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In today’s highly competitive world, organisations strive to distinguish their brand through espousing corporate values, developing innovative technology and providing answers to previously thought unsolvable problems. But the real differentiator between thriving and struggling companies is as old as the very concept of business – customer satisfaction (CSAT). Contact centre directors understand that rethinking the way their contact centres operate so the focus is on customer satisfaction is vital to generating growth and enhancing brand reputation.
Across all sectors, call centre managers know a good way to measure CSAT is simply to ask customers for their opinions. While valuable in isolated evaluations, the results of these surveys also provide key insight into the broader customer experience (CX).
Forrester explains it succinctly: CX is an engine of growth. Specifically, the latest research reveals that translating CX measures into specific investments drives revenue performance and that “brands that excel in CX increase revenue at twice the rate of brands that don’t.” This explains why, according to Gartner, 74% of organisations expect increases in their CX budgets in 2020.
While there are various CSAT measurement strategies and multiple call centre indicators to consider – including customer effort score (CES), there are two that dominate the current landscape. At the corporate level, the most highly regarded customer satisfaction benchmark is the net promoter score (NPS). As explained by Forbes, this is a simple question, first developed by Fred Reicheld and Bain & Company, which asks participants to rank on a scale of zero to 10 the likelihood of recommending a company to a friend or colleague.
There are a number of benefits of this methodology; from simplicity in execution to low cost of administration. However, foremost is the ease and rapidity with which customers can convey their opinion. Moreover, Forbes details a proven link between high NPS scores and strong customer loyalty, so the accuracy of results can be trusted.
The benefits of NPS scoring do not mean there are not notable drawbacks to this way of measuring CSAT. While it assuredly drives efforts to improve call centre services and a brand’s products, NPS remains so vague that it is difficult to understand what exactly in the service or product provided needs improvement. As such, it is a great indicator of overall experiences with a brand, but less so when it comes to specific interactions. Additionally, NPS only reflects the team aspect of an organisation, not individual members, so it is difficult to pinpoint who is excelling in customer service and who needs more training and support…
On the delivery side, annual customer satisfaction surveys are more common, as they dig deeper into CSAT issues and seek to discover the finer details of what works well and what could be improved. Here, the background information, broader context and factoring in of extenuating circumstances provide a clearer, more targeted view of individualised evaluations. Typically, customer satisfaction surveys are carried out on an annual basis for every account, though depending on the scope of a project or the size of the account, this could be a quarterly or monthly review.
Regular customer satisfaction surveys can identify issues and raise awareness about concerns before they become seriously detrimental. This is especially true for call centres, where accessibility to support and efficiency of operations are frequently areas that can fall short of customers’ expectations.
Only by possessing concrete information on CSAT results, whether NPS, annual customer satisfaction surveys or other measurements, can an organisation understand the situation and implement changes to improve its call centre’s CX.
Before acting on results with regards to contact centre performances, careful consideration must be given as to the nature of the results expected, that is, understanding what is being measured and why. The process of achieving contact centre excellence necessitates questioning customers, analysing their feedback and implementing appropriate adjustments at the service and operation levels. Having reactive processes, people and tools in place is important, but regular service evaluations and exchanges are key. Obviously, such discussions may result in modifying criteria for call centre CSAT, whether it be related to evaluating IVR flows, dropped calls, etc.
While NPS and annual customer satisfaction surveys provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction, conducting regular or intermittent quality assurance reviews is yet another means of ‘keeping a finger on the CSAT pulse’. Results obtained through these reviews, which also measure strengths and weaknesses in customer service,must be scrupulously analysed and based on this analysis; an action plan should be formed. Ideally, this is a mutually designed initiative in which both parties, client and contact centre solution provider, engage in. Crucially, action plans must include specific dates and barometers, this is the only way to demonstrate proficiency, gain clients’ trust and build strong relationships.
Being committed to B2C CSAT is more than just providing tools (AI-driven or other) to call centres that aid in collecting, measuring and collocating customer satisfaction feedback. Implementation and run stages of the contact centre are important, but end stages also demand committed support. Proactive, agile end to end engagement will encourage cooperative teamwork based on a mutual understanding of goals and foster a real partnership between the client and those in charge of managing the contact centre solution.
The challenges of modern customer service require a practical, yet forward-thinking vision embraced by all departments. This means reactive professional service teams should focus on the quality of delivery, consulting teams should strive to be proactive and dedicated operations teams should concentrate on quality and availability.
Are you a contact centre manager looking to boost customer satisfaction while enabling rewarding agent experiences (AX)? Find out why organisations turn to Odigo, a global Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solutions provider recognised as a leader in CSAT by Markess, a leading French digital research institute, in their 2020 Vendor Score Index® (VSI).
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