Customer confidence in companies can be fragile; one mistake and consumers are ready to move their business elsewhere (and complain about it on social media). Often problems occur because companies don’t deliver on what they say they will do. In other words, they fail to keep their promises.Customer service expert and blogger, Shep Hyken, articulated in a recent post that promises to custome...
Congratulations to Eptica customer Vivastreet, which recently won its category, Classifieds, in the Voted Customer Service of the Year Award (Élu Service Client de l’Année 2015*). Vivastreet operates a network of free, classified ads sites around the world, with the award being given for the performance of its French site (www.vivastreet.com).This is the eighth year that the awards have be...
All companies understand the importance of delivering a superior customer experience (CX). The combination of intense competition, more demanding customers and an increasing range of channels, mean that organisations have to continually improve the service that they offer to consumers if they are to retain business, whatever sector they are in.However, achieving a consistent customer experience is...
Customer service is continually evolving. Driven by customer needs and channel expansion the original telephone-only call centres have added new contact methods, such as email, chat and social media, to become multichannel customer engagement centres. However the biggest shift is still ongoing – from a silo-based channel by channel approach to a more integrated, seamless and consistent omnic...
As multiple studies show, social media is now a key channel for customer service. A J.D. Power study found that two thirds of customers who contacted a company on social media did so for customer service. Businesses understand this, but delivering the right level of service can be a challenge, particularly when it comes to integrating with other channels and scaling to meet demand. So, what are cu...
I recently read a really interesting blog by Thomas Laird that looks at some of the underlying reasons that companies struggle with customer service. What struck me was how many of these issues could be solved with well-implemented technology to support agents doing their jobs.Here’s a précis of Thomas’s five points, along with my comments on where technology adds value.1 . Who runs y...
Understanding what customers want, what they like and incorporating their ideas into future products and services is central to improving customer engagement. This in turn builds loyalty and customer recommendations, driving further sales.Consequently most large organisations run Voice of the Customer (VoC) programmes that aim to collect data from consumers and use it to make changes that impact t...
Companies and consumers are increasingly seeing the benefits of implementing live chat. It drives engagement while providing an efficient, fast channel to answer customer queries. Consumers like it as they can engage on chat while still doing other things, making it unobtrusive compared to the telephone or email and fitting in well with their busy lives. The Eptica Multichannel Customer Experience...
Consultancy Nunwood has just released its latest research into the experience and service offered by UK companies. Based on feedback from 7,500 consumers on 263 brands, it highlights individual success and overall trends in the UK customer experience.The picture it offers is patchy. From the boardroom down, companies recognise the importance of the customer experience to their ongoing success. The...
Smart organisations realise that the customer experience is the responsibility of everyone within the company that comes into contact with consumers. From frontline staff within branches or stores, through product experts and marketing teams adding content to websites, to senior management, all have a role to play in winning and retaining customers through superior service. But how do you ens...