Developing your people to enhance your customers experience
Author
Marie CrossShare This
Call Centre Helper is one of my favourite online business magazines – every week it delivers at least one golden nugget to my mental business-thinking inbox and this week was no exception…
Check out this article by Martin Jukes of Mpathy Plus https://www.callcentrehelper.com/ways-advisor-role-change-future-144311.htm
Martin is talking about the future of the Contact Centre Advisor (CCA) and how the role will change in the future as technological enhancements enable customers to self-serve to their hearts content, perhaps to the point where the job of a CCA will become totally redundant
I’ve never believed this would ever happen (not in my lifetime anyway) and Martin and I are clearly on the same page. The article explains exactly how the role of the Brand Ambassador will evolve, as all things AI (artificial intelligence) take over the day to day running of a frontline operation, where simple and straightforward actions (once only possible to complete by engaging ‘in the moment’ with a real live operator) will be done and dusted by the customer themselves, quick as a flash.
This of course, is not new news – automation of a customer’s experience with the birth of self-serve is actually yesterday’s fish & chip wrappings. And let’s face it, it makes sense to take advantage of technological advancements that make it easy for a customer to get what they want at a click of a button, wouldn’t you agree? And that’s exactly the point.
All the quick and easy, straightforward enquiries, questions, problems or issues will be covered off with automated responses that ensure that PME (Positive Memorable Experience) is achieved in an instant – and in today’s fast-paced, quick-fix, snap-happy world, that’s what we want. Immediate gratification and right-NOW contentment helps us to get on with being busy, living our very busy lives, doing lots of busy things amongst the busyness of 21st century life, right?
However, what the article goes on to explain – just as we’ve been banging on about here in FIT for quite some time now – is that the role of the CCA, far from becoming obsolete, will become even more vital, even more complex and sophisticated the more automated the customer experience becomes. Because when (not ‘if’) the customer has to engage for real with our Brand Ambassadors it will be at the point where all attempts to self-serve or automate a response or sort the problem in an artificially intelligent manner would’ve failed – and potentially, miserably so!
So, our frontline staff will need to be far more skilled and adept at dealing with truly difficult calls and callers than they’ve ever had to be in the past. It’s likely that our customer or prospect is at near-breaking point by the time they eventually speak with a ‘real’ person, when emotions are likely to be frayed and tempers at the end of their tethers. These Brand Ambassadors will require a degree of emotional intelligence and have rapport skills that would make the hearts of Daniel Goleman or Bandler & Grinder swell with pride, because they’re going to need to read their emotionally-charged customer like a perfectly written book!
Given the fact that we only have between 4 and 14 seconds to create a positive first impression when we communicate over the ‘phone (unlike when we’re face-to-face and have between 4 and 34 seconds to positively impact someone’s impression of us) AND given the fact that we never get a second chance to create that great first impression, our frontline staff will have to work doubly as hard to build that rapport, empathy and trust from the outset, won’t they?
Add to this tricky situation the fact that 84% of a customer’s experience is emotional and we potentially have a hot potato on a burning BBQ to handle more often than we currently experience when customers have a problem they want sorting. So it’s worth having a few tips and tricks up your sleeve to put out that furious furnace…..as and when it flares up as we head into this crazy world of AI in the not-too-distant future:
FIT’s Handy Hints for putting out the FIRE!
Remember – as Maya Angelou taught us “people will forget what you say to them, they’ll forget what you do for them (even if you are a real GEM and Go the Extra Mile) but they will NEVER EVER forget how you make them FEEL” - and, my dear readers, no amount of sophisticated AI can ever replace THAT particular FACT!
Until next time, keep FIT!
PS. Here’s that link to this week’s Call Centre Helper article again – enjoy the read! https://www.callcentrehelper.com/ways-advisor-role-change-future-144311.htm
Marie has spent her entire working life within the frontline customer service and telesales environment - passionate about the industry, the people in it and their untapped potential! A highly respected and dynamic training professional and inspirational coach, she 'wakes and shakes' individuals to want to be better and achieve more!
...and I'd love to include you in our growing list of readers who are discovering new, practical ways to develop remarkable service in their call, contact and customer service centres.
If you'd like to receive regular updates on developing world class customer service in your contact centre then simply complete the form below, click the button and you'll receive a regular flow of ideas, hints, tips and techniques straight to your inbox.
Appeal to those emotions and discover how you can turn satisfied customers into real raving fans who’ll keep coming back, spend more and recommend you to others.
Appeal To Your Emotions