BIG DATA and customer service

BIG DATA and customer service

Big data is definitely becoming the in-topic in the digital industry and is also increasingly associated with the ability to improve customer service. Capturing the data, harnessing the data, shaping the data, using the data are all common themes which make the headlines everyday. The power of modern computing technology and data analytics allows companies to capture and model the behaviour of their customers and gain a deep understanding of the key trigger points in their day today interaction with the business. Once the hidden patterns and correlations leading to a purchasing action are fully understood, companies gain predictive influence over their customers and can certainly encourage or stimulate additional purchases. Often this is done under the pretense of better customer service and improved responsiveness to customer needs. 

However, before pushing the experiment too far, it is important that companies reflect on the ethical attributes of the techniques being deployed. Provided they are genuinely aimed at delivering a better customer experience, they could be encouraged. If they are purely designed with the objective to milk more out of a customer, often without him or her realising it, then one should pause and make sure that the customers interest is safeguarded before proceeding.

Customer service: the path to nowhere?

Customer service career

Through the years of writing this blog, we have establish a (small) number of truth which could be hard to challenge. To name a couple, we have established that quality customer service is a key factor in the long term prosperity of an organisation and that employee satisfaction is a key success factor driving good customer service. Bringing the two together, it becomes clear that any organisation must be able to attract quality employees to its customer service teams and to make it attractive in the long run, convince employees that customer service offers a solid career path. To ensure their long term future companies must therefore make sure that enough attention is paid to the customer service career path, not only to allow development of individuals within the function but also to make sure that they can progress in others parts of the business, such as marketing for example, so that there customer interaction experience can be fully leveraged.

Customer service: the great rotation

We are inspiring ourselves from an often used expression, "the great rotation". This describes a current phenomenon whereby worldwide money managers may reallocate part of their assets towards more risky investments, for example switching from fixed income instruments to equities. This is done in order to benefit from higher equity yields especially given that interest rates will have to stay low for a while to fuel the economic recovery. This is compounded by the perception that interest rates can not really go lower and, as and when they start to increase, the fixed income instruments will suddenly lose a lot of value.

We could write ten blog posts about this topic alone but the interesting analogy is that we believe that a completely opposite movement could be emerging in customer service, whereby companies engage in a great rotation, reducing spend in marketing (risky) to invest more in customer service (safe). The economic benefits of such an approach could be very tangible, with a strong focus on customer retention rather than customer acquisition. If conducted effectively, the benefits of recommendations from satisfied customers would be enough to generate growth and attract new customers. So why not review the relative risk reward benefits of marketing and customer service and use the results to develop the case for the great rotation.

Picture credit: http://www.davidharber.co.uk/ with our thanks

Customer service web

Customer service web

What can spiders teach us about customer service? Over the years, they have perfected the art of building a structure which catches all. In many environment, if we leave them a little bit of time, they will construct a web to catch food. What about applying the same technique to customer service? Web based customer service would consist of a close knit network of multiple interactions with customers. Perfectly organised as far as the company is concerned but flexible from the customer point of view, service delivery would be based on multiple nodes, interacting with eachother, supporting each other but also each able to do the job should the "prey" fall in their hands. Imagine what would happen if the spider was referring animals caught in its net to another part of their web. They would escape and the spider would become very hungry. Similarly in its interactions with companies, customers are given too many opportunities to leave. The web based approach would no doubt help increase retention.

Picture courtesy of @PedroStephano with our thanks - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrostephano/6180403377/  

A fresh approach to customer service

New Customer service approach

At the beginning of a new year, many businesses are starting to implement their new strategies and look at fresh ideas. All the budgets have been reset, the new marketing campaigns are ready to be rolled out. New investments in products, overseas expansion, new factories, the company has covered all angles. Customer service should not be left out though! Have you taken the time to review what worked well? In which areas of your business have you received excellent endorsements from your customers? Which teams have demonstrated that their innovations and initiatives have delivered a good customer experience?
A simple fresh approach could be adopted; simply focus on the positives, nurture them, grow them and roll them out, thereby generating fresh enthusiasm and a positive outlook for all your customer service employees. Their improved morale will put a new spring in their steps and ultimately your customers will reap the benefits of this new approach.

Customer service: the cat and mouse game

Customer service: Do you play cat and mouse with your customers?

In all likelihood, when customers contact your customer service team, they will be searching for a straight answer to what is not necessarily an easy question. Most of the time they will also know exactly what they are looking for: a result. From the company's point of view, there might be some hidding involved especially if they are not prepared to give what the customer demands, either out of policy or simply because they are not able to. Unfortunately this not a game and prolonging the uncertainty in the eyes of the customers, having them look everywhere in your company and making them work hard for the solution  is exactly what they do not want. Next time you take a look at your customer service design, it might worth establishing who is meant to do the running.

Customer service: cutting it short?

Customer service: Are you Cutting it short?

In the field of customer service, the most important factor can be the unwritten contract with the customer. It is not so much about what is included in the small print to protect the interests of the company but more about the set of expectations and promises which have been sold to the customer. When it comes to crunch time, delivery to the customer must take into account the perceived value that has been portrayed and fulfil the company's share of the bargain accordingly. If there are ny discrepancies, customers will feel that they have been cut short and the overall customer service reputation of the company will deteriorate rapidly.

Customer service bubble

Customer service bubble - what is happening under the surface?

We have all witnessed unusual situations or even created experiences of our own where miraculously some bubbles appear and, we watch, puzzled, wondering what is happening under the surface. In the case of customer service, watching the situation develop is not good enough. As soon as a tell-tale sign is visible, in depth investigation must commence to understand what might be the root cause and could potentially lead your customer service resources to be wasted.

Is your customer service at the heart of a virtuous circle?

Customer service virtuous circle

The growth of social media and viral propagation remind us everyday of the positives of a virtuous circle. Customer satisfaction is a natural source of endorsements, which in turn create further purchases, and increase customer loyalty whilst reducing the risk of post purchase dissonance. On the contrary below par customer service could be at the origin of a vicious circle where the company's reputation and future profits are at risk. So which curve is your customer service following? Beware, it might not be easy to determine at first sight...

Customer service: are you trading on thin ice?

Is your company trading on thin ice?

Any company's approach to customer service must be solid. Whilst it might be tempting to go to market quickly, putting only limited care in assessing the environment might present some serious risks. If the customer fundamentals  have been misjudged, a sunny start to trading activities might quickly turn into a disaster scenario. So it might be wiser to proceed with caution and as soon as the first cracks appear, making it back to safer ground might well be the only option.

With our thanks to Katja Lucas for the picture