The Pioneer’s Guide to Digital Customer

Service Innovation

Contents

01 Introduction 16 Step 4: Create A Truly Omnichannel Platform

19 Step 5: Build Human Connections

23 Conclusion

02 Step 1: Empower Customer Service Agents

06 Step 2: Compete on Customer Experience

12 Step 3: Measure Empathy KPIs, Not Just Efficiency

Vit Horky, CEO

Innovation is a powerful word. But the problem with the word innovation in digital customer service is just that: it often remains a word only. But I have good news… customer service innovators are already among us. They’re the pioneers who show the rest of us how it’s done.

As a global leader in customer service software for

telecommunications, we at Brand Embassy get to work with the

best in class. T-Mobile, Vodafone, Tracfone, Telefonica, Telenor,

SBB, Tango, iiNet—we are proud to call these telco operators

clients, and friends. That’s not just because they’re great

companies, but because the telecommunications industry is

always at the forefront of enterprise digital customer care. But

brands in all industries can learn from savvy telcos and apply

their best practices to any context.

We’ve created The Pioneer’s Guide to Digital Customer Service Innovation to share the insider information we’ve

gathered, including trends in digital customer service and best

practices on how to be a true innovator in the way you

communicate with customers. We can all see the mountain that

stands between us and truly innovative, human-centered

customer service. It’s time to start climbing!

We hear plenty of abstract talk these days about customer

service. The purpose of this white paper is to bring the

theories down to earth with real-world examples and actionable

best practices. I’d love it if this white paper helps you take your

customer service to the next level by making real human

connections, learning more about your customers and

empowering your customer service agents to really make

a difference.

I hope reading these pages gives you the best practices you need

to be a pioneer in providing customer service that goes beyond

mere satisfaction to the heart of your customer, which is what

really counts.

Introduction

1

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and empowering customer service agents is the first step a customer service pioneer must take.

Step 1: Empower Customer

Service Agents

2

Too many brands look at their customer service agents as expendable. Not only does that make it

harder to inspire your agents, it also affects the

bottom line.

We’re not just talking about pennies on the

dollar. But what’s causing agent turnover? A variety

of factors, some beyond an employer’s control, all

of which vary by company, region and economic

environment. But one negative factor that is deeply

ingrained in the contact center environment is the

perceived value of customer service agents. They’re

low on the food chain and often disregarded as

replaceable, dime-a-dozen worker bees who are just

bumbling along the 9 to 5 grind.

How can we change this and leverage the

immeasurable knowledge and personality within

customer service teams?

The average contact center has an annual churn rate as high as 40%

The total cost of replacing an employee is between $10,000 and $15,000 Happy salespeople produce 37% greater sales

Turnover cost for 1 front-line employee is between $10K and $15K

If your agents aren’t valued and empowered, then there’s virtually no chance they’ll be ready, willing and able to extend themselves enough to make a real connection with a customer.

3

How important are your agents?

Companies who successfully scale the socio-demographic diversity of agents in

accordance with customers will increase brand loyalty and decrease agent

turnover. Brand Embassy calls this matchmaking.

1. Agents know your customers best, sometimes even personally

2. Agents understand trending customer needs often before management does

3. Agents want to improve the customer experience, which makes work better

4. Agents are unique, interesting individuals, all with empathy to offer

5. Agents have a lot in common with your customers, but can’t act on what they don’t know

To start, let’s clarify a few

things:

4

How Cricket Wireless helps employees connect

So what would this new work environment actually look like?

Probably something like the American telco Cricket Wireless.

Judging from their social media, Cricket Wireless is a great place

to work. Their employees are constantly posting photos and

videos from work, and the company’s hashtag #CricketEmployee

helps their employees connect over social media.

Employees at Cricket Wireless are empowered to express their individuality, which makes them happier and inspires

them to be better at what they do.

O2 Guru: Agent empowerment in action

O2 has set up a network of experts who help individual clients,

both online and in the store. Customers can contact their guru

through live chat, email, social media, or in face-to-face. It’s a

pretty neat way to be efficiently helpful in every place possible.

It also empowers the customer service agent to be a brand advocate, interacting closely with customers while creating

long-term relationships with them. That’s pioneering!

Summit summary: Empowering your agents will make them happier and more loyal, which will save you money. Happy and loyal agents are more able to interact personally and naturally with customers, improving customer experience.

5

Pioneer case studies

6

The second step for customer service pioneers is to leave price wars behind and start distinguishing themselves from the competition by providing humanized customer experience.

Step 2: Compete On

Customer Experience

Sweet emotion, or why feelings are the next frontier

A Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California,

Antonio Damasio is one of the world’s foremost experts on the science of

decision making. In his lecture “When Emotions Make Better Decisions,” he

reveals the fact that our analysis of a situation is far less important than our

emotional attachment to a situation’s outcome. It’s this attachment that helps us

make a choice. What we think is wisdom is actually the cultivation of our feelings

about outcomes in a variety of situations. So as much as we’d like to think that

we’re analytical, it’s our feelings that are guiding us.

What does that mean for customers? Without emotion to provoke them, they

might never make a decision at all. So, focusing on the customer’s experience

with your product is a key way to differentiate yourself from competition. In fact,

customers are willing to pay more for a positive experience.

By 2017, 50% of

consumer product

investments will be

redirected to CX innovations

(Gartner)

89% of companies

surveyed by Gartner

believe that customer

experience will be their

primary basis for

competition by 2016 (Gartner)

97% of companies

surveyed by Oracle state

Customer Experience

is critical to success

(Oracle)

70% of buying

experiences are based

on how the customer feels she is being

treated (McKinsey) 7

8

3. Impart delightThe end goal of of all interactions with customers

should be to impart delight. it’s a challenge because

it means exceeding your customers’ expectations in

ways they may never have imagined. That’s about

breaking through the sales facade and delivering

what the customer will really appreciate.

How to get emotional

Brands have to work hard to establish positive

associations and excellent emotional connections.

1. Make a personal connection

Always remember your customer is an individual

just like you So you can start by using the first name

of the employee and the customer. Remember the

customer on repeat interactions, and pair employees

with customers in the long-term. Once that personal

connection is made, keep developing it.

2. Appeal to shared interests

It’s a great idea to know as much about your

customer as possible. The right customer excellence

platform will give you a complete picture of your

customer, including her interests, online profiles,

and past interactions with your brand. Any one of

those can be a talking point.

Zappos and Netflix are two great examples of companies that are already putting their customers at the forefront of their business.

Netflix is known for its creative customer service,

evident most clearly in the famous case where a

customer service agent assumed the identity of

a member of the crew aboard the Enterprise, the

spaceship from Star Trek. The conversation soon

went viral, which launched Netflix’s reputation as a

customer service pioneer.

If you’ve ever communicated with Netflix you know

it’s not unusual to get into conversations about your

favorite films and television shows. You always feel

like you’re getting the authentic personality of the customer service agent. Here’s where it

pays to think more about who your customers are

and maybe less about how much they’re willing

to pay for your product or service. At Netflix, the

customer service agents can see your purchase

history, so they know what kind of films you like

and if they share any of your favorites. Now imagine

if all brands had the power of that information at

their fingertips, allowing customers to be routed to

the customer service agent they have the most in

common with.

This type of matchmaking is where the true pioneering is taking place.

9

Why Netflix is authentic

Zappos also knows what it takes to be a customer

service pioneer. If there’s a brand in the retail world

that’s known for giant-sized social customer care,

it’s them. And that makes sense, because when your

motto is “powered by service,” satisfying your

customers has to be your first priority.

But Zappos has gone farther than any other

company to make delight an essential part of the

customer’s experience. Take a look at these stats

we’ve compiled. They show how pioneering Zappos’

customer service really is.

How Zappos exceeds expectations

10

11

Your agents’ ability to literally spend all day on

the line with one customer depends on how many

agents you have. It also depends on how your

customer service agents are being evaluated. But

what’s vital to remember is that the shift to

customer experience only confirms what companies

like Zappos have known all along:

Delighting your customers is the goal, no matter how long that takes. If you’re really going to pioneer a shift toward

customer experience, there needs to be a paradigm

shift, not only in the way you provide customer

service but also in the way you analyze and prioritize

the performance of your customer service team.

That’s the next step.

Summit summary: Competition is now largely based on customer experience rather than price. Appealing to your customers’ emotions by making real connections with them is the best way to delight them and win their loyalty.

Zappos has 24 million active

customer accounts

They maintain a 100% response rate on

social media

Zappos customer

service agents answer

5,000 calls a day and

1,200 emails a week

The longest customer

service call the company

reports was 10 hours and 29 minutes

The third step for pioneers-to-be is to change the way you evaluate your customer service team. For customer service pioneers, KPIs based on time or efficiency are not nearly as important as those based on emotion.

Step 3: Measure Empathy KPIs,

Not Just Efficiency

12

Written, designed and published by Brand Embassy, Inc.

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To continue reading about how you can innovate customer service, click on the link below to download your free copy of

The Pioneer’s Guide to Digital Customer Service Innovation.

http://hubs.ly/H02g3sc0

Written, designed and published by Brand Embassy, Inc.

www.brandembassy.com