The interactions that take place between customers and organizations are all about the PEOPLE behind them, and their outcome is simply too IMPORTANT to be left to chance
Companies and their customers are typically driven by different motivations. Growth-minded corporations generally wish to establish and nurture meaningful, long-term relationships with their customers, while consumers tend to simply expect that every interaction be as efficient and valuable as possible.
Successful, customer-driven companies have figured out that long-lasting customer relationships can only be built one interaction at a time, and are realigning objectives around just that: customer interaction. They are also all too aware of the fact that no matter how long the relationship with the customer, its chances of continuing to thrive are only as good as the outcome of the most recent interaction.
Corporations have made impressive strides – and significant investments – in managing customer relationships over the years. And yet, the payoff for these investments has yet to be realized. To increase the value of each and every customer interaction, organizations must be able to continuously adapt and respond to changing circumstances in real time. Achieving complete success in handling customer interactions requires that all of the organization’s capabilities be selectively and intelligently brought forward, so as to serve the organization when it matters the most: at the moment of interaction.
Market experts and leading companies in a variety of industries believe it is time for change in the course of customer interactions. The time has arrived for both companies and customers to be able to achieve the most efficient and optimal results during each and every customer interaction. However, generating value in every interaction is without question a tall order. Customer interactions are by nature as complex as they are unpredictable. Furthermore, an “optimal” interaction is entirely in the eye of the beholder, and may easily mean different things to organizations and their customers.
Let’s look at a sample interaction. A customer calls an insurance company to let it know he or she has moved to a new address. What will this interaction be like?
A properly trained agent should know how to update the information quickly, and the call will typically end right then and there. However, the interaction could also represent a hidden yet golden opportunity to offer better service and generate further revenue.
Does the customer own the new property, or is he or she renting it? An effective customer interaction management system will draw on this information, and will be quick to propose predefined actions – in this case, custom insurance plan offerings – tailored specifically to the caller’s circumstances and needs.
And what about the new address? Once registered by the agent, a real-time customer interaction management system should be able to automatically process the customer’s updated profile and - even while the call is still in progress – identify that the new address is located in an area subject to high flood risks and propose that the agent offer the caller a special flood insurance plan.
These are but a few examples of how the interaction can be made efficient and result in an optimal outcome for both company and customer. The customer’s needs are identified and accommodated quickly and efficiently, and the company effectively achieves its revenue and customer retention objectives. Responding and continuously adapting to both changing business circumstances and the inherent unpredictability of individual customer interactions. That’s what it’s all about.
A new age has dawned on customer interaction – an age empowered by real-time customer interaction management systems that greatly enhance agent efficiency and dramatically increase the value of interactions. Welcome to the new age of optimal and truly efficient customer interaction!
eglue Business technologies – Inspire every interaction™
eglue is a global provider of real-time customer interaction management software solutions for the enterprise. For more information about eglue and the eglue InterAct™ suite of business applications, please visit www.e-glue.com.