Better Customer Experience = More Business
The management of blended channels can sometimes become the Achilles’ heel for many businesses. Instead of providing them with good returns, bad management of blended channels will result in soured customer service and experience. It has been estimated that bad customer experience is costing $120 Billion dollars to Australian businesses each year. This staggering figure clearly suggests how important is to devise strategies for better customer experience. With more people using different social media platforms, businesses can’t provide optimal customer experience only through contact centers. To highlight, 7 in 10 Australians use Facebook and approximately half of the Australian population daily logs onto Facebook, how many businesses do you know respond to their customer service channels through FaceBook?
Here are some of the consequences of Ineffective Management of Blended Channels
Unfamiliarity with Technology: Ineffective usage of blended channels + bad reputation of the business
Answering customer queries through inbound calling is fine but if your customer support agent is not familiar and efficient with the use of other interactive platforms (SMS, online chat, Twitter, Facebook), then your approach of blended channels can’t convert in better ROI. Generation Y is very agile and they are always in a hurry. Hence, they won’t like it when their queries are not answered quickly. Not only will they dump your services, but they will also only propagate the bad reputation of your business.
And it doesn’t stop just with bad mouthing. The same online tools which you have incorporated in your business will be used against you. They probably leave comment or review about their experience with you on social media platforms. A study suggests that more than 80% of people are influenced by online reviews when they reach any business through blended channels.
Related:
Why is Multi-Channel Customer Service Important?
Counter-Productivity of Multitasking Means Leads Won’t Convert
There are many caveats attached to the concept of multitasking. A school of thought believes that it is a good strategy for increased productivity while others think it is counterproductive.
Agents, when operating blended channels, are basically doing multitasking and there is a simple problem associated with that. Not every person is able to handle the challenge of multitasking demanded from the blended channel approach. Therefore, if you have huddled a team without assessing their multitasking capabilities, then there are strong chances that it will backfire.
People who fail to multitask can’t simultaneously concentrate on every interaction they are making on blended channels. Failing to provide 100% to every customer interaction means there will be less display of persuasion and convincing. We all know that with little persuasion you can’t successfully convert leads into customers.
Inefficient Management of Blended Calls and Increased Employee Turnover
Assigning agents that are not familiar with newer online platforms or who are not good at multitasking to the operations of blended channels also becomes problematic for your own employees.
With more workload and failing to manage multiple channels, their stress levels can shoot up. Apart from that, failure in converting leads and satisfying customers can also lead to frustration. Working under constant pressure can make many of your employees switch. Greater turnover rates are not good for the consistent performance of any business.
Unrelenting Mismanagement and Profit
If a business doesn’t mend its ways in managing the blended channels effectively, then the worst possible outcome will be decreased profits. With bad reputation, a business will have less lead generation, and with bad customer support even the loyal customers start to call it a day. The failure to acquire new customers and the inability to retain existing ones only means one thing: a significant dip in revenue.
It is an undisputed fact that devising multi-prong blended channels strategy is good for businesses but managing it effectively is the key to reap its benefits. If you are looking for better ways to improve customer engagement and offer better customer experience, get in touch.