This white paper highlights online chat as part of an effective multi-channel customer service strategy.

Transcription

1 ENTERPRISE WEB CHAT

2 There are plenty of new technologies, clever concepts and even trends that could help brands offer better service to customers. But the fundamentals of great service remain the same. We all want to feel recognized, listened to, valued and cared for. However some online customer service channels are more effective and popular than others and if not done right, brands will struggle to deliver on these age-old imperatives. This white paper highlights online chat as part of an effective multi-channel customer service strategy.

3 Redefine exceptional customer service in 2015 and beyond 2015 has not even started properly yet and already we are returning unwanted Christmas gifts, claiming compensation for delayed flights and holidays and trying to cancel that gym membership we know we won t use. The New Year and Christmas sales might have profits sparkling, but how do companies provide party poppingly good customer service? Commonly touted as a top business priority, customer service often degenerates into a battle between promise and practice. QUEUE HERE Sometimes it s best just to keep quiet (I ve got a whole bag of Shhhhhh! And it s got your name on it) Web chat has been one of the most rapidly adopted contact centre technologies of recent years. Today it supports customer service in 30.7% of organisations and sales in 29.7%. And the number is increasing daily with a lot of brands offering it all the time, on every web page for any query. Customers prefer to use it as it s free, quick, simple to use and anonymous. But as a standalone technology, offering web chat willy-nilly can actually defeat the purpose of having it in the first place and have a huge cost and time implication on resources. Get web chat right by replacing casual chatter with purposeful conversations that deliver positive results. Web chat onesie One size fits all NOT! Most organisations introduce web chat to reduce costs, on the basis that it enables agents to manage several conversations simultaneously as opposed to just one on the phone. However having web chat available all the time, on every page for any query defeats this purpose. Allowing customers to source answers to frequently asked questions using web chat, locks up resources and feeds one of the biggest contact centre complaints Not having enough agents to deal with queries and/or more complex queries. Although it s common practice for up to a maximum of three concurrent chats, stretching agent resources can only lead to a deterioration in customer experience. In fact, going beyond three chats can significantly reduce customer satisfaction due to delayed responses and inaccurate typing. Wasting valuable contact centre resources to deal with basic queries that could have been answered using an FAQ web self-service option, just doesn t make good business sense.

4 2 Quality not quantity Adding intelligence improves chat Expecting their conversations online, just as in person to have pace and confident answers, customers will quickly spot if an agent is distracted by other conversations or struggling to respond. Don t compromise on quality conversation. It goes without saying that fast, accurate answers keep customers happy, and they drive down call duration too. Integrating web chat with the right knowledge-base will have costs go down and customer satisfaction go up. Knowledge-base integration enable agents to respond quickly and accurately. This intelligent integration between the two technologies enables relevant information and responses to be pushed to agents in real-time as a customer types their query or comment. 3 Context is key to intelligent chat Bla bla... When mindless chat windows automatically appear on a website, it can be just as ineffective as nuisance pop-up ads it could alienate potential customers and are also more likely to be ignored. However, just having a chat button option within a webpage, hoping customers would click on it could be just as ineffective. Having analytics will help to determine where chat invitations are having the greatest positive impact on customer behaviour and where chat can be offered proactively at points where it will make a difference. By aggregating and analysing data across communication channels, predictive analytics with self-learning and adaptive algorithms will deliver insight into customer journeys across channels and help agents to deliver real-time response.

5 4 Just because you can-can-can Canned responses Any web chat operation will make use of canned responses ; a library of approved replies to questions or comments that reoccur again and again. It s fine, but don t use them slavishly. Encourage chat agents to edit and personalise as they go, creating the energy and responsiveness of real conversation. Should all agents be busy, the capability to grey out the chat now button, or not offering it at all will prevent customers from joining a long and frustrating queue. It s annoying enough having to wait for the next available agent over the phone, so don t make customers wait for chat too! 5 Secure Software Development Life Cycle Mum s not the word Security should be a priority especially when customers discuss personal, account, financial or sensitive information. And while a bulletproof solution to data protection might seem a bit mission impossible, a web chat vendor should have a security model for its SaaS operations and happy to provide proof of this. When choosing a web chat vendor, security should be evident across multiple fronts. A vendor s security should be audited regularly by an external body, and a compliance program will confirm the status of information security in relation to the data a vendor provides. If you are accepting online payments, your vendor should comply with the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which provides an actionable framework for developing a robust payment card data security process - including prevention, detection and appropriate reaction to security incidents. Vendors that comply with ISO 27001: an information security standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the joint ISO and IEC subcommittee, a specification for an information security management system (ISMS) - should have official certification issued by an independent and accredited certification body. Compliance certifications and regular penetration testing by an external body should ensure web chats are encrypted from end to end. A cloud-based infrastructure should be secure, stable and reliable especially during peak times. 24/7 monitoring and a dedicated team to respond to incidents, full back up, partitioned storage of data and a comprehensive business continuity plan should be in place.

6 RIGHT the WRONG Integrated with sales and customer support channels, intelligent web chat can draw upon the myriad of ways customers choose to interact with a business and allow seamless progression from one communication channel to another. Intelligent web chat strategy checklist: Web chat should be tightly integrated with other forms of self-service support like knowledge-bases, FAQs and support forums Web chat should be model-driven and predictive Web chat should have the ability to deliver rich media forms Web chat solution should support various platforms, e.g. desktop browsers, smart phone apps, mobile apps and act channel responsively Web chat should allow seamless transfer of context from one channel to another Done well, web chat can deliver, powerful, purposeful conversations that deliver positive results. Evaluating intelligent chat software as part of a multi-channel customer service strategy will allow continuity of customer experience as the line between the digital and physical worlds continues to blur.

7 About Synthetix At Synthetix we believe that delivering knowledge is key to customer satisfaction. We ve worked with some of world s best known brands, transforming their online customer service using our web self-service technologies. Our multi-channel online customer service solutions help deliver FAQs and solve customer problems not only on the web but mobile phones and social networks. Our service platform combines fully integrated natural language search, web chat, management, social media and helpdesk ticketing. All Synthetix services are hosted on a scalable, secure cloud platform delivering customer service solutions to any customer touchpoint. By extending knowledge across multiple channels, fast access to accurate and consistent answers ensure contact centre agents, customers and employees alike, can find the right answer the first time and every time. We deliver answers to 10 million questions a year through our web self-service technologies, reducing our clients inbound and call volumes by 25%. In fact our clients have reported a resolution rate of 90% by deflecting queries using web self-service, building strong customer engagement and satisfaction levels. We know that choosing a partner to develop your online customer service is a decision of real strategic importance. We continuously work with our clients to understand their business and optimise their online knowledge delivery. Our portfolio of clients include: Boots, National Express, Scottish Friendly, Unilever, Virgin Holidays, ACAS, esure and Yorkshire Building Society.

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