Providing Anti-Customer Service is expensive, but it's a price that many companies are willing to pay. Why?
Maybe they don't realize that they're paying for it and they attribute it to other ills in the company. What determines the accuracy of identifying a problem is not our resources, although they help, nor our knowledge, although it is a crucial element; it's our culture.
El For what And the how Getting things done is important. From these two questions arise the values and principles that govern the operation of the team.
But let's see, wait a minute... and what does culture have to do with the success or failure of a company's Customer Service?
Pretty much everything, actually.
In this first session of Vozy Unplugged we set out to the task of discovering it. They accompanied us Natalí Sánchez, responsible for the Service Operation in Celsia, and Gustavo Montoya, Digital Transformation Leader in Credit Orbe. We concluded that the quality of customer service you can provide depends on three factors:
If you start taking actions that are based on these three components, you will begin to see very interesting changes in your business - as happened at Celsia or Crediorbe, for example. Then we will see 3 things you can do to eradicate Anti-Customer Service in your organization.
Complement the gap between expectation and reach with technology
As Tavo says, there will always be a difference between expectation and reach in Customer Service, and that is why it is important to learn to always be in line with the customer's expectation. But what does this actually mean?
Let's go back a couple of steps to find out.
The way in which the customer is perceived and the place they are given on the priority list will be reflected in the service they receive regardless of which channel. In a similar way, the customer's experience interacting with the company at each point of contact will affect their perception of the service.
However, the perception of that service experience does not only depend on the company's efforts to make it memorable.
The fundamental basis of good customer service is a conversation, and a conversation requires two people. Each one comes to the conversation with an extensive portfolio of knowledge, experiences and emotions that will filter everything your interlocutor says.
If one of them is closed to the conversation, it won't matter that the other has the best disposition in the world: the conversation will not produce any benefit. This margin of discrepancy is natural, but it can have disastrous consequences if lost sight of it.
The first step to compensating for it is to develop a mindset that puts the customer at the center of operations across the organization. Why? It's simple: the entire organization is offering a service, which means that it is at the service of the customer.
In other words, Customer Service isn't just one area - it's the entire organization.
The second step depends on the company's engine to find creative ways to fulfill its value promise and thus reduce the gap between expectation and reach. The greater interest there is in knowing and helping the customer, the greater the power of technological tools to give them a smooth and pleasant experience... the scale.
Use the automation paradox to your advantage
Let's examine a scenario. One day Company A wakes up and realizes that it is not being able to fill up its Customer Service area. From one day to the next, it has to offer massive attention. Company A can take one of two possible paths:
- disburse more resources to try to meet the demand for care, or
- diversify them and use them strategically.
Now what?
It is in this dilemma that the basic culture of the company plays a fundamental role. Curiosity, genuine interest in helping the customer and the support that the company's staff has will determine not only their ability to fulfill their promise of value, but also the speed with which the company accelerates its service. Culture leads to the digital transformation of the company - not the other way around.
Wanting to offer a warm and friendly service is something profoundly human - but when it comes to mass services, the best way to serve all your customers without losing that sensitivity is through technology. As Tavo said,
“...you can automate a lot of things. Today we have voice assistants with Vozy, which we use for the collection issue, we are making some pins with the committee theme and finally we have other pins for Customer Service. We have a very interesting bot on WhatsApp, and we have other automations that allow the customer to find quick answers and not have to go through a tedious and operational process.”
Technology doesn't just allow us to create better experiences for other human beings - it allows us to simplify our lives to focus on what really matters to us. The Automation Paradox says that the more efficient the automated system, the more crucial the contribution of the people who operate it will be. This makes sense; if there is an error, that error will be replicated until someone stops it. That's why process automation makes people more important to your business - not less.
Let's go back to Company A.
By automating your processes, you'll notice that the number of cases resolved at the first contact begins to increase - and that your agents are on the calls that really need your attention. However, it should not be trusted.
Automations reduce friction at the points of contact with the customer, but only if there are people fine-tuning them behind the scenes. A machine cannot navigate the emotional landscape of a conversation unaided. The reality is that she needs us as much as we need her to succeed.
Never let the customer leave without a solution
A solution can take many forms.
Sometimes the solution is to understand For what we do things. This tends to trigger a series of interesting growth processes.
Other times it's about changing the how; new tools are emerging all the time that will bring you closer to meeting your objectives, and not knowing them will at least limit the repertoire of solutions you can offer to your customers. If you do things the way you've always done them, it's crazy to expect different results. You have to dare to do things differently.
However, to know which solution to try, it is necessary to know the customer well. You have to know what their needs are, their desires, their ways of thinking, and try to solve their problems before they appear. And for that, as Natalí said, we must master the art of listening, observing and acting.
Sometimes we see the situation but we don't observe it, we don't go further, right? [...] you hear but you don't hear, but you don't detail what they mean. And you act because you are already starting to make decisions and to look at what options you can offer to offer a better service. - Natali Sanchez
This is the most important thing. You can do everything else, but if you don't listen with empathy, if you don't observe carefully, and if you don't act accordingly to help the person on the other end of the line, your Service will be Anti-Customer. Let's take it even further: let's imagine that you find the technology of your dreams to manage your Customer Service. It's brutal and you can't wait to try it.
Now take a step back and ask yourself: Is that what my customer needs to get a better solution?
Technology is a wonder, but it's not a panacea. It does not apply in the same way to all cases. It is necessary to acquire a strategic mindset when choosing your tools so that you can create a solution tailored to your customers.
Whatever you do, don't forget that the priority is to resolve the customer's problem at the first contact. If this isn't possible, be sure to give it a later resolution date.
But never let the customer leave without a solution.
The perfect SAC doesn't exist, but...
As Natalí told us,”The problem is not that robots replace humans, but that humans behave like robots”. Understanding this opens up a world of possibilities that was previously unimaginable. Nowadays, technology allows us to humanize service at scale and reduce operating costs without blinking an eye.
Learning to use it allows you to give your agents the opportunity to show off their best asset - their humanity.
Perfect customer service doesn't exist, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying to provide it. To help you in your mission, we have compiled a series of good practices that can lead you on the path of enlightenment:
- Stop overhear to your client and from view your problems. Better, start to Listen to it attentively, observes your problems with attention and ACT to help you resolve them.
- ATake advantage of every piece of information left by customers. This leads you to get to know them in depth, anticipate their possible pain, offer them better experiences and even ultra personalize Customer Service. Technology will be your best ally for this.
- It connects all areas of the company around customer service. This mentality will bring the biggest change to your organization. The more connected all areas of the company are to each other, and the more internalized they have the purpose of serving their customers, the better will be the quality of everything they produce.
- It leaves the ego aside and encourages innovation at all levels of the organization. This is not the work of a few. And don't expect to win a Nobel Prize right away! Innovation is an everyday exercise. Small changes will yield big results over time, and these changes will pave the way for improvements in all areas.
- Be patient, respect processes and learn to identify what tools you need. Not all companies need the same thing (except for that matter, I don't know...?a tailor-made voice assistant, for example? 😉) and discovering it is a process. Developing a trial and error mindset will allow you to be patient with your progress as you experience different possibilities.
This short guide to good practices isn't a bible, but it will definitely take your organization down a path of professional and personal growth that will blow your mind.
Don't forget that:
- if you share with your employees a genuine interest in helping the customer,
- you are able to deliver on your organization's promise of value, and
- you have the company's skills and support to go the extra mile for your customers,
the Customer Service you can provide will be extraordinary.
We guarantee it to you.
If you liked this article, you might be interested to know Why do people tend to trust machines more than other people, and how to add value for the customer in financial processes by voice.
