In today’s consumer-driven world, we all know that the customer experience we deliver is really important, as anything other than excellent will be shared negatively. People talk and are much more likely to talk about a bad experience than a good one – whether that’s to friends or on social media, any negativity will have a damaging effect on your brand and ultimately your sales. And as your people are the main part of the service experience you deliver, enabling them with the right technology will set them up for success.
Here are 5 ways that your technology can help improve your service experience:
1. Ways to contact.
Gone are the days when people relied on the telephone to contact you. Even small businesses now need a communications system capable of offering Webchat, SMS, Social and even WhatsApp for customer engagement. No, you don’t necessarily need a full-blown contact centre, though for larger organisations there are some brilliant cloud contact centre solutions out there; but when renewing your phone system look for one with omnichannel capability built in so your customers can contact you in the multitude of ways that they choose. Our Xelion phone system provides exactly this – it’s the perfect blend of phone and contact management, with omnichannel capability and full Microsoft 365 integration, all for one all-inclusive price.
2. Working anywhere.
The best candidates for your service roles often want flexibility in their working environments. So you need technology that allows them to provide your customers with a great service wherever they choose to work. Where your phone system is concerned this may mean soft client apps at the desk or home office, or mobile apps if out and about; supported by a mix of handsets and headsets. Being able to answer calls seamlessly when working away from the office is a win-win for both colleagues and customers.
3. Upgrade.
If you’re working with legacy technology, you can be sure that your competitors are providing a better service than you. Quite simply they’ll have access to features and functions that make their working lives easier. Take the ISDN/PSTN switch off for example. The reality is that if you’re still using this technology you’re missing out on all the benefits that a more modern cloud phone system will give you, as well as probably paying way more than you need to. With all ISDN services being moved into a ‘stop sell’ situation from September 2023, meaning you won’t be able to add or change your service, businesses really can’t wait any longer to make the switch – they can be sure their competitors haven’t.
4. Always available.
Okay, your office hours might be 9 to 5, but the world doesn’t stop turning before and after these times. That’s why it’s important to always make sure you have easy ways for your customer queries to be managed 24 hours a day, even if it’s just letting them know that their query’s been received and when they can expect to hear back. And that’s important on every channel – phone, email, webchat, social etc – every message received should get exactly the same experience every time.
5. Single-view.
The last thing we want to share is the frustration we often hear from our customers and their service colleagues about disparate systems and data. When a customer calls or contacts with a query, the person dealing with that query just wants to be able to get to the information they need as quickly as possible, so they can help. Having to switch between systems to find the right data slows everything down. There’s absolutely no excuse nowadays for not having seamless integration between systems and instant access to data. Your phone and contact system should integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Teams for easy colleague collaboration, and likewise with your CRM system for easy access to that valuable customer insight data. If that integration isn’t easy with your current phone system then it’s definitely worth investigating when it comes to your renewal date, making life easy for everyone will mean quicker resolution to customers’ queries every time.
If any of these five areas strike a chord with you or you’d simply like some advice on how your technology can improve your customer experience, then please get in touch.
ISDN & PSTN - bothered? 6th February 2023Although the final switch off is planned for 2025, from September 2023, anyone using ISDN or PSTN services will not be able to add to, enhance, or change their current system. Read More
