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Leverage Low-Customer-Effort Strategies to Elevate their Customer Service

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Leverage Low-Customer-Effort Strategies to Elevate their Customer Service Customer Service
Table of Contents

Introduction

Often, while taking measures to improve customer experience and service, companies take extreme measures to delight their customers. However, intensive research has shown us that consumers are more likely to punish bad service rather than reward good service. We can, thus, infer, that customer loyalty is more likely a product of companies delivering on their basic promises rather than a product of companies delivering dazzling service experiences. 

To study the relationship between customer service and loyalty, the Customer Contact Council conducted a study comprising more than 75,000 people that have interacted with various self-service channels or with contact-center representatives over the phone. 

The study revealed two key findings; 

  • Reducing customer effort is more effective at building loyalty than delighting customers.
  • Brands can significantly improve their customer service and decrease customer attrition by reducing customer effort.

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Low-Customer-Effort Approaches to Service

These are five strategies to reduce customer effort that companies can adopt to elevate customer service: 

  • Be Proactive when Addressing Pain Points

A key cause of excessive customer effort is the need for customers to call back when their issues are not addressed. More than 20% of repeat calls made to contact centers are regarding issues related to the initial call, even if a resolution was achieved at the time. Rather than focusing on call time and FCR, customer service teams should place added focus on how each individual call is handled. 

  • Encourage Front-Line Workers to Deliver a Low-Customer Effort Experience

Companies should use the kind of metrics and incentive systems that emphasize the value of quality over speed so as to reduce customer effort. Productivity metrics may actually be a key cause of high customer effort as they encourage front line workers to solve issues as fast as possible rather than in the best way possible. Eliminating the use of certain productivity metrics could significantly improve the quality of customer service provided. 

  • Address the Emotional Side of Customer Interactions

Studies have shown that a significant percentage of the repeat calls that are made to contact centers stem from an emotional disconnect between customers and customer service representatives. Basic protocol and instructions can be put in place to reduce or eliminate interpersonal issues resulting from an emotional disconnect. 

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  • Focus on Feedback from Unhappy Customers

Unhappy customers can be one of the most invaluable sources of data for a business. By taking measures to specifically evaluate feedback gathered from unhappy customers, brands can find ways to resolve customer issues and also gather feedback regarding how overall service can be improved. These changes are likely to boost the company’s issue-resolution rate while reducing customer effort. 

  • Guide Customers to a Specific Channel 

Although providing customers with an omnichannel experience is pivotal in shaping a great customer experience, sometimes having a plethora of channel options may overwhelm customers. This may result in customers switching between channels before finally dialling customer service at the end. Instead, companies should try to direct customers to specific channels based on what will suit them best.

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