Your Customers Are Going Through a Mindshift

YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOING THROUGH A MINDSHIFT.

They don’t care about your rules, policies or limitations. They expect in this digitally mobile age that everything is available, anywhere, any time.

Forrester calls this the mobile mind shift:

The expectation that any desired information or service is available, on any appropriate device, in context, at a person’s moment of need.

In this Interactive Intelligence Report Knowledgeable staff and timely response we're the top two most valued elements in customer service interactions.

Slow response rates can lead to customer disaffection, or even defection, as well as the potential for damage to brand reputation if service delays or failings become public through social media.

86% of consumers quit doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience, up from 59% 4 years ago. (Source: Harris Interactive)

30% of Twitter users expect a response within 30 minutes, 22% expect a response within two hours and 29% expect a same-day response. (source Oracle)

Unfortunately BA weren't quick enough to prevent this event that's no doubt been a hot topic of boardroom banter over the last few weeks.

Take the British Airways example. After 4 hours with no response or resolution a BA customer purchased a promoted Twitter post targeted at followers of BA’s Twitter account. Before BA responded it was reported in Mashable and many other online publications.

Since posting several Tweets on September 2, Syed’s rants have been seen by more than 50,000 Twitter users in the UK and New York markets where his promo ran. Business Insider

One can’t help but think ‘if only BA had responded in real time, this public relations disaster could have been prevented’.

Only 31% of organizations recognise and reward employees across the company for improving customer experience. (Source: Forrester Research)

In this recent report Twitter is enabling companies to respond much faster than before.

Just as with social media, customers expect increasingly rapid and efficient responses to email enquiries, but a survey of Call Centre Association members by customer service specialist KANA Software shows that 59 percent or organisations currently take more than eight hours – or one full working day – to provide a response.

The time delay is even greater in some businesses, with more than one quarter (26.5 per cent) taking 24 hours or more to reply to customers.

By contrast, the average response time on Twitter is 5.1 hours, with 10 percent of companies answering within one hour, according to a recent report by social media analytics company Simply Measured

With smart escalation rules and the right software any company can respond to customer comments much faster than they have been.

YOUR FIRST RESPONSE SHOULD:

· Acknowledge the problem

· Outline the steps you'll take to resolve it

· State when you'll be in contact next

People want to know their question has been received, that someone is owning the response and that action is being taken to get back to them ASAP.

All we're talking about here is open, honest and transparent communications.

Responding to customer interactions should be the single most important job of any employee

SET A GOAL: NO MATTER WHAT CHANNEL, WHEN, HOW OR WHY; YOUR FIRST RESPONSE WILL BE MADE IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES .

Then work to improve average resolution times by 5% each month by identifying hold ups, gate keepers and other opportunities to make information easier to access and decisions easier to make.

Servicing via social media boosts customer satisfaction by 15-20%. (Source: CFI Group)

Today the customer experience is everything. Proving you can deliver a brilliant experience no matter what happens is the ultimate sales strategy.

If you want to read more on this Mind Shift download this Forrester Report

Recognised in 2011 as one of the 25 most influential people on Customer Service [Mindtouch] and in 2013 as #20 in the top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros on Twitter [Huffington Post] Justin has developed a reputation as a thought leader at the intersection of Social Media and Customer Service.

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