Mastering customer interactions
More than on technologies such as the internet, call centers, CRM tools, etc., customer satisfaction depends essentially on the quality of contact with the company.
Call centers, e-commerce sites, CRM databases and automated systems of all kinds… these relatively recent tools have enabled companies to offer service that is more customized, reliable and efficient than ever before.
Yet, opinion studies show that customers are no more satisfied with their interactions with companies than they were a decade ago. The most common sentiment is that technology has improved the quality of some services, and even enabled the emergence of completely new ones, but the overall quality of contact has not made much progress. One frequently hears complaints such as “I’m treated like a number,” “The salespeople I deal with don’t care about my needs,” or “I had to wait in line for fifteen minutes before someone helped me.”
The publications that we have analyzed give advice to ensure that customers coming into contact with the company feel that they are treated with the respect and attention they deserve. Three messages appear particularly important in this regard:
– Manage the risk of confusion that can be caused by the existence of multiple touchpoints, e.g. sales representative, automated telephone interface, Web site, etc.
– Don’t systematically automate everything possible. Carefully define the allocation of roles between man and machine with regard to customer interactions.
– Be attentive to the emotional dimension of customer interactions.
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