A recent survey by Accenture found that 52% of consumers have switched providers due to poor customer service alone. If the service a customer receives is long-winded and tedious, they’re 96% more likely to break their brand loyalty.
These are staggering figures, and only further support what we already know about customer service – it is crucial for retention. If we know this and have the data to back up what customers don’t want, then why are we still struggling?
Humans are hard-wired to desire immediate payoff. Our expectations of business interactions are no exception. This means that our approach to customer service needs to change in line with this.
Phone calls are one of the most frustrating endeavours that customers still have to endure just to get through to a real agent. Long queues of up to an hour; irritating waiting music; monotonous robotic operators informing of the queue position. And it’s still not guaranteed that the issue will be solved at the end of that!
Customers no longer want to call up businesses because of these frustrations. Phone calls are no longer the easiest way to contact a business, so why are companies still not moving away from them as a primary support function? 72% of customers now prefer texting to calling in order to get their issue resolved.
MessageBird’s solution
In light of these calls for change in customer service, MessageBird has built a way forward. There are many more challenges to customer service at the minute aside from those obvious ones already discussed. To combat them all swiftly, a communication automation platform should be used.
However, these platforms come with challenges – including issues with access and costs. MessageBird’s communication automation tool, Flow Builder, seeks to improve all issues raised here.
In MessageBird’s latest whitepaper report, they investigated the best ways to improve customer service efficiency, and how Flow Builder can help you address those. The 4 ways to improve efficiency, as recommended, include:
#1 Sending proactive notifications
We’ve seen throughout the current cost-of-living crisis that customers much prefer companies to reach out to them first. A proactive approach to customer service lets them know that the business cares and is looking out for them. This also shows that you know the information they require, and are on the ball to deliver it to them and keep them informed.
With Flow Builder, proactive service is made much easier with the touch of a button. You can trigger notifications to send via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or other channels when certain vital milestones are reached. For example, you can send notifications for order and delivery confirmations, upcoming appointments, or when payments are due.
#2 Deflecting inquiries to lower-cost channels
The last thing customers want is to be held up in queues with long waiting times just to answer non-urgent, simple queries. This only results in lower customer satisfaction, as well as being costly to the business.
Flow Builder has supplied an easier solution to these issues. It has the option for a customer on hold to switch the conversation over to a messaging channel, such as WhatsApp. This makes for asynchronous support, as well as being quick and efficient.
#3 Automating support queries
Both questions from customers and the answers provided by agents can become repetitive over time. For example, requesting the status of a package or rescheduling deliveries in Logistics industries.
This process can be made so much quicker and simpler with Flow Builder to assist in setting up automatic replies to common questions. Not only does this free up your agents’ time, but it also gives customers a straight-forward reply.
#4 Prioritising your most important customers
Approximately 80% of your revenue can be attributed to about 20% of your customer base. Instead of offering those valuable and frequent customers the same support as those one-off consumers, why not get them talking to your best reps as soon as possible?
The Flow Builder whitepaper goes into detail about how it can be used to set up a flow and prioritise different customers based on their data.
There’s so much that can be done with the Flow Builder to help streamline your customer service efficiency and experiences to ensure their loyalty and satisfaction. Start reading the whitepaper today to see exactly how it can be implemented into and improve your business!
Download the whitepaper from the CXM website for free today.