Short-term Strategy [90 days]
Improve the channel strategy
Traditionally, organizations would define, regulate and own communication channels to react to customers’ queries. However, with the increasing use of newer communication channels and Internet-based social networking, customer expectations about service have undergone a sea change. Today, customers define, regulate and own the channels of communication rendering the contact center strategy at the core of a customer-focused enterprise. Most customers have access to phones, making it the primary channel of communication. However, organizations must deep-dive and understand the preferred mode of communication of customers. There is a need to create multiple interaction channels. WNS has partnered with multiple clients to improve their communication channel strategies. Continuously monitoring and re-defining the level of interaction with customers over multiple channels has helped improve customer experience and led to incremental sales revenue.
A recent survey by Nielsen Online showed that social networks and blogs are now the fourth most popular online activity, ahead of personal email. Hence, it is critical that enterprises empower their contact center frontline agents with access to these conversations and provides working guidelines to drive their response to customer issues posted on networking sites. According to a recent IBM Global Business Services Executive Report, as of May 2011, there were more than 500 million active users on Facebook. Companies must engage in training contact center staff on social media guidelines.
Customized service delivery
The service levels and traditional metrics need to vary on the basis of customer demographics. The key is to market, sell and service at the right time. Introducing specialist desks with differentiated service levels will improve the overall delivery of any contact center.
High-valued customers
These are customers who purchase high volumes regularly. Be proactive with these customers and save them time, effort and money. Analyze trends and proactively reach out through the preferred mode of communication to help unlock a great deal of value.
Hand-holders
These are customers who might be willing to pay more if the organization were to pay them more attention. Traditional metrics like Average Handle Time (AHT) might not be a good measure in the case of these customers, as they require contact center agents to spend more time with them for added value.
First contacts
First impressions are vital and can make or break a customer’s opinion. Acquiring a new customer is as important as retaining the old ones.
WNS has partnered with several clients to create options and intelligence in the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to directly route the right customers to Specialist Desks. This has helped improve customer satisfaction and resulted in incremental revenue.
Eliminate waste and improve utilization
Organizations must emphasize on Lean processes. Inefficient processes are costly, which is why contact centers must eliminate duplication of effort, reduce waste and rework, better utilize resources, and streamline entire business processes. One could uncover hidden value by implementing Lean and Six Sigma practices. This could start with your base operations and eventually be integrated across the enterprise. For example, WNS has partnered with a leading telecom provider in the UK and provided strong customer service / solution insights using WNS standard Business Process Excellence Transformation Tools and Practices. WNS contributed to 50 high-impact business insights, of which the telecom provider implemented 65 percent. This has improved the Net Promoter Scores for the telecom provider and the client was rated the ‘No.1 Pay As You Go service provider in the UK’. (TRIM rankings)
Long-term Strategy [180 days]
A long-term strategy would require a thorough cost-benefit analysis and depend upon the enterprise vision and goals. However, every customer-focused enterprise sooner or later will have to evaluate this strategy and look at platformbased solutions.
Predictors
Organizations must look at investing in analytical tools to slice and dice customer information over multiple channels and convert it into structured data to provide crucial business insights. This could also help in understanding softer aspects, like customer emotions and sentiments, to better manage the company’s brand image.
Integrated multi-channel Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
This can ensure that every interaction is monetized and new opportunities created and converted in real-time. CRM strategies have traditionally been designed to extract the greatest value from customers during the relationship lifetime. Today, this is fast shifting to becoming a new strategy – that of social CRM – wherein businesses must facilitate collaborative, seamless experiences and encourage dialogues that customer’s value. One option is to monetize social media with time-sensitive offers that will propel them to act.
Providing an outstanding customer experience is not an option any longer. It is a strategic imperative in an era where most consumers see the majority of products and services as a commodity. Companies that do not keep up with the technology needs of their customers and allow them to interact via channels of their choice will lose business to more responsive companies. Product innovation is undeniably important, but an exclusive focus on this misses the key drivers of sales and re-purchase. Our data indicates that the selling process drives 53 percent of B2B customer loyalty; yet most companies pursue strategies that lean heavily on vague and tired concepts of relationship-building. Returns from this approach are deteriorating in the aftermath of the recession as customer buying behaviors have altered considerably.
WNS has partnered with multiple clients and re-engineered the operating framework in declining market conditions to improve sales revenue. We have:
- Developed customized sales training modules
- Introduced new metrics like increment in dollar value / sale vs. traditional metrics like percentage conversions / overall sales revenue
- Designed innovative sales campaigns and contests
- Provided cross-channel business insights to improve service offerings and provide strategic inputs to the marketing and product development processes for our clients