Everyone in the customer service industry is talking about social media at present. It’s social this and that – even though most customer service is still voice-based – and so I was pleasantly surprised to see this article about voice as a business application in Call Centre Focus magazine.
It’s not strictly about the defence of voice based service, but it does point out some of the key differences between interacting with email and using voice.
But how do your customers ask you for information and help? Many companies are now answering these queries within the same social channels they see used by customers and Teleperformance is involved in supporting this, but it is the change in customer attitude towards service that is worth noting.
Customers are no longer prepared to tolerate multi-level IVR systems when making a voice call. They don’t want to wait on hold for an agent while a repeated message tells them ‘your call is important to us’ or listening to an endless array of possible menu options. They just want service – now.
Social channels such as Twitter have demonstrated this, initially with the telcos responding to customer complaints about mobile phones and broadband. Customers soon found that by complaining on Twitter they could get a swift answer directly from an agent empowered to resolve their issue – why bother calling the regular helpline?
And in addition to the changing service expectations of the consumer the smart phone has meant most consumers are now online all the time. The Internet is no longer consumed at a desk in the home or office – it is with every consumer who owns a smart phone, all the time.
Customers are demanding instant service and they are now online constantly presenting a new opportunity for Click to Call to offer a way for customers to not online voice a complaint or comment on a social network, but to have immediate access to an agent.
It looks to me as if Click-to-call might be now taking the demands of the social media customer and creating a resurgence of voice based customer support.
Photo by Amanda licensed under Creative Commons
