Many companies work under a very common misconception when it comes to customers and customer service. They believe that a customer will only be satisfied, if and when a company goes the extra mile in the course of service.

In reality, the situation is a bit more complex. While no customer would refuse platinum service, in reality, many customers would actually prefer a solution that does not require service at all.

What we mean by this, is that customers want a solution that delivers what they paid for. They do not want to follow up and chase a company to ensure the product performs in the way they envisioned. If they do have to contact the company, they want to get a response that makes sense in a timely manner without having to navigate endless IVR queues.

When it comes to contact centers and customer service, how you communicate with your clients is critical. Clients today want integrated solutions that include telephony, chat, email, and more in a single solution that ensures they get the right information from properly trained staff.

Companies today know that customer experience is the real differentiator of service and success. Businesses that focus on this area understand that customer experience pays dividends in the long run. As this recent PWC survey points out – failure to focus on customer experience can have some significant negative long-term consequences.

How To Ensure You Are Delivering On Your Customer Experience Promise

Smart companies understand that an investment in customer experience is one with a massive ROI which simply cannot be ignored. These organizations invest in a variety of different tools and technologies to ensure that they are providing clients with an experience that stands out from the competition.

Some of these technologies are ones we’re very familiar with like IVR systems, while others are much newer and include Chatbots and Omnichannel. However, simply investing in new technology is not enough – companies need to ensure that these tools are working efficiently and well. They need to evaluate and appraise their current services and understand whether they are meeting customer and business requirements or not.

The Importance of Assessment

An investment in IVR systems, Omnichannel, Chat, or other communication tools is part of the process with regards to improving customer experience. Another element that is just as important is ensuring that these systems work together in an efficient and seamless manner.

In many cases, implementing or changing one system can have unforeseen consequences on other systems. Sadly, these impacts are often not immediately obvious leading to extended resolution times due to unplanned work and a negative customer experience.

• IVR Scrutiny – IVR systems today are significantly more capable than you might believe. New systems incorporate AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) algorithms to ensure that customers can quickly reach the person best suited for their issue. However, while IVR systems are getting better, implementing a new solution can be problematic. Legacy and new IVR systems are complex and keeping them maintained can be difficult without a visual IVR map. Building this is extremely labor-intensive which is where Nectar can help. Nectar has automated IVR assurance tools and solutions that can simplify the process dramatically. By automating the discovery and design process, carryout functional, regression with performance validation, Nectar can work with your team to map IVR call paths and ensure your customers get to the right resources even under high loads.
• Omnichannel Appraisal –  While the phone is still important it is by no means the only way customers communicate with businesses. Chat, email, SMS, and web are all important channels, however, if these channels are not integrated, the experience a customer receives can be frustrating. Omnichannel is a way of solving this issue by providing a seamless experience across multiple channels. With omnichannel, the information provided through a chat conversation needs to be available to the agent that receives a follow-up email or vice-versa. When omnichannel works well, it can pay major dividends on the overall customer experience.  Sadly, when it fails, it can have the opposite effect. Fortunately, Nectar is able to provide advanced Omnichannel testing and monitoring. Experimentation needs to be from a customer’s perspective to truly understand how well the service is or is not functioning. In addition to Nectar’s suite of tools, investigative cases can be created and run whenever changes are made to ensure customers are not adversely impacted.
• Voice Quality – Systems need to run and be functional at all times. This includes the tools your agents use when working with your customers. Internal network issues and slowdowns can have impacts far-reaching and directly drive down customer experience if your agents are unable to provide information in a timely manner.  Robust evaluation at the agent level ensures the right calls are being transferred to the right agents based on skills and abilities. The Nectar Customer Experience Assurance solution has a suite of tools designed for the contact center to ensure that all operations are running at 100% efficiency.

Trial and Experimentation Matters When Servicing Customers

In the world of customer service, a customer’s experience is measured by the most recent interaction. Companies that fail to make each interaction seamless and problem-free are setting themselves up for failure.

Customer’s today have more choice in the product than ever before and they are no longer confined to their own city or state when making a decision. Now, competition is global, and in many cases, products themselves are commodities.

The real and only differentiator for a business is the overall customer experience that they provide. An investment in technology is only half the battle – the true test for a business is ensuring that the experience they aim to provide is what they actually deliver.