customer service

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March 17 2022

3 WINNING POWERFUL TIPS TO PERSONALIZED OMNICHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS

jtowner@townerkc.com Blog, Mitel, Unified Communication customer service, Omnichannel Communications

OMNICHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS

*February 11, 2022 Mitel.com

Perhaps you’ve found yourself needing to return an item recently. If the return was a bit complicated, odds are your experience using lack luster omnichannel communications was something like this:

Open a discussion with a chatbot. Provide a few details about what you need.
Trigger a live chat with a representative. Provide those details again.
- - The issue can’t be resolved in live chat. Get in a line for a phone call.
  - Speak with a call center agent. Provide the same details.
  - Get bumped to a manager. Explain your details again.
  - Finally resolve your issue. Receive an email with your details.

What does the future of customer service hold? Drive competitiveness with personalized, omnichannel client communications, blending automation and human touch for customer and representative satisfaction.

Tip #1: Meet Your Customers Where They Are With Omnichannel Communications

By this point, we’re familiar with the multichannel model of reaching consumers. Physical stores, websites, emails, phone calls, apps and social media are all channels through which we can engage. If you have more than one way to communicate with customers, your business is multichannel.

The problem with the multichannel practice is that often there is no real sense of connection between the different modes. Seamless channels prevent lost information and enhance customer experience.

The concept of omnichannel ties all the different aspects of multichannel communications together in a thoughtful way. An effective omnichannel presence maintains continuity through each contact method, ensures that your agents are knowledgeable at each stage of the process and feels like a personalized, holistic experience for the customer.

All-in-one customer relationship management (CRM) platforms create consistent customer experiences no matter what method they choose to use, because they keep interaction histories ready for representatives in one place.

Tip #2: Create Seamless Transitions From Channel To Channel

Say your customer opens a help ticket through their browser, but then has to leave their desk. They’ll want to be able to check in on the status of their issue from their mobile device. If the ticket needs to be elevated to a phone call, the agent should be able to easily access their history and offer updates.

Seamless communications are also efficient communications. Needing to repeat the same information over and over again can be exhausting and frustrating for customers. Being able to transition easily from one channel to the next saves time and effort on behalf of both the customer and agent, ensuring faster resolution and higher satisfaction.

Empower agents with access to customer history and efficient query routing, providing the right tools for successful customer interactions.istory and efficient query routing, providing the right tools for successful customer interactions.

Seamlessly integrate multi-modal continuity with advanced call center technology like click-to-dial, ensuring uninterrupted customer communication and smooth transitions between channels.

Tip #3: Bring In The Human Element

With more and more interactions moving into the digital space, it can be easy to forget that there are real people on the other side of the keyboard and involved in your company’s omnichannel communications. When it comes to a truly personalized experience, though, it’s important to make sure the human element comes through.

Now more than ever, the practice of empathy can go a long way even in professional interactions. Letting your customers know that you sympathize with their issues and are working to resolve them helps keep emotions calm through the process. It also helps to remind customers that the agents on the other end of the phone or keyboard are people, too.

Retaining and easily referencing interaction histories helps customers feel like their issues matter. Agents with access to this greater depth of knowledge can resolve problems more efficiently and gain the trust and respect of their clients.

A Holistic Way To Communicate

The key to distinguishing yourself as a customer service leader in the future will be directly tied to your ability to offer clients a personalized, seamless and empathetic omnichannel communication experience. Mitel offers solutions that enable your business to respond to customer needs with flexibility and expertise.

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January 30 2018

Customer Experience Mistakes to Avoid

jtowner@townerkc.com Blog, Mitel, News customer engagement, Customer Experience, customer service, mitel

Digital transformation of the customer experience has changed the way customers expect to communicate with your business. Christian Szpilfogel, Vice President of Strategy for Mitel, addresses some of the customer experience pitfalls he’s seen in the industry, and what your business can do to avoid them.

Mitel - Top Customer Experience
From the video:

My name’s Christian Szpilfogel, and I’m VP of Strategy here at Mitel. The majority of today’s population has gone digital. Every one of us is a digital consumer. As we become increasingly dependent on our mobile devices, our expectations for customer service have completely changed.

Our quick access to information in a business’s web site, and our equally quick access to their competitors, has made customer experience the new battleground for businesses. In fact, a recent Dimension Data study on customer experience found 81 percent of companies recognized CX, or customer experience, as a competitive differentiator.

Unfortunately, only 13 percent self-rate their CX delivery at nine out of 10 or better. This presents a powerful opportunity for your business to transform its customer experience to leapfrog your competition.

Let’s look at the top CX pitfalls to avoid. First, lacking multimedia capabilities. Customers want the flexibility to choose the best channel for their particular situation. 52 percent of consumers will use three or four channels to connect with your business. It’s critical to offer communication options other than voice, such as social media, web chat, and SMS.

Second, leaving gaps in customer’s history. Nothing is more frustrating to your customers than initiating the conversation through one channel and having the history of that conversation completely lost when they engage through another channel, leaving them to explain their issue or request all over again. Today’s buyer journey is anything but linear, meaning your customer experience must be consistent and intelligent at every stage and through every channel. To avoid this pitfall, ensure every customer interaction is documented and follows the customer as they engage with any member of your business. Otherwise, you risk losing engaged prospects to your competitors that are doing it right. If you do this correctly, you’ll have all the information you need for a customer experience that’s predictive, proactive, and personable.

Third, missing the big picture. There’s nothing wrong with selecting different tools from multiple vendors to address different needs, but choosing from best of breed solutions this way can be a serious customer experience pitfall if you’re not choosing third-party solutions that integrate seamlessly. For example, using an over-the-top web chat client that doesn’t communicate with your CRM and other important applications can result in disjointed, inconsistent, and frustrating experiences for your customers. Recently, I spoke with a customer that discovered a 5 percent increase in efficiency through integrating its third-party tools into the contact center. The result was an astounding savings in the ballpark of about 1.5 to two million pounds sterling.

Stay tuned for the next video blog in our customer experience series, or subscribe to the blog using the box on the sidebar to have fresh content delivered straight to your inbox each week.

by the Experts at Mitel Oct 18, 2017

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July 11 2016

The Low Cost of Standing Out from the Crowd with Customer Service

jtowner@townerkc.com Blog Business Communications, customer service, mitel, Towner Communications

Woman in striped shirt in front of a computer smiling at a call center offering customer service I have spent countless hours in meeting rooms surrounded by brilliant people who are all trying to identify ways to stand out from the crowd. “How are we different?” “Why does that matter?” Who will care?” If you’re leading an organization, I bet you have done the same.

Businesses are in constant search of differentiation—that magical intersection of customer relevance and profit margin.

Be better in a meaningful way and watch market share grow by leaps and bounds. It sounds great. And it’s nearly impossible. Right? Maybe not. Standing out may be as straightforward as enhancing your customer service with a simple “hello”.

Have you ever walked into a store and approached the counter for assistance only to find no one there? Did you call out for help? Ring the bell? Ever had a time when nobody showed up at all? I remember this happening once. You know how the story ends. I walked out never to return.

Communication choices abound. Expand your view of the customer counter to include the digital realm. According to a report by Maritz Research, those that do will separate themselves from the pack.

While half of respondents expect a business to respond to tweets, fewer than 30% of such tweets receive as response.

Sadly, I am unsurprised. People are adopting new technologies and shifting their expectations faster than businesses are responding. I get it. Businesses invest time and money designing great processes dependent upon complex technology that cannot easily adapt. Or can it?

Contact center technologies have changed just as dramatically as consumer expectations. Need to expand coverage beyond voice calls to email, web chat—even social media and mobile messaging? No problem. Want to quickly add self-service choices or increase access to service staff? Just do it. What about influencing customer behavior? Would it be useful for customers to reach out by mobile messaging when phone lines are busy? Sure, let’s make that happen.

You may be thinking it sounds great but putting your customer experience into the hands of a startup is scary. But startups aren’t the only ones who can handle these new capabilities. Mitel, yes 40+ year-old Mitel, can do all this for you and more.

And surprisingly, maturity is something we have in common with your most demanding customers. Of those surveyed, it’s not youth that most expect businesses to respond. The more mature demographics may not be most known for tweeting but they are most demanding. Make that your advantage. Meet their demand and stand out from the crowd. Unsure where to start? Let us help.