Over the next few years, customer service is projected to overtake product and price as the key differentiator among businesses. But there’s more to customer service than taking calls and smiling when buyers come into the store. It has to do with creating a seamless and memorable customer experience from start to finish – and this can only be done with customer centricity in mind.
Customer centricity is a business approach where you strive to create positive experiences for your customers during and after a sale. It sounds simple enough, but customer experience design isn’t always the focal point of doing business. Too often businesses expect their call centers to prioritize efficiency and profitability, leaving little room for long-term culture creation.
However, profitability and customer centricity don’t have to be mutually exclusive – as a matter of fact, your call center partner can help you align the two. Here’s how:
Performance – At the most basic level, call center agents mold customer experience simply by doing their jobs well. By promptly answering calls, getting back to messages across multiple channels, and resolving issues, your agents are creating a pleasant experience for customers.
Doing so helps to correct the popular notion that customer service is a stressful experience that is associated with being put on hold for prolonged periods, or speaking with an agent with terrible English. With a team of top-performing agents on your side, your customers will associate your brand with ease of communication and quality service.
Empathy – The best way to help a customer is to be able to think like one, and this goes beyond knowing what their pain points are. Call center agents can be trained to empathize with customers, and more importantly, they can be taught to communicate this empathy so that customers will feel that they are being value. Empathy also allows agents to resolve issues in a thoughtful and efficient manner.
Customer intimacy – Aside from empathy, customer intimacy is also necessary. This has to do with gathering, retaining, and remembering customer information for when they come back with a new issue or concern. Customers will appreciate it when agents remember their information as well as previous interactions they’ve had with the brand. It not only helps guide the process, it also leads to a more satisfying experience.
In order for your call center to perform well, however, you’ll also need to keep agent satisfaction in mind. You can raise agent engagement levels by establishing agent satisfaction metrics and helping them improve continually over time. By making sure that your agents are happy and fully compensated for the work they do, you can expect them to create better experiences for your customers.
Get started by choosing a dependable service provider. Outsourcing hubs like the Philippines are home to call centers with great delivery track records. The country also has a vast talent pool of university-educated and experienced call center agents who can uphold your brand image. Talk to an agent today to see what your options are.