A great customer service team can add wings to a company’s growth, by helping win and retain client loyalty. But should you build your team in-house, or hand it over to a specialist? Customer service BPOs (business processing outsourcers) are companies that specialize in handling customer queries that come in via email, chat, phone, social media, and other channels.
Omnichannel is the new buzzword in the customer service industry, and everyone is trying to get a piece of the action. However, is this hype real, and do you need to become the next expert in it? In layman’s terms, an omnichannel solution integrates all your customer service channels in one place to maintain context and end siloed conversations.
In the past few years, companies have become significantly more interdependent—users share passwords, and systems use backend technologies operated by third parties. So when hackers breach a company’s security, they often gain access to a wider set of services and information than initially expected.
A whole lot of data comes out of support interactions, enough so that astute support leaders can pull insights, discover trends, and improve how their business serves customers. While the data may only suggest what’s going on with your customers and agents, it’s important to be able to spot trends quickly.
Providing great customer service has always been a challenge, even for the most decorated support agent. Thanks to three factors, this challenge is only growing. First, customer support workflows are growing increasingly complex. Where once it was just a person and a phone, now agents often work with complex, clunky interfaces.
It can be hard to predict, especially in the tech industry, the jobs and skills of tomorrow. Still, it’s possible to build a solid foundation in the meantime—especially for those honing widely applicable skills as front-line support agents. Take it from Leah Guest, whose training ground in Tier 1 support became a jumping-off point for her current position as a Voice of the Customer Platform Coordinator at Zendesk.
Businesses are more likely to build a real connection with their customers when their outreach is personalized. To send a thoughtful message at the right time can make a customer think, “Oh, perfect timing” and want to follow-up. But how can it be done in a way that accommodates a large customer base and in a manner that benefits the customer experience?
Check out these great new apps. They’ll help you make the most of Zendesk and provide a great experience for your customers.
Most companies now understand that customers demand service that is personalized, convenient, and efficient—and that ignoring those expectations imperils the bottom line. However, while focusing on the needs of external customers makes sound business sense, creating a rich employee experience can be just as important to a company’s long-term success.
CIOs and other IT leaders have their work cut out for them—it’s not easy to strike a balance between maximizing the value of existing technology, minimizing costs, and investing in strategic tools for the future of the business. As companies compete for brand loyalty and invest more in providing better customer experiences, there’s a greater emphasis on IT leaders to manage the customer data siloed across numerous applications, systems, and engagement channels.
