Common sense customer service – Part 1
by Michael Barbagallo, President and Principal Analyst
Shenandoah Analytics, www.shenandoah-analytics.com
Info@Shenandoah-Analytics.com, +1 (540) 955-3642
Many, many, many, years ago, my boss called me and said that her PC had just died. She was in a panic and needed to get a report to her boss. She also made it clear she had been working on the problem for 10 minutes before she called me. I asked what she investigated and then quickly fixed her problem. Feeling foolish, she asked what the issue was and I told her I turned the power strip on. She had turned off with her foot.
Many times in our frantic and panicked search to solve problems, we forget to use our common sense and overlook the obvious answer. I saw this repeatedly with new and experienced agents and I have been guilty of this many times myself. Over the years, I have gown to appreciate common sense. So, when organizations look toward technology or massive new programs to improve customer satisfaction, I ask, “Is the answer in front of our faces?” Moreover, “Is there a common sense solution?”
There are two main area of focus in common sense customer service: your agents and your IVR. In this article, I explore how common sense improvements to your IVR can lead to increased customer satisfaction.
Your IVR
Your IVR is the front door to your contact center. Think about the front door of your home. You want to make it welcoming and inviting to your friends and guests. Imagine what would happen if your friends had to travel through a labyrinth to reach your living room. I suspect your doorbell would be very quiet. The same is true with your IVR. If your customers have to traverse several layers of “press 1 to …” then they may think twice about using the service and find ways to go around your IVR. Or worst yet, they may find a rival without a confusing IVR. Your IVR, like your own front door, should be welcoming and invite customers in.
IVRs are supposed to be a cost saving solutions. But, to save cost, people need to use them and not agents. According to the CFI Group’s Contact Center Customer Satisfaction Index 2010, 48% of the respondents said they could not find their answer using the IVR and had to ask an agent and only 4% of the respondents said they found information just with the IVR. 45% of the respondents did not even try to use the IVR and went straight to an agent. These numbers places doubt on the cost saving ability of most IVRs, because most IVRs do not have well defined and welcoming menus and call flows. Businesses look more at their self-service and cost saving aspect than at the being a front door and a tool to welcome customers.
Donna Fluss, president of DMG Consulting, states in Helping your IVR Realize its Potential, “DMG estimates that more than 80% of IVR users around the world would be able to improve their automation rates and increase customer satisfaction if they invested in routine optimization of their IVR solutions.”
While IVRs are proven efficiency improvers, you do not want to hide your agents behind it. Customers need to have a choice between self-service and agent-assisted service. If a customer is comfortable with using self-service then you should courteously show them the way to the self-service portal. Given the opportunity most of these customer would take that route naturally. If a customer is not comfortable with self-service, you should invite him or her to speak to an agent.
In addition, IVRs cannot stay static. The market changes and your customers change, so should your IVR. Businesses need to change their IVR to reflect changes in customer behavior and market trends. According to DMG Consulting, business should review and optimize their IVR at least annually and include the cost of optimization in their annual budgets. Finally, any company that has not optimized its IVR in three years should look to do so in the next budget cycle and then establish an annual review process.
Front doors can be functional and used to get people in and out quickly. Front doors can also be inviting, beckoning people to come in and sit a while. Personally, I do not like revolving doors. They are difficult to use when dragging a bag behind me and impersonal. When given a choice, I use a standard door, which I find easier to use and more inviting, especially if someone is holding it open for me. Your IVR is your front door. Is it a revolving door, designed to get people in and out as fast a possible or is it a standard door that invites people in?