage their customers. A rugby game has to deliver on spectator expectations, which won’t be fulfilled if it’s just an endless play of kicking the ball from one side to the other. They will need a clear strategy, supported by powerful integrated technology across channels and staff with a clear understanding of the objectives that need to be achieved.

World Cup takeaways for businesses wanting to deliver on customer expectations:

• Continuously review your customer service strategy, as even small changes can have a huge impact on customer experience.
•  Integrate knowledge across all channels to ensure that information is consistent, accurate and quick to access.
• Have a clear strategy in place for the customer service technology you choose to invest in and understand that multiple channels should integrate with each other to create a unified view from the customer’s point of view.

Below are two more assets containing expert advice and insight into the world of enterprise customer service software, powered by conversational AI.

In the dark about Customer Experience?

The clocks go back the last Sunday in October just in time to set the scene of darkness for ‘trick-or-treating’ fun. Halloween will have many of us dress up, pretending to be evil monsters or witches, but 31 October 2019, might haunt us for years to come as this is also the current date set for the UK to leave the EU. And as if the question of if we will leave with or without a deal, or maybe ask for another extension, the slow-burn impact of Brexit on the British economy will be a drag on growth for the rest of 2019.

Today analysts and industry experts all agree that Customer Experience is key to competitive differentiation, driving loyalty and revenue. They write articles and present inspiring keynotes advising enterprises to ‘Put customers at the heart of everything they do’. Shockingly though, Customer Experience is stuck.

According to Forrester’s Customer Experience Index, 2019, 81% of brands measured stagnant sores in CX. No brands made it into the “excellent” category, and 5% of brands saw their scores dip, many being industry front-runners. How is this happening with such a focus on Customer Experience Transformation?

A zombie unicorn?

The world of Customer Experience Transformation is mystifying. Consumer expectations are higher, word of mouth travels faster. Purchasers are more empowered than ever before. Customers no longer base their loyalty on price or product.

As a marketer myself, these days more than often, I get extremely annoyed when I hear buzzwords used just because everyone else use them. Marketers, and experts who are consciously or unconsciously, trying to educate and advise enterprises in their quest to grow their customer base and keep existing customers loyal, are actively participating in creating terminology which is confusing professionals within the Customer Experience Transformation space.

Like the very broad term ‘AI’, Customer Experience isn’t what most people believe it to be. Some think it’s about customer service or customer satisfaction, customer engagement or customer success. The truth is, that the customer experience begins well before a customer is even an actual customer. It’s the perception/impression of a brand, across each stage of the customer journey, e.g. when customers browse a website, receive marketing messages, or when they have to contact a company. It’s these customer touchpoints which impacts their perception of that brand and guide their future decision.

As in any multifaceted activity, whether it’s Customer Experience or mounted archery, it’s worth keeping in mind a perpetual principle:  get the basics right.

Measuring customer experience – the memorable interactions with a brand – usually comprises of feedback, analytics and journey mapping across a brand’s products and services and often falls within the remit of the Marketing team.

However, ‘Customer Experience’ should not be confused with ‘Customer Service’. Customer Service must also deliver enhanced experience, but with one clear goal: To assist customers when they need help. This might happen pre-sales or post-sales at any time, across digital channels, over the phone or in bricks-and-mortar environment. The sole purpose of Customer Service is to meet the expectations of the customer so that they are satisfied with the outcome.

But how can businesses find this perfect fit between horse and horn to make this magical CX unicorn?

Putting some horsepower behind your CX

Customer Service tends to impact customers more than any other department. It’s inevitable that at some point, no matter how good your marketing and branding sets your business apart from your competitors, people will need assistance and they will remember their experience especially if it wasn’t a good one.

Great Customer Service is key to a satisfied, loyal, returning customer base.
Upon asking 1000 consumers “what is good customer service?”, Dimensional Research found the 3 key factors for customer satisfaction in order of importance to be:

• The problem was resolved quickly.
• The person who helped me was nice.
• The problem was resolved in one interaction (no channel hopping).

The conclusion therefore is that customers want quick, friendly and efficient channels to resolve their queries. And customers don’t care about buzzwords like omni- or multi-channel. They only care that they can connect with a business, the way they want to, and when they want to, through the channel that’s easiest and most convenient for them.

While many businesses understand the value of digital support channels like email, FAQ self-service/FAQ bot, live chat or a virtual agent to assist their customers in channels convenient to them, outdated processes, siloed teams and archaic stand-alone IT systems still have customers end up with inconsistent, splintered experiences that drive them away.

To avoid disjointed experiences, Customer Service, and especially digital channels, should be:

• LOGICAL
• SEAMLESS
• IMMEDIATE AND TIMELY
• FRICTIONLESS

Headless horseman?

Synthetix are not in the business of shoving square pegs into round holes. We don’t do off-the-shelf or one-size-fits-all customer service tools. We understand that your business, requirements and goals are unique. Our consultants work with your team to capture business requirements and design a solution with measurable KPIs. We want your online customer service to be successful and that all starts with a great business case.

To awaken your Customer Service form its Sleepy Hollow and to prove how Synthetix can truly transform your online Customer Service why not visit:

Case Studies

Turbulent conditions causing customer service havoc?

Fasten your seatbelt …

Us Brits can always rely on the weather to help us to strike up a conversation. This summer’s record-breaking temperatures had many of us having to commute on overcrowded public transport thinking that hell must be cooler. However, extreme downpours across the UK this week again had many of us facing challenging commuting conditions with trains cancelled, roads flooded and poor visibility slowing down traffic.

And those lucky enough to be on holiday haven’t been able to escape tricky travel conditions either. The knock-on effects of the iconic Thomas Cook collapsing, British Airways and Ryanair strikes has been causing frustration, confusion and anxiety to staff and passengers struggling to contact travel operators in their quest to find the latest travel updates.

The disruption has also impacted contact centre agents, putting them under more pressure, not only having to deal an influx of enquiries but having to deal with stressed customers’ patience understandably low.

‘Winter is coming’

Unfortunately, unpredictable events like these are no longer rare occurrences. And with winter looming we have reluctantly come to expect burst water pipes, flooding, snow and even sink holes which will have thousands of people unable to commute, or without water and sewage facilities.

And it’s not just travel operators and utilities affected by the weather. Emergency services, charities, defence, and retail organisations are all under pressure as the tempestuous conditions continue to disrupt lives. So rather than wait for the inevitable disruption to occur again, shouldn’t businesses be planning ahead to ensure they are able to handle the rise in customer contact as quickly and efficiently as possible? Surely, whilst man and technology cannot control the forces of nature, businesses should be able to control whether customers have a good (or poor) experience at a time when they’re under the highest levels of public scrutiny. Regrettably, this appears to be easier said than done with some well-known brands making headlines, heavily criticised for their lack in keeping people informed.

Knowledge is key

The ability for a business to be able to supply customers with the latest up-to-date information on a situation is key to making the customers experience as positive as possible. Equally important is the ability to respond to their enquiries promptly and consistently across whichever channel they choose to contact them.

Businesses can no longer afford to rely on archaic siloed channels for customer support and experience. As consumers grow more and more comfortable with messaging, AI-powered customer support tools offer the contact centre some dramatic benefits that stretches way beyond customer support.

A travel or weather disruption needn’t be a disaster for your business. The ability to respond to customers enquiries consistently across whichever channel they are on and whatever time zone or time of day, can make all the difference between them sticking with you through rough waters or jumping ship for good.

Are you ready to take the next step towards AI that can deliver quick-win business results?

To learn more about how modern AI-powered technology can empower customers and agents to switch between digital channels, without losing context, why not contact us to arrange a demonstration? Or why not read these insightful resources on using AI-powered customer support tools to deliver enhanced customer experience.

The small step towards AI that can deliver quick-win business results
Sentience AI- Blending Human with Artificial Intelligence 
The explicit link between Digital Customer Service and BUSINESS GROWTH

(Friday 13th) Bad luck or bad CX strategy?

Whether you believe Friday the 13th is unlucky, refuse to sleep in hotel room number 13 or on the 13th floor, our fascination with this prime number might affect the world more than you think.

Not to get too scientific but the fear is very real …

In fact, it is so real that merely one scientific name wasn’t enough. The fear of Friday the 13th is also called friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Many high-rise buildings, hospitals and hotels skip the 13th floor and did you know you won’t find a row 13 on any Ryanair plane? It’s hard to determine how many people suffer from the irrational fear of the number 13, but the phenomenon has clear economic implications in more than just the property, travel, hospitality and retail industries.

Researchers have estimated that a total loss of £585m is made due to the impacts to sales and productivity on Friday 13th, as many customers refrain from activities such as flying and anxious employees stay home from work.

But triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13) is more rational than we think. According to Saybrook University Psychology Professor Stanley Krippner “People are hard-wired to find meaning in various patterns, connections and perceptions. They need someone or something to blame when stuff goes wrong, and numbers are an easy target.”

Very superstitious, but does it mean the writing is on the wall?

Similarly, bad CSAT numbers or NPS scores might have managers blaming a spell of bad luck- however, most likely these such numbers are the results of not having a clear CX strategy.

The delivery of enhanced customer experience needs both people and technology. While people are the drivers of a good strategy, technology is the enabler. Without people, technology is practically useless, and without technology, scalability is impossible.

Happy agents = happy customers?

Contact centres are amongst the world’s toughest work environments, with agents having to offer support to frustrated customers, thrifty management, and high customer expectations. Customers not only expect almost immediate service through a channel of their choice, but quick and informed responses.

The University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% spike in employee productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10% less productive. With agent attrition a real issue for Contact Centre Managers, happy agents are the key to a productive customer service team, which is essential for providing a great customer experience and imperative to the bottom line.

The right, powerful AI-driven technology will support agents, enabling them to handle customer contact through any channel with confidence. User friendly and fast to use – guiding the operator to offer further information or have a set of helpful tools to aid them during the conversation – our Agent knowledge-base tool has been proven to reduce agent-training times and increase conversions, whilst improving the overall customer experience. With a central knowledge-base as the source of information, contact centre agents can see exactly what a customer sees, but with the advantage of having extra information only available to them.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Does your solution empower your customer service team to be autonomous? In other words, have you invested in cloud-based, tailored, dedicated customer service tools with an interface that enables them to do their job in the most efficient and productive way possible?
• Do your agents know who they are talking to?
• Can they respond fast and with context?
• Uncross your fingers**

When agents feel they are equipped to do their job well, they can more easily resolve issues and better maximise customer satisfaction.

And for those businesses worried about their agents being amongst the many people scared to leave their house and commute to work on Friday the 13th or any other day, leaving them struggling to operate efficiently, utilising customer service tools such as Virtual Agents, web chat or web self-service, especially during unexpected circumstances, can allow businesses to maintain high levels of service during peak and off-peak times. Web self-service options and Virtual Agents don’t have phobias. And kudos to those using web chat via agents working from home – an often-overlooked advantage of chat over voice.

And you will be glad to know there is very little evidence to show that Friday the 13th is indeed an unlucky day. Many studies have shown that Friday the 13th has little or no effect on events like accidents, hospital visits, and natural disasters.
We’re going to put on an essential slasher classic and skip the salt throwing, wood knocking and rabbit foot rubbing this Friday the 13th, but if this is not your thing, at least we can assist you in delivering exceptional customer support, irrespective of the date or unexpected spikes in enquiries.

These e-books offer thrilling insight into why it’s best to not keep customers waiting when they could find the answers themselves:
Multichannel Online Customer Service For Dummies 
Virtual Agents for Dummies