The Problem
Can you hear me now?
No More screaming Customers!
How does your company reach an increasingly mobile customer? Now that the workforce is 'on the go' - it is nearly impossible to catch up with them using older technologies. Phone calls just end up in voicemail followed by endless phone tag. E-mail inboxes are clogged with spam. Customers are just as frustrated when automated systems try to answer instead of a live person. If you have ever worked in a customer service center, I bet you can identify with some, maybe even all of the problems listed below:
Spam averages 90% of all e-mail sent each day!
~ Message Anti-Abuse Working Group, Nov 2011
Phone Calls
Endless Phone-Tag
Studies have shown that 3 out of every 4 calls end up in voicemail.
Long Voicemails
Customers go on and on and never get to the point.
“Can you hear me now?”
Noisy Cell-Phone Static: With more people on mobile phones, getting critical information accurate through all the static can be difficult.
“I'm sorry, he's not at his desk right now"
With a mobile workforce, the decision maker you are trying to reach probably doesn’t work much at their desk anymore. Your business now has to wait until they get back in the office or hope to reach them out on the road.
Inbox Full of Spam
Studies show that more than 78% of e-mail sent today is Spam, and more than 90% of all Snail Mail is third class advertising.
I Can't Find It ... When Did You Send It?
Ever had to hunt through junk inboxes to find an important e-mail? False positives on your spam filter can easily lose e-mails you were expecting to receive. Conversation threads are often spread out over several disconnected e-mails.
Mail Delivered to Wrong Person
That important envelope may be addressed properly, but what are the chances it will make it to your desk in time?
Waiting on a Customer's Order to Arrive
By the time your customer confirms his order via fax or mail, you have already lost your half of the paperwork that goes with it.
“I Need that in Writing”
Need more than a verbal agreement? Ever had to wait for customers to sign and fax you the necessary paperwork?
Customer Satisfaction
“Press 0 if you would like to speak to someone in our live human being department...."
Greeting callers with irrelevant marketing & endless Interactive Voice Response (IVR's) menus is not good for customer satisfaction. Inbound calls should route automatically based on their Caller ID.
"Do you remember the name or extension of the person who helped you before?"
Inbound callers are often delivered randomly, even though there may already be an established relationship with an agent.
"I'm lost, could you start your story over again from the beginning?"
If multiple callbacks are required to resolve a customer issue, each new service rep has to hear the whole story again to know what action to take next. Verbal agreements are often not documented at all.
"I don't know what you were told before, but..."
If a customer calls back, how do you know what the first customer service rep has already told them? Customers get differing and inconsistent treatment in your service department.
"I want to speak to your Supervisor!"
Bumping calls up to your supervisor is confusing when they have no idea who the caller is or any background information. The entire customer history should route with the call when it is bumped up.
Internal Workflow
Phone Calls Prevent Multi-tasking
One-on-one calls demand the Reps full attention with no freedom for additional tasks.
Phone Calls Must Be Processed Serially
A ringing telephone interrupts all other current work causing errors, incomplete orders.
Slow Speed-to-Issue Resolution Times
Much time is wasted looking up numbers, dialing, greeting, confirming caller identity, establishing a rapport, answering polite questions and concluding phone calls.
Notifying Other Employees
After concluding a phone call, new action items have to be communicated to other workers, often requiring 2nd and 3rd internal follow-up calls or emails
Requests Left in Voicemail & E-mail Inboxes Not Accessible to Others
Important customer requests can be held hostage and left unanswered indefinitely in an absent agent’s password protected voicemail or e-mail inbox.