Consumers want choice in how they contact a company and many firms have implemented alternative support channels like IVR, chat, email and web self-service. Yet few have truly integrated these channels so that consumers can freely switch from one channel to another without loss of context.
A while back I contacted iRobot about one of their Roomba home vacuums my wife and I own. First I sent them an email and the response was prompt, but did not completely answer my question, so I called. The IVR answered and said, “Thank you for calling iRobot. If you are calling about your recent email to us, say ‘yes’ or press ‘1’.” The IVR then transferred me to the agent who had answered my email. I did not have to re-explain my question and iRobot did not have to pay their agent to listen to me re-explain my question. Better experience and lower costs.
Does your company do true cross channel service? How would you answer these questions?
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Does your IVR know that your customer sent an email yesterday and automatically offer to transfer them to the agent who responded to the email?
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Do your phone agents have your customers’ chat session transcripts immediately available when they call on the phone?
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Can your customers begin an interaction via email and escalate to a live agent without having to start all over again?
Alternative channels were originally added for call deflection to reduce costs, but as siloed implementations they can also add to customer frustration and increase costs as customers switch channels to reach resolution of issues.
Consumers want choice in how they contact a company. Plus a multi-channel support strategy can dramatically reduce operating costs by shifting interactions to less costly channels, but having a truly cross-channel approach, that allows consumers to seamlessly switch between channels without losing context, is the only way to actually meet consumer expectations and minimize costs.
What are your thoughts?
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