Today’s customer service is often about self service. Technology has made it possible for a customer to find you easily and, quite often, to solve problems on their own. This is not necessarily a bad thing, according to this article on the changing role of human interaction in customer service on Business2Community.com.
Typically, today’s customers already know far more about the product they are considering buying than they have in the past. They’ve done their online research. They’ve shopped around. They’ve asked their family and friends. Then, when they have a problem, they often turn to a Google search first. Reaching out to customer service is usually second place.
Still, that doesn’t have to mean a face-to-face encounter. If a company can present detailed Frequently Asked Questions with answers written in understandable language, the customer with the problem may be just as happy using those to solve a problem as talking to someone on the phone. A “knowledge base” on your website, or a place where fellow customers can interact with each other often meet the customer’s needs nicely.
This kind of customer self-service technique usually works to satisfy the customer, and to free up company resources for handling other problems. However, the company loses out on a chance to interact with the customer and build on that relationship in a human way. Some companies are already implementing video chat or video answers to questions customers have submitted via video. Those options may bring back a little bit of the human face, and they’re options some companies should consider.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/changing-role-human-interaction-customer-service-01348767
Recent Comments