5 Customer Service Trends and Predictions for 2015

1. Customers will expect more.

Customer service expert Shep Hyken has this to say about this trend, “Customers are more knowledgeable about customer service. They know what it is. They know the difference between good service and bad. They know what they want. As a result, customers are more demanding of a good customer service experience and many times will spend their money elsewhere, even if the price is higher. Service correlates to value that the customer will pay for.”

With social media playing a big role in customer service delivery, customers expect businesses to be able to cater to their needs and requests 24/7. Omnipresence in all channels, as stated by customer experience consultant and Forbes contributor Micah Solomon, will also continue to be a pressing demand that all businesses should step up to.

2. Mobile experience is the way to go.

Research shows that more than 50% of US adults now have a smartphone and 76% of the generation Z (the millenials) rely on their mobile devices for everything – including finding information about problems and its solutions and reaching out to customer service.

Customer service expert and industry analyst, Roy Atkinson, says that the customer service industry should expect that in 2015, “Mobile customer service and support–that is, mobile apps and contact methods such as text which take advantage of the features of mobile devices–will become increasingly important and prevalent. Organizations will start to take more advantage of mobile features such as location, direction, and proximity. We are already seeing the effects of mobile device payment methods.”

Customer-centric companies are on the right track on this as 84% of CIOs are now focusing on the mobile customer experience. Hyken also sees this trend happening as businesses make their web sites mobile-responsive, come out with apps for more customer engagement, use SMS (text messaging) and have dedicated social media customer service agents handling issues on social media channels.

Atkinson adds that “Customers will expect rapid response to questions or issues on social media, and, if your business is global, will expect those rapid responses within a time-frame that is good for them. This does create some problems for small to medium businesses which are not equipped to have a social customer service staff available 24/7. But social media is only one aspect of social support. Community-based and peer-to-peer support will continue to grow, especially as what has been called the “sharing economy” takes hold.”

3. Self-service solutions will become more popular.

While customers expect customer service delivery 24/7 with response times needing to be shorter, they also seek simpler interactions. Richard Shapiro says that response time has become just as important as the actual response. Self-service solutions will allow businesses to complete a higher percentage of transactions via self-service while still making it a positive experience for their customers.

4. Businesses will invest more in customer experience.

It’s no secret that it is less expensive to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. However, Gartner discovered that in 2014, the cost of customer retention has been increasing, with marketers spending almost as much to keep buyers (45%) as to acquiring new ones (55%).

Companies now realize that a better customer experience will improve customer satisfaction and has a snowball effect – it improves customer retention, develops brand loyalty and makes for great brand advocates.

Businesses will hire specialists that can help them develop a great customer experience strategy. Google Trends have reported an increase on the search for “customer experience jobs” to 40% from July 2013 to July 2014.

This is not surprising. Customer service delivery has become a multi-channel zone and customers expect integration to occur. When a customer asks a question through social media and follows up with an e-mail, he expects that his customer service issue is threaded and agents know his background immediately. Developing systems for this requires investment and training of agents.

Atkinson expects that in 2015, more companie will learn to avoid disasters that hit Comcast and others, “some of those will learn to capitalize on the mistakes made by their competitors in terms of customer experience. This will be easier for smaller, more agile brands than for large ones. It all comes down to incentive: Large monolithic brands that have a large market share will be averse to changing anything.”

“If organizations do pay attention to the customer experience lessons learned in 2014 (both positive and negative), they can make some great strides in making their businesses better and more attractive to both new and repeat customers,” Atkinson adds.

5. Customer reviews and feedback are going to be more effective than any marketing strategy.

Consumers now have access to a wealth of information online. When a customer is interested in a product or service, the first thing they do is search for feedback online. Companies are acknowledging this behavior and will be working towards getting more positive feedback by doing the above-mentioned list for 2015.

“Companies are recognizing that customers have a loud voice. They can broadcast their experiences, both good and bad, via social media.  Businesses are beginning to see the merit of a good customer experience. They get repeat business and word-of-mouth marketing. The goal will be to get problems taken care of properly and quickly with the hope to avoid a viral PR disaster,” notes Hyken.

Five Companies with a Winning Customer “Twitter” Service Strategy

Here are 5 brands that are effectively leveraging Twitter to engage with their customers, have some fun, and build brand loyalty.

1. @Levis

Someone asked where to buy commuter jeans in New York City, and almost immediately Levi’s replied with the exact location of the store:

People often ask "random" questions on Twitter. Levi's is very smart at monitoring brand name mentions and engaging in the conversation.  Especially a question like this one, which can easily be converted into a sale.

2. @TacoBell

Taco Bell is notorious for making quick, witty and romantic comebacks to tweets. For example, this girl ate Taco Bell for the first time in almost a year, and Taco Bell replied with a line to a song:

Or when this girl posted a TimeHop post dating back to two years ago, and Taco Bell replied with “Happy Anniversary, babe!”

Or when this girl expressed how Taco Bell makes her happy, and they responded with an even more genuine comeback:

These short tweets may not have gone "viral", but you know that they made the day a little brighter for that one person they replied to. Doing these small acts of Twitter-kindness each day collectively add-up and help reinforce the brand to customers and prospects.

3. @Zappos

Zappos, sometimes more known for its exemplary customer service than the shoes they sell, not surprisingly uses Twitter to engage with customers. For example, this man took to Twitter to search for a specific pair of shoes, and Zappos made it their mission to help him find them.

4. @NikeSupport

Nike has been very particular about providing support to its customers too, so much that they created a separate Twitter account for all customer support requests. Take for example, this customer who needed help:

5. @Jetblue

Jetblue responds gracefully, even to customer feedback. That’s not to mention that they respond generously to all types of tweets too, be it appreciation, or questions, or requests.

For example, this customers was displeased about JetBlue’s website logging him off automatically after 30 minutes:

See what JetBlue did there? First they tried to help by asking questions, and then expressed appreciation for the feedback, and then appreciated the customer for being great.

Here's a second example:

Engaging in Twitter dialogue with customers often mitigates dissatisfaction and positions companies as more approachable, responsive, and understanding.

Five Reasons You Need a Social Media Support Strategy

Customer Support has evolved from traditional inbound channels like phone and email to real-time conversations across social media. Customer perceptions and expectations of service have dramatically changed as a result of new communication channels such as Twitter and Facebook. If you don’t think your company needs to engage with customers across social media, then consider these five reasons:

1.     Customers demand real-time interactions.

Compared to speaking on the phone or sending an email, social media allows for a quicker response time and a real-time conversation with the customer.

2.     It strengthens your online credibility.

Brands that interact with customers via social media reinforce the message that they’re technology savvy and attune to customer needs. Customer’s appreciate this new communication channel and brands that do it right, have a positive impact on customer loyalty, brand advocates, social sharing, increase engagement, and lower support costs.

3.     Your customers are on social media.

According to Oracle, 46% of online customers expect brands to provide customer service on Facebook and only 23% of companies provide customer service on Facebook. 

4.     It generates sales and increases revenue.

It’s important to note that customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20%-40% more money with those companies than other customers. (Source) Customers that find your brand credible and accessible and willing to do more business with your company.

Of course if your online customer service is poor, it most likely will result in higher negative comments posted online, “11% of brands lost revenue, 15% lost customers, and 26% have tarnished reputations,” says Sprinklr, a social media management systems company. People want convenience in their customer experience, and they expect that from your brand. Take advantage of the mobility that smartphones and tablets give, and assist customers in their purchases or address their inquiries via social media.

5.     It enhances your customer service support.

Customers expect 24x7x365 online customer support via social media. There’s obviously an added cost to service this channel, but the tangible and intangible benefits – customer loyalty, brand credibility, brand advocates, increase revenue, and decrease costs via more expensive support channels – are worth the effort.

Contact Center Holiday Check List

It’s that time of year again for Holiday shopping, Turkey dinners, Christmas Cheer, and busy call centers! Give your customer’s a hassle free customer experience this year with this handy check list:

Finalize Your Contact Volume & Staff Planning Forecasts

Starting in Q3, you should already have your Q4 contact volumes and staffing forecasts prepared based on historical data, sales forecast, and current / planned promotional activities. Any required additional holiday staff should already be hired, trained, and on schedule.

Finalize Your Staff Holiday Training

Most of your support staff should have also completed holiday sales, product, procedures, and refresher training. Don’t forget to add a refresher module on how to deal with difficult customers and stress management.

Check Systems & Implement Fall Back Procedures

We’ve experienced system failures at one point or another in our contact centers. The best to “prepare” for unforeseen technical issues is to have a fully redundant fallback solution in place with detailed procedures. For example, how to route overflow to a outsource partner or how to receive calls in the event your ACD goes down. The holiday season is not the time to start scenario planning and practice. Make sure you mark this item off your check list well in advance.

Review Your Online Customer Service Channel

Social media and mobile has fundamentally shifted customer expectations about customer service. Make sure you have a dedicated social media team in place to monitor and respond to customer comments, complaints, and problems submitted via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or some other social media channel. The team set up an app like Google Alerts or Mention to help monitor what’s being said online and across social media. And don’t forget to be proactive, responsive, positive, and friendly.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

The Holiday season may be a challenging and stressful time for contact centers but it doesn’t mean it should zap out the joy. Don’t forget about your front-line staff dealing with your customers. You can schedule extra breaks to deal with the stress, organize a “Secret Santa” event, or bring Santa to the contact center to surprise and “delight” your staff.