Investing in a customer care strategy is a critical step for companies looking to stay competitive in today’s customer-obsessed environment. But with an ever-increasing array of technology solutions, the investment opportunities are endless – and it can be hard to know where to start.
That's why we've put together these five questions your australia fax data company should answer before investing in customer care solutions.
1. What types of customer interactions are currently coming into your contact center and how are they being resolved?
You already have data about how your customers interact with your brand, so use it. Look at your current customer interactions – positive and negative – to determine how customers typically interact with your brand.
Specifically, how do your customers reach you? Is it by phone or do your customers frequently use email and chat? Before you can decide what type of solutions you need to improve your customer care strategy, you first need to understand which channels are most important to your customers. This information provides the foundation to start thinking through your customer care strategy.
Customer engagement channels
2. Based on customer interactions, are appropriate support channels established?
Now that you know how your customers reach you, the next question is whether the channels they prefer are set up to handle those interactions effectively.
If your customers primarily reach your business by phone, do you have enough trained staff to take these calls and respond appropriately to ensure these interactions are positive? Or if your customers prefer to use social media, can your team respond effectively on this channel or should you simply direct your customers to another channel to resolve their issues?
You should also consider whether your current setup maximizes efficiency – especially for your agents. Do agents spend time solving complex issues, or do they spend most of their time on simple requests like resetting passwords or tracking orders? And how does your current setup affect your ability to scale resources with seasonal spikes?
In general, when deciding which channels to invest in, keep the customer in mind. If a customer has had productive, effective interactions on a particular channel in the past, it will most likely be their default channel in the future. Be prepared to build support around that channel.
3. What goals is your company trying to achieve and how will investing in customer care help meet these goals?
Take a step back and look at your company’s core business goals. Then connect the dots on how investing in customer care will support those goals.
Does your company want to improve certain steps in the customer journey? Many companies focus on improving key metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CST) and Net Promoter Score (NPS). And increasingly, companies are starting to pay attention to other metrics like customer effort – specifically, the amount of effort your customers have to put in to resolve an issue. It’s important to understand these goals, because they will play a big role in how you structure your customer care strategy.
