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Each week our Customer Strategy Insider, James West, tackles the issues that create barriers between businesses and customers. Email CSI for the answers you need. “I’m coming under increasing pressure from the board to deliver services through online means, the directors are especially keen on creating an mobile app which will enable customers to make account alterations and check delivery details. I’m concerned that this will be time-consuming at a time when our the service and IT teams are already under great pressure. How important do you think this move is?” Lee McBain, Leicester It sounds like the board have been sat around comparing phone applications and someone has piped up with “wouldn’t it be great if...” This question is about looking at what is realistic and more importantly, necessary, in a customer strategy context. Firstly, any project or customer innovation with its origins in a boardroom discussion, which doesn’t include feedback and input gathered direct from the customer base, is almost certainly a bad idea. Just because something is cool, or current, doesn’t mean it is of any use to the customer. The same is true for any channel. We’ve seen a surge of interest in recent years in ‘emerging channels’, it wasn’t so long ago that web chat was seen as the future for example. However, chat has proven costly to implement and labour intensive to support, meaning it is almost exclusively to ensure that expensive online purchases are completed. Its use as a mass customer support tool is limited. The rule remains the same; don’t support a channel just because it is the new, talked about communication fad; consult your customers and ask them how they would like to contact you. An application such as you describe does however sound appealing and if your business establishes demand, it could be a powerful, mobile tool for customers, which could help boost not only your service levels, but your company entire profile. However, are the examples you give such as altering accounts and checking order status already available on your website? Do they work well? And most importantly, do customers like and make use of these features? You’ve rightly highlighted concerns about the time and resource needed to build such an application. Your starting point will be the IT team charged with building the application. If they have the time and skills to go ahead, you then need to ensure that the service team can offer the support the project needs. In summary, this application could work. However, it should be viewed as a luxury. Very few businesses have perfected service delivery and I would argue that until you’ve have addressed all the major gripes your customers might have, and ensured you have a business which works in the best interests of customers at all times, this is a luxury that you are unable to afford. • Need some advice relating to a customer strategy issue? Or perhaps you're confused about best practice or looking for helpful hints on the application of new technology. Email CSI for the answers you need: cseditorial@ubm.com delivering online service
 I’m concerned that this will be time-consuming at a time when our the service and IT teams are already under great pressure. How important do you think this move is?” Sure, I don't mind sitting in all day for a delivery
 “I recently ordered a new cooker, and the price included free delivery and installation. However, the only appointment offered requires me to be in the house between the hours of 0800 and 1900, which is very difficult as I have nursery and school runs to make. Why can’t more businesses offer more specific appointments?” improving multi-channel communications
 I will have to make some assumptions, and also start with a warning... motivating staff through tough times
 This is a seemingly impossible scenario to negotiate, but one which is familiar to all too many... no phone number? Why websites don't want to talk to customers
 The simple answer is they don’t. And the primary reason being costs...
Starting out as editor of Customer Service News, James also edited Customer Relationship Management magazine during the height of the CRM craze. More recently, he has acted as stand in editor of Customer Strategy and Call Centre Focus and continues to regularly contribute to both titles, as well as various other service and IT-orientated titles. James believes wholeheartedly that customer service is still a largely misunderstood discipline, with many businesses still failing to grasp how important it is to their carefully (and expensively) constructed brands. A service-orientated culture can address many of the problems that cripple businesses; including high staff turnover, customer attrition and reputations being destroyed by the ever-burgeoning social networking scene and help deliver a significant, measurable contribution to the financial success of a business. | | |||
James West has been talking and writing about the customer service industry for over ten years, having worked in a major UK call centre before putting his journalism degree to better use by writing about the industry.
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