What Is Happening In Customer
Service
Kate Leggett
VP, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research
April 1, 2015
We Still Don’t Do A Good Job At
Delivering Positive Customer
Experiences
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3
We have entered the “age of the customer”
Source: October 10, 2013, “Competitive Strategy In The Age Of The Customer” Forrester report
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Customers control the conversation that they
have with businesses
The CIO's Blueprint For Strategy In The Age Of The Customer, September 12, 2014
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Companies view
customer
experience as one
of their top
priorities
Use customer
experiences as a
key competitive
differentiator
Source: The State Of Customer Experience, Management, 2014
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Few businesses deliver an outstanding
experience
42%
37%
11%
10%
1%
Very Poor
(0 to 54)
Poor
( 55 to 64)
OK
(65 to 74)
Source: January 21, 2014, “The Customer Experience Index, 2014”
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Good
( 75 to 84)
Excellent
( 85+)
53%
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Good customer experiences
are good for business
Retention
loyalty
Enrichment
loyalty
Advocacy
loyalty
The likelihood that a
customer will keep
existing business
with the company
The likelihood that a
customer will buy
additional products
and services from
the company
The likelihood that
a customer will
recommend the
company to
others
Source: June 27, 2014 “What drives a profitable customer experience”
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Customers expect consistent engagement
during their journey
Source: May 2014 “Brief: Systems Of Engagement Take Center Stage”
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Realize that customer experience drivers are
industry specific
 Wireless service providers live or die by their websites.
 Frontline employees carry the airline experience to new heights.
 Credit card companies can't leave any questions unanswered.
 TV service providers need to make both prices and bills crystal clear.
 Insurance providers must prove their reliability with every interaction.
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Pinpoint your unique customer experience
attributes
Source: Brandon Schauer, Vice President of Creative Services, Adaptive Path
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Define customer-centric measures of success
Productivity/efficiency
Outside-In Perspective
Customer satisfaction/NPS
Customer retention
Increased revenue and company profitability
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Put in place Customer Experience Revenue
models
Source: December 2014, “The State Of Customer Experience Maturity”
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Focus On Four Dimensions To Improve
Customer Service Experiences
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Customer service should be……
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
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Customer service should be……
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
© 2015 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
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Understand that your customers expect
effortless service
55% will abandon
online purchases if
they can’t find a
quick answer
For 77%, valuing their
time is the most
important thing a
company can do to
provide good service
Source: Channel Management Core To Your Customer Service Strategy: Jan 20, 2015
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Customers increasingly rely on self-service
Phone
Help or FAQs
on a company
website
Email
Chat
Twitter
Source: Channel Management Core To Your Customer Service Strategy: Jan 20, 2015
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BT achieves very high self-service rates
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Channel uptake changes year over year
“I like having an instant messaging/online chat box appear and ask if I need help with my
online research or purchase”
45%
33%
27%
2009
(N=4,569)
2012
(N=7,411)
2014
(N=7,522)
Base: US online adults (18+); Source: North American Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2009, North American
Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2012 (US), North American Technographics Customer Experience Survey, 2014
© 2015 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
Source: Channel Management Core To Your Customer Service Strategy: Jan 20, 2015 20
Realize that your customers are deeply mobile
enabled
Laptop
Desktop
Smartphone
Tablet
Millennials
80%
51%
84%
46%
Total US*
71%
63%
67%
40%
Base: 18,511 US online adults (Online Weekly or More) (ages 18 to 33)
*Base: 58,583 US online adults ( Online Weekly or More) (ages 18+)
Source: North American Consumer Technographics Online Benchmark Survey (Part 1), 2014
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Make mobile customer service easy
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May 2014 “How Companies Improved Their Customer Experience Index Scores, 2014”
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Support customers in their end-to-end journeys
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Customer service should be……
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
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Customers expect proactive service
Email
Text
Web Chat
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IVR
Phone
Chat
26
It’s a flight alert that lets you close the loop
Source: November 2013 “Anticipate Your Customer’s Next Move With Proactive Experiences”
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Or a real-time fraud notification
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Or proactive chat
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Or a relevant offer
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Or data from connected devices
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Customer service should be…
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
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Customers want personalized engagement
Situation
• Device / Channel
• Location
• Time of day
Profile
• Historical past
• Immediate past
Prediction
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• Current session
• Likely next steps
34
Put personalization and proactive engagement
together
Breakfast
Snack
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Dinner
After Dinner
35
Google Now uses machine learning to
proactively deliver relevant information
November 2013 “Anticipate Your Customer’s Next Move With Proactive Experiences”
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Personalize engagement using decisioning
Understand
Customers
and their
behavior
Connect the
customer to
the right
agent
Choose the
right upsell
or cross-sell
Predictive
Customer
Engagement
Guide the
Sales/Service
Experience
© 2015 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
Get the work
to the right
person or
system
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Virgin Media uses decisioning to get work to the
right service technician
Source: www.oracle.com/us/corporate/customers/customersearch/virgin-media-1-toa-cs-2348204.html
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Customer service should be…
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
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Organizations struggle with a complex
infrastructure
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As a result, most businesses can’t provide
consistent experiences
5%
3%
Source: December 2013 Global eBusiness and Channel Strategy Professional Online Survey
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Guide agents through resolution paths
April 2012 “The Process-Driven Business Of 2020”
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Xoom guides customers through questions
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Deliver consistent knowledge across all
touchpoints
Phone
eMail
Search
Forums
Social
Web
@
Web
Self-service
Co-browse
Chat
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Feedback
45
Allow your agents to collaborate
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Measure for success
ACQUISITION
EFFICIENCY
RETENTION
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Empower employees to better serve your
customers
Fifty-Eight Percent Of All
Employees Engage With
Customers
Source: June 2014 “Serving Your Customer-Obsessed Employees”
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Customer service should be…
PAIN FREE
PROACTIVE
PERSONALIZED
PRODUCTIVE
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How?
Evolve Your Operations
Channel
Strategy
Modern
Customer
Service
Business
Value
Strategy
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Technology
Adoption
Strategy
50
Thank you
Kate Leggett
[email protected]
@kateleggett
forrester.com