Don’t Miss this Incredible Opportunity

Do you know the saying, it is 5 times cheaper to sell an existing customer as it is to sell a new one? I believe that. Do you know it probably cost $ 200 - $ 300 to acquire a new wireless customer?

If a call center was to stay on the telephone for another 5 minutes on average, that cost would be trivial cost versus acquiring a new customer through other marketing channels. So I challenge all you strategic planners to think about this. And think, if someone offered you a better service package, with an exptened time commitment woud you take it? You bet you would and you would probably tell your friends what a great experience you just had. So why does this never happen to us?

The answer is simple. The reason you virtually never get a proactive sales pitch when you call is the phone center is too busy and they are stressed to meet service levels. The math suggests that they should add more people and start selling them after they have resolved their issue. Marketing people, maybe you should arrange a meeting with the VP of Customer service and see what can be done. Maybe you need to benchmark with an outside group to prove your point and pump up your profitability.

Why do the best customers pay more?

I’m always frustrated to see my service provider offering half the rate I pay to a prospect. I would tell you that on an inbound call, virtually never would you be asked if they could look at your account and improve your situation. To get a better deal, you need to threaten cancellation of your service and then somehow, miraculously you are transferred to the “retention” group and your package improves. You should try it sometime.

I find calling the retention group is a good way of paying what is a fair market value. But the problem is this. Did you know that the average wireless carrier hears from their customer every 2 months or, 6 times a year? What an opportunity.

When Call Center Data crosses Wires with Profitability and Customers

I know there is one large mobile company that, because they cannot keep up with their service levels, does not allow their phone reps to ask about new services or better products or pricing.

Can you imagine, if you are a wireless customer, calling in to discuss your bill and having a rep actually look at your rate and suggest that you are paying to much? What’s the catch? Really there is no catch. With the price of voice for the mobile market going down, and with a customer having the ability to switch their phone service (“number portability”), the chances are if you do not right size a customer, they will churn or switch to another service.

Do you know how many companies need to add millions of new customers just to maintain their customer base? Take a look at the numbers of the satellite industry. It remains flat for companies like DirectTV and EchoStar and with 2-4% churn a month, it means that they need to add millions of customers a year just to keep their base. When was the last time somebody booked at your account and told you you were paying too much for a service or that there was a better package out there for you?

Metrics that matter: Speed of answer vs.callbacks and customer satisfaction

I have some news for the frustrated customer. The reason that you are told that you cannot be called back is NOT a technical limitation. It is because the call center manager needs to maintain service levels and average handling times.

It is quite upsetting because what they are failing to think about the potential fallout of the overall relatonship based on a single part of the the overall picture that is a metric . Contact resolution versus multiple callbacks is at the centre of the storm. Managers are not measured as easily on contact resolution as average speed of answer or hold times.

When you fail to help a customer for the sake of some stat, the ripple effect begins. The paradigm of removing parts from the sum total of the experience is never a good idea. Your added-value service is anything but if that is your approach. I ask you, would the Company be better off calling a customer back if it meant keeping the customer happy?

When call center measurements fail to consider stakeholder value

One of the things that has always effected a call center manager’s respect in the organization is their focus on their insular world of the average speed of answer, call abandonment and other “traditional” call center metrics”. These metrics often clash with what most senior managers are held to and that is customers I know that call center managers are always fighting for the respect of their fellow senior managers. It irks me that call center management time and time again just do not get it.

A Call center manager is a very critical member of a large corporation. I always tell people that in many companies, cable companies, telecom companies, even some kind of financial institutions (direct to market insurance), there are more people in the call center than any other jurisdiction inside that company.

The call center industry is a cottage industry that burst. Nobody goes to a business school to become a manager of customer service. The people running the centers 9 times out of 10 either worked their way up from the phones, or they walked into the position. They did not graduate from a major business school with the intention of running a customer service organization. Herein lies the problem. I believe the best talent in customer service are the pioneers of the business.

Today’s best and brightest go to a business school to specialize in finance, marketing or sales. Customer service is not sexy and it is ignored as a scholastic career. Oh sure there are some classes, but most are taught at local community colleges as part as a customer rep program to provide jobs. The Customer service manager needs to learn how to be a better member of the senior management team

By the way, for those of you that are looking at a good career, a Vice President or Director of Customer Service pays very well, and it always seems that once you have established yourself with a major brand, you have the ability to move from organization to organization without a problem.

Sometimes we need to speak with a real live person

You know those times when you simply MUST speak to a live customer service rep? Now, do you remember all those times when you have seen grass grow a few inches while you waited on hold? Watched a few rounds of The Masters while listening to a flute-instumental version of Yesterday? Those moments of near insanity when you were scared to go to the bathroom for fear of losing your place in the mysterious call queue?

Well, do not hang up the phone. You deserve all the attention you think you have coming!

When I have to make an important customer service call, I always budget an hour to allow for hold times. I hate when I have to leave and I’m still on hold or in the middle of the fix. How many times have you put the call on hold after waiting several minutes and just for that second, you come back and the call is gone?

I know how frustrating this is. It has happened to all of us. One of the first questions I religiously ask when I call back (and have to wait through another large block of minutes to the speak with a rep) is “do you have my phone number and can you call me back should we get disconnected”?

It never ceases to astound me when I hear “I’m sorry Sir, we can only receive calls from this facility, we cannot place calls”. Huh?!?!?

Do we, as consumers, who are called by call centers all the time, really believe for a minute that a representative does not have the ability to call you back when you ask them to do so? I think not.

This is more a mater of policy than capability. It is definitely not due to limited technology. Most phones I have seen, no matter how advanced, have a keypad with numbers on it and can get dial tone. So how come no one can ever call me back?

When service centers fail to function in that manner, they really can't be called "customer care" or "customer service". When the dialogue is controlled and only allowed to flow one way, it is anything but care or service.

Technorati Tags: Call Centers Customer Service Customer Care

Believe it! Why Self Service may be better than voice for routine transactions.

As a consumer, I know how many of us hate the call deflection of an interactive voice response system. But with the help of speech recognition combined with traditional dtmf capabilities of virtually every phone, an industry leader such as Nuance has made navigating through the prompts easier and generally improved the overall experience. Clearly the desire of many clients using interactive voice response is to get the more mundane tasks handled by a non-human. The costs of using a machine are fixed. All the work is in the upfront design and the maintenance.

There are many companies that have done a great job of deflecting and, in fact, have made it more convenient to self self-service versus speaking to a live operator.

I believe the ability to understand your voice has improved dramatically. It is not perfect, but it is getting better. And, you can use your key pad if you wish. We all have key pads today versus the former rotary phones. An example of an automated transaction I prefer (along with millions of others) is a bill payment. I either use the web, or I use an IVR. In either case, the fact that I’m speaking with a computer versus a human being that could copy my information makes me feel more comfortable. I pay all of my bills either thru an automated attendant or thru the Internet. When I’m done, for instance when I pay my Verizon mobile bill, before I even hang up the phone I’m text messaged my confirmation.

Other companies such as American Express or AT&T email me a confirmation. I usually get the confirmation within minutes if not hours. It definitely comes the same day. I can’t get a live rep to send me a confirmation but I can get a machine to complete that transaction seamlessly and instantaneously.

Maybe it's time now that the call centers can figure out how they can send me an email when I speak to someone . It is a tough one to solve, that is, ask I live rep if they can email me or fax me a confirmation or some kind of follow up. Very rarely can the call center do this. I know this is an easy software fix (we used to design CRM software so we know). It is a completely different topic that we will shed more light on in future blog posts.

Self Service Avoid’s ID Theft – Let me speak to a Machine Please

I would rather speak to a machine when competing a financial transaction than I would like to speak to a live human being. Especially if you are going to route a call offshore. It scares me to have someone with a different culture and values with access to my information. Do not believe they can be denied access.

ID theft is just plain bad. It's critical to remember that, in today's global village of outsourcing customer service to the lowest cost provider, identity theft means your customer's information may end up in the Philippines or India and sold off to lord know who! Do not believe what you read that this never happens - it does. A lot. Offshore call centers are not sheltered nor are they security proof (sorry Tom).

This is a serious threat. All it takes is one instance and the credibility your firm worked decades to build is gone in a flash. Take a look at this article that clearly outlines the real risks.

Furthermore a recent Gartner study said that a shortage of skilled labor for Indian call centers increases the risk of fraud and identity theft, India will need one million trained and qualified call centre workers by 2009, according to the Indian government, but by that time about a quarter of those positions will remain unfilled. Gartner warned that the shortfall in call center agents will cause offshore outsourcing firms to hire fewer qualified staff and could lead to reduced due diligence.

I hope those reading this post are starting to think about a repositioning of your call center strategy. Cost is important, but let’s not forget about market share and the fact that satisfied customers buy more and tell their friends to buy as well.

Do not force an over use of self-service. Customers will figure out ways to talk to a live rep when they need to. And if you do not service them properly, it is only a matter of time (read short time) until they defect. And they will defect.

In my next post, I will speak about the experience when you finally speak to someone live on the phone.

Technorati Tags: Call Centres Offshoring Customer Service Identity Theft