Calcom Group

‘Switch-happy’ customers are a myth - service experience is still key

2012-01-30T10:37:00.002Z

27 per cent of customers have switched supermarkets in the last six months because of cost. The same percentage have ditched a clothing brand because they have found the equivalent goods from an alternative supplier.

In its announcement of these figures, the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) stresses how customers are now far choosier and price sensitive, inferring that service quality has been relegated beneath cost in customer minds as their main influencer of loyalty.

Having discussed this at the Calcom offices, we have drawn a very different conclusion from the figures. Firstly, we must view this data in its unavoidable context. The majority of people today have less money to spend meaning they have no choice but to shop around for bargains. Service quality, in these instances, does not influence a brand switch because customers simply buy what they can afford. Secondly, if we turn these figures around, 73 per cent of supermarket shoppers have remained loyal to their favourite store. Clearly there are many factors involved in where people shop; location, range of goods, price etc, but the ICS research tells us that the service experience is one of the prime motivators.

This fact has been confirmed by our biggest retailer, Tesco, which admits that its poor Christmas was in part caused by lack of investment in stores, and most importantly, staff. In other words, Tesco has realised that price wars are not enough to bring shoppers back and has therefore echoed the findings of the ICS survey - the customer experience is the biggest influencer on repeat business.

Proving the value of investment in service has always been imprecise and, because the effects of a change are not immediately felt, easy to overlook. But as the Tesco example shows, a short term reduction in staff numbers and training might deliver a pleasing reduction in costs, but in the long term causes much more damage to the bottom line. Customers, it seems, love a bargain but they also want to be treated well and shop in a pleasant environment, or they will shop elsewhere.

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

How the London Olympics could help Britain solve its customer service identity crisis

2012-01-30T10:35:00.002Z

Although the figures prove that Britain is a service economy, we seem embarrassed to accept the fact. Natalie Calvert believes that the 2012 Olympics could give us a much needed confidence boost on our way to becoming a proud, world-leading service power.

Ever since the coal mines began closing and manufacturing started to shift to lower cost, overseas destinations, the UK economy has continued its inexorable shift to become a service-based economy. We are regularly reminded of the absolute nature of this transformation by PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) which each month delivers depressing news about industries such as construction and manufacturing, while offering hope in the shape of service-orientated businesses. For example, in December the service sector was rated at 54.0 (any score above 50 indicates growth). This figure, in stark contrast to other industries sectors which continue to slump each month, was up almost two points compared to the previous month. In short, service is the main reason why the UK economy has so far avoided a double-dip recession.

The timing therefore of the London Olympics could not be better. What better way to prove that the UK is a world leader than serving people assembled from around the globe in the biggest imaginable shop window? If we succeed by hosting a visitor friendly games, we will confirm our place as a service-first nation. My hope is that the effects of this will run much deeper and last much longer than the immediate afterglow of a well-received Olympic Games and start to change the perception of our entire industry.

For a long time, I think Britain has been slight embarrassed about its recently acquired status as a service-led economy. There is a pervading feeling that, because it doesn’t produce a tangible product that can literally boxed and exported, service isn’t a legitimate industry. Partly this attitude is fostered by the historical legacy of trade and industry which is built on exchange of goods. Service is intangible and therefore seems less valuable, even though people and businesses pay for it all the time.

The other problem is that service is still seen by many as a subversive undertaking which forces those in its employ to bow down to paymasters. Once again, this is simply not the case and is a hangover from the days of butlers and servants. Providing service and support today in the modern economy is about collaboration, sharing solutions and finding ways for businesses and individuals to work more effectively. The instances where service is about grovelling and patching up organisational failure are reducing, as all departments of the business begin to accept and take responsibility for deciding what experience the customer has.

For those of us passionate about customer service and the power it has to define a brand,

2012 truly is the year in which we take full advantage of the attention poured on our industry. If we lead by example and rise to meet the challenge, we will not only change the way service is viewed, but we could alter how the whole country perceives itself and the pivotal role we will play shaping the global economy.

Natalie Calvert

CEO

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Why online retailers may save our high streets

2012-01-26T15:54:00.003Z

Fuelled in part by e-commerce grabbing an ever growing cut of consumer spending, high street retailers are going out of business at an alarming rate. James West thinks the battle for customers could eventually see web-only traders addressing their only weaknesses by making use of our vacant retail space, and in doing so transforming our town centres for good.

ecommerce is currently enjoying a huge growth spurt as this research confirms. For all the advances in personalisation, the addition of peer reviews, self-service support and fast shipping options, there are two areas where shopping in a physical store will always trump e-commerce:

1) Fulfilment/returns. No web business can match the immediacy of a store for purchasing goods and taking them home right away, the same is true for returns.

2) Hands-on browsing. Certain products (media, consumable electrical goods, books) may not require interaction, but clothes, furnishings and big ticket items such as TVs are hugely enhanced by physical proximity of the prospective buyer.

I begun thinking about these two seemingly insurmountable online retailer problems during a conversation with a colleague about what UK high streets and shopping centres will look like in a few years time. With Pumpkin Patch joining La Senza, Blacks, Past Times and Peacocks in administration in the last few months, the line of retail casualities is growing and the trend is too great to simply blame on the recession. With consumers increasingly choosing the cheaper, more convenient web shopping option, customer culture is irreversibly changing.

We are already seeing high streets transforming, with the influx of bargain, pound-shops, mixed with growing numbers coffee and food outlets. Town centres are reinventing themselves by revisiting the past and become community destinations where people socialise and browse for unusual items they wouldn’t think of buying online. We must also consider that some retailers have already embraced this community concept. Apple is a great example, building hubs for its services that allow customers to try before they buy, surf the internet, seek advice and buy products. HMV, although still in a precarious position, has so far stayed afloat by taking the same approach, building its proposition around trying and buying headphones and hot consumer products such as speaker docks and tablet computers. Like Apple stores, HMV has become a popular hang-out for young people, who not only spend money but elevate the atmosphere - customers tend to buy more in lively environments.

It is logical that online retailers - well accustomed to pioneering technologies and trying new things to attract and retain customers - may well investigate bringing some of these ideas together. Returning to the point made earlier about the two main disadvantages that e-commerce retailers have, doesn’t it make sense for them to create retail spaces? Amazon has already introduced the dropbox concept into London to address the delivery and returns issue, but what if it, or indeed any online retailer, opened physical locations? They would instantly have a recognisable destination for customers to action returns and pick up orders. They could showcase key products, run workshops demonstrating technologies, host book signing and run in-store band performances. They could sell food and drink, offer free wifi and even access to tablets which allow customers to make online purchases while in-store. The opportunity to build lasting customer relationships by exploiting the best of both worlds is clearly there for those willing to take the lead. With an ever increasing volume of unused retail space driving down rents, this seemingly radical step could prove to be fairly low risk, but yield huge returns.

Like all businesses, the way retailers interact and connect with their customers is changing at a furious rate. We’ve known for some time that differentiation through price and product is virtually impossible because of saturation, meaning that customer service has rightly become a much bigger priority for businesses wishing to stand out from their competitors. However, efficient, timely service is just one part of the picture, the customer experience has become the bigger goal. And what better way to nurture the goodwill and online communities that web-retailers have created than bringing these like minded-people together to drink coffee, swap stories and transform the way we think about shopping?

James West has written about the customer service industry for more than 12 years, editing titles such as Customer Service News, Call Centre Focus and now Customer Service TV.

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Customer-focused businesses buck the recession trend

2012-01-26T15:53:00.002Z

For retailers, a poor Christmas was a continuation of trading misery that shows little sign of abating, yet figures from IMRG and Capgemini show that sales are rocketing - for the companies who have positioned themselves correctly.

Brits spent £7.9 billion online in December alone, a 16 per cent increase compared to the previous year, helping ecommerce capture £68 billion of spending in 2011. The outlook for this year is just as positive, with the researchers predicting that online sales will reach £77 billion this year, despite the recession.

The tremendous growth of ecommerce, and the success of the pure online retailers and those high street names that have transitioned to the web, has the potential to expand at an even greater rate. ecommerce currently accounts for just 17 per cent of the total retail spend at present and, with customers increasingly looking for a bargain and opting for the convenience of online shopping on their tablet or smartphone, the opportunity for those businesses who optimise the multi-channel experience is huge. “Online is such an integral part of the shopping experience now that it generally plays at least some part in most purchases, whether through research and comparison or social media and product reviews,” says James Roper, CEO of IMRG.

This year, we will be offering free advice through our blog or via our community newsletter which will identify the common pitfalls of ecommerce, how to integrate it with other departments and systems, and crucially, how to ensure the customer enjoys the multi-channel experience. To start, our guest writer James West has written about the apparently insurmountably problems that online retailers face, and how they can fix them by - ironically - saving our high streets.

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Win gold with outstanding customer service this summer

2012-01-16T13:54:00.002Z

The opportunity for service providers and retails to shine brightly or fail dramatically during the summer Olympic games is to be given a further boost with the creation of Europe’s largest free wifi zone in central London, thus allowing and encouraging those attending the games to use mobile devices to make their voices heard.

Organisations can expect an increase in business, but also the scrutinising eyes of tourists, the press, and overseas attendees, and with the UK’s growing reputation as a service economy, the pressure is on to get customer support right and deal with any issues quickly. The growth in popularity of social media and increased access to mobile devices, combined with free wifi, will likely see customer experiences being shared almost instantly – be they good or bad.

The wifi zone will cover Kensington, Chelsea, and Westminster, and councillor Phillippa Roe says it will enable service providers to prove their worth. “Next summer’s Olympic Games mean that London will be putting on the biggest show on earth, and as Westminster has a starring role visitors to London will easily be able to share their pictures and updates of the Olympic events across social networking sites.”

Time to throw out the fluffy customer service bunny

2011-12-06T13:03:00.003Z

Stereotypes and misconceptions are masking the true purpose of customer service, and James West says it’s time we ditched the comfort blanket and instead focused on what contact centres are really for.

If you follow customer service on Twitter (search #custserv) you’ll notice a cloying trend; an abundance of content which focuses on how we can motivate contact centre workers - “top five tips for revving up your team” and statements such as: “on the phone, customers can hear you smile” for example.

You might not see anything wrong with this type of messaging and choose instead to write me off as a cynic. However, there is a reason for this vitriol. This reductive view of customer service - this woolly, fluffy, let’s-be-nice to-our-customers approach that so many commentators in the industry support with their messaging - is cheapening the important role that service providers play.

In short, if we portray customer service as a cuddly bunny, how can we expect other business professionals to take what we do seriously?

Delivering cost-effective service that inspires customer loyalty and helps build a business is a difficult, nuanced issue. It is a company-wide challenge which demands a bold vision driven by strong leadership at all levels of the business, plus constant reviewing and focus from all departments to ensure that goals and changing customer demands are being met.

Trying to distill this complexity into a pithy motivational speech is patronising for the recipient and therefore pointless. If you really want to engage and motivate staff, ask them what problems stop them from doing a good job. And then tell them what you are doing to fix the issue; to change the antiquated scheduling system, to reduce reliance on rigid performance metrics and feedback, and telling them why the IT team can’t fix a system that forces them to wait 20 seconds after every click to load a screen.

The contact centre and customer service industry is now too important to the success or failure of any business to be treated with kid gloves. As an industry we must talk about the real issues, work together to find solutions, demonstrate how we provide value and how we could get even better with increased investment. Sorry bunny, but it’s time we moved on.

James West has written about the customer service industry for more than 12 years, editing titles such as Customer Service News, Call Centre Focus and now Customer Service TV.

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Why contact centres are better placed than marketing and IT to lead the communication revolution

2011-12-06T12:39:00.000Z

Businesses struggling to deliver natural, two-way communication with customers via social media already have the staff they need to cope, but the onus is typically on marketing or even IT teams to facilitate this vital channel.

Customer service and loyalty programmes are now more valuable to businesses than expensive marketing campaigns according to research from Amdocs. There is strong logic behind this thinking; customers are less loyal than they were two years ago while spiralling business costs are making it harder to justify extravagant advertising campaigns that carry no guarantee of success. In contrast, investment service and loyalty is easier to understand because it’s about protecting a tangible, already held asset: the customer. This is why 70 per cent of those polled say that loyalty is ‘critical’ for business growth - protecting what you have is the best platform to build upon.

Social media is another crucial, although less obvious, reason why the service department is becoming increasingly mission-critical for business health. Almost by default, the marketing department has taken the mantle of managing output through sites such as Twitter, and it shows. Social media by definition means interaction, two-way communication, but marketing professionals are conditioned to treat a ‘channel’ as a way to fire messages at prospects. This is why so many businesses, some very large, are using social media purely to spam sales messages at ‘customers’ and failing to respond to basic service requests.

The companies gaining value from social media are the ones who invest the time to interact with the people, embracing the values which have spurred spectacular growth of online communities. Customers, wary of the constant bombardment of corporate messages, increasingly shut out the spam (Google +, which allows users to filter out true friends/family from acquaintances and people they simply follows, is a good indicator of how the social media tools themselves are beginning to arm people with ways to filter the chaff from the wheat).

Therefore, businesses trying to engage web communities by simply SHOUTING AND REPEATING LOTS OF INFORMATION will fail, while those who allocate time to engage with their audience, gather feedback and fix service issues, will thrive. Achieving the latter, positive scenario is not easy because it requires input from people accustomed to thinking on their feet, balancing the need to maintain a consistent, professional tone while being informal and empathic enough to build meaningful relationships in a short timeframe.

It hardly needs stating at this point, but the best people for meeting the above criteria are our contact centre workers. Just as we encourage our front line workers to be ambassadors, reenforcing positive sentiments relating to our brand, while fixing problems before they cause customer loyalty to fail, we must take the next step and allow them to do what they do best on social media.

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Let managers do what they do best: manage

2011-12-05T18:20:00.000Z

The best managers nurture, support and get the best from their teams. Yet are we truly supporting our managers, or are antiquated metrics and performance metrics driving the wrong kind of behaviours, asks Natalie Calvert.

Think of the best bosses you’ve ever had and consider why they left a strong impression. I bet they encouraged and supported you, fought your corner if necessary, empathising and helping develop your career at every step? I also confidently predict that you won’t value the memory of working for ‘managers’ who drive tasks and enforce the rules above all other considerations.

In most cases, we have thankfully moved away from the dictatorial approach to contact centre management, with much greater understanding of the difficulties of the role and the complexity of the customer-facing role.

But is our desperation to cling to metrics - exacerbated by the precarious state of the economy - now causing more harm than good?

We understand that contact centres have performance targets and that operating without any rules and targets relating to efficiency is unrealistic. However, we must recognise the demands we place on our managers to operate economically come at a cost. As I mentioned in the beginning, good managers are not number crunchers quick to crack the whip. Yet by demanding that contact centre teams always meet targets such as average handling times, calls per hour etc, we are leaving managers no choice but to work in a draconian way.

Referring once again to the best managers you have worked for, would you say your performance was better than when you worked for a boss you didn’t like? Driving the numbers in preference to true management is counter-productive, especially over the long term when the impact on morale and team spirit sets in. It may at first seem illogical, but if we take the time to think it through, it becomes clear that management by statistics doesn’t work.

As one of my favourite managers once stated: “focus on the service, and the numbers take care of themselves.”

For a definitive look at contact centre Team Leaders, Calcom will soon be publishing a paper which explores this issue in great detail. Based on the findings and teachings of a three year programme developed with a number of leading service providers, this paper explains exactly where we are going wrong with managers and what we can change. Please follow us on Twitter and we will announce when the paper is available.

Natalie Calvert

CEO

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

We’ve seen the future and it’s driven by customers

2011-12-02T14:11:00.001Z

Businesses that thrive in the post recession world will do so by partaking in ‘creative destruction’ which will allow them to rebuild their operations around the needs of the customer.

That’s the view of Peter Sondergaard, global head of research for analyst Gartner, who says that ‘post-modern’ thinking is needed to address the challenges of heightened competition. He says: “the explosion in information, collaboration, and mobility enabled by the cloud” means that businesses must think differently and find new ways to interact with customers.

Daryl Plummer, Gartner vice-president, expands on this idea. “You have to delight customers, as they want to know your business cares about their immediate concerns. Customers will do much of the work because they have a vested interest in making your business outcomes more valuable to them. Involve your customers and build loyalty to extend the life of your business.”

It’s typical amped up, ‘blue sky’ thinking by Gartner, but strip away the hyperbole and there is real merit to the idea of rethinking how we deliver service and interact with customers.

It used to be so much easier. Businesses produced a product and sold as much as it could. Customers had to contact said supplier direct if they experienced a problem and, for sake of efficiency, businesses created contact centres which sorted these problems in an ordered way. It was an arrangement that favoured suppliers, which controlled costs, managed the flow of support and delivered the service on their terms. It also meant that responsibility for service was consigned to one department, leaving the rest of the organisation to carry on its business.

It’s an understatement to say that this scenario no longer fits. Customers have taken control, first setting up forums and discussion boards for finding help. Now they have grown more confident and, with information easier to find, they are able to sidestep the supplier altogether. Google, YouTube tutorials, Twitter etc, now offer an alternative for gaining support and unsurprisingly many customers, tired of the traditional support structure which forces them to navigate long automated phone menus and wait 24 hours for an email response, prefer the immediacy of support through emerging channels.

If it all sounds bleak for the service department, take heart. As Sondergaard suggests, ‘creative destruction’ is a viable way to destroy the old way of working. It is obvious that contact centres need to engage social media and begin interacting with customers, but the wider business must also take note and work to break down the silos that it has created. Adjusting to the customer revolution and becoming a consumer-focused business is not something that the contact centre can do alone. Certainly, contact centres can take the lead, but it will take a company-wide effort to change thinking and processes that have been in place for too long.

How ‘no support’ brands have taught customers to love customer service

2011-12-02T14:10:00.001Z

Quality of service is now more important to customers than price according to research from Econsultancy. 61 per cent of customers polled said that a positive service experience during their purchase is a defining factor which sways them to complete the transaction. In comparison, 55 per cent say that price is crucial for influencing their buying habits.

Although the figures are only slightly in favour of service, they are particularly encouraging given the continued economic malaise and solidifies the idea that customers have become accustomed to quality service. Crucially, it shows they now understand that service has a value, and a cost.

The results suggest that leading service providers such as Amazon, John Lewis and Apple have successfully proved the concept that customers will pay a premium for real service, and all of us working in a support capacity should be thankful to them for helping elevate our industry.

However, should we be giving equal thanks to the ‘no service’ brands for helping educate consumers? Most obviously, budget airlines have built their businesses around the principle that the ‘niceties’ of flight - the level of support that travellers had been accustomed to previously - have a price tag. By stripping away the service and attaching a price tag to previously ‘basic’ provision, budget airlines have shown customers that everything a supplier offers incurs a charge.

Budget supermarkets have performed a similar role. Yes, you can still buy milk, veg and bread, but the ‘help yourself’ warehouse feel to shopping which culminates with a cashier throwing the items at you, without the offer of free carrier bags, has shown consumers that the lower prices come at a cost.

Purchasing of goods seems on the surface to be a simple, empty transaction: the exchange of currency for goods. But customers have a much greater emotional response to their experiences than most of us credit. Elite service providers have shown consumers what it feels like to be valued and supported at every stage of a purchase, while low-cost alternatives have shown the polar opposite. And the good news for the service industry is that despite most people being short of disposable cash, they will still find the funds in exchange for a positive shopping experience.

Put yourself in the customers’ shoes (and their living room)

2011-11-11T19:40:00.001Z

‘Put yourself in a customers’ shoes’ - it’s a handy proverb to remind all of us involved in service delivery to empathise with customers. It is a mentality we drum into our front line staff yet ironically, they are probably the group of your staff who need it the least, because they experience first hand the frustrations and highlights expressed by customers.

A business that is truly ‘customer centric’ acts as the expression suggests - everyone within the business endeavours to keep customers at the forefront of their thinking. This is a difficult thing to achieve because it is too easy to get caught up in other corporate matters and is only mastered by those organisations which tackle training, rewards, recruitment and business goals with the customer centricity target in mind.

Clearly such a systematic approach will not bear fruit overnight, yet there is a short term way to harness the power of walking in a customers shoes. Imagine you are a provider of home entertainment products and instead of building a typical corporate space, you fashion the meeting room to look and work like a typical sitting room? Or imagine a fashion retailer using subtle lighting and background music to create a room which mimics a trendy bar? Perhaps a sports equipment retailer that turns its meeting room into a gym, or a stand in a football ground?

Imagine how much easier it would be to keep the customer perspective at the forefront of all thinking if these environments replaced the intrinsically corporate meeting room?

Oh and by the way, if you think these examples are outlandish, there are companies which are doing this exact thing. They may even be a competitor of yours.

Does the failure of Best Buy in the UK mean that customer service is not as important as we think?

2011-11-11T19:37:00.000Z

The biggest tragedy of the decision to close Best Buy’s UK stories is, of course, the loss of 1100 jobs, especially so close to Christmas. But the failure of Best Buy also has huge ramifications for those attempting to build a brand around customer service.

A service-first mentality, which served the electrical retailer so well in the US market, appears to have failed in the UK, which begs the question: do those of us involved in the industry put too much faith in the power of service?

Best Buy arrived in the UK to great fanfare, with huge out of town stores backed by aggressive marketing. It’s advertising focused on two things: the size of the stores/ranges, and the quality of service. One of the unique selling points of Best Buy was that, in stark contrast to its commission hungry rivals which equated to hard sell techniques, it decided to set staff targets based upon service rather than sales volumes. It is a tactic that has fuelled the staggering growth of Apple stores, with staff focused on ensuring the customer gets the right products and advice, not necessarily the most expensive options. The idea is that customers are more comfortable and less pressured while shopping, which improves conversation rates and ensures the long term loyalty. The end result? Lots of repeat (and repeat, and repeat) business.

Why has the strategy worked so well for Apple and not Best Buy in the UK? Let’s start with the practical stuff. Best Buy stores are huge and big stores have big overheads, meaning sales need to be high. Contrast against Apple which, aside from the flagship London stores, are relatively small and therefore less expensive to rent/buy, heat, light etc. Under normal conditions it may have worked, but with the biggest recession and squeeze on consumer spending in living memory, Best Buy simply couldn’t balance the cost issue.

The biggest problem for Best Buy is timing. Even five years ago, before internet shopping really took off, the concept of a hangar sized place to browse electronics equipment without being pestered every five minutes was far more appealing than it is today. Buying technology from sites such as play.com and Amazon is now painless, with fast, free shipping and lower prices than stores can offer. It is no coincidence that fellow electrical retailers Comet and Currys, the two stores most resembling Best Buy in terms of size, have also suffered and are being sold off for bargain prices. When you also factor in the massive decline in media sales - Best Buy carried a large range of CDs, DVDs and Blu Rays - that has caused HMV (and the demise of other high street brands such as Virgin Megastores) so many problems, the conditions were just too harsh for the chain to prosper.

Coming back to our original question, Best Buy’s customer service experiment didn’t ever stand a chance. It’s a real shame because it did many things right, and was bold and proud of its belief in the service ethos. However this story can have a happy ending, because one company already mentioned is proving that focusing on customers, with exciting, interactive stores, can be highly lucrative. Thank you Apple for flying the flag for customer experience, you’ve set the bar high for others to obtain but at least you are proving service is important after all.

Customer service blogs with real value

2011-11-11T19:36:00.000Z

Blogs are a constant source of useful information for customer service professionals, with the best authors regularly discussing the changing demands and habits of consumers. We are going to talk about a few of our favourites.

Wim Rampen focuses on the experiences he has working with clients on the front line, an approach that neatly avoids the topics that other commentators deem important, and instead highlights the real issues facing customer support teams. A good example of this is a letter from a contact centre manager complaining that employers neglect the relationship they have with front line workers employees, instead focusing on the outputs.

This lack of communication is a common problem in our industry - ironic, given that our business is talking to people. We are passionate about this issue, in fact it was what inspired our Team Leader of the Future programme and we will continue to drive this issue for as long as it takes to affect change.

Next to consider is David Taylor of brand gym who offers regular advice and ideas for helping to grow brands. His approach is also very people orientated which is extremely refreshing in a customer service world where technology seems to grab a disproportionate share of the limelight.

Greg Levin’s page is not for the faint hearted, but if you are a keen student of customer service unafraid of hearing a few home truths this is a great destination. His recent look at quality monitoring is especially insightful.

Harnessing social media for customer service - part 2

2011-11-11T19:29:00.000Z

Before you can attempt to build social media into a multi-channel strategy, you need to understand how to grow your personal network and the correct way to interact with others. In the second part of a series of articles, James West teaches us some of the best ways to maximise your own presence using tricks such as hashtags, custom searches and adding original content.

In the first part of this article about social media for service professionals, I pointed you towards a list of useful people to follow on Twitter. This may seem a curious starting point for service professionals trying to get value from social media but I believe following people who already ‘get it’ is the best way to learn. Until you have observed how people use Twitter effectively, it’s hard to translate any tips I can give you because Twitter is initially baffling (for everyone, don’t worry).

Once you’ve spent some time watching, it’s time to learn what some of the terms and tricks are that will help build your confidence.

- Hashtags. You’ll notice lots of tweets have words or acronyms marked with #. Hashtags are one way for people that don’t follow you to find your tweets (remember, unlike Facebook, you don’t have to follow/friend someone to read their tweets). There are a number of recognised hashtags within customer service: #custserv #custexp #CRM #CX are commonly used. You can search for these terms to find new people to follow. Similarly, if you tag your post with one or more of these hashtags, new people will be able to find you. It is therefore a great way to find info and grow your network.

- Searches. Although hashtags help like minded people connect, not everyone uses them. Therefore a search for ‘customer service’ or ‘service’ can also yield useful results. Try combining the search term ‘service’ with the name of a business - Barclays for example (I use that example because the bank seems to attract a never ending stream of negativity - vivid proof that customers really are discussing brands online.)

- Engage with other tweeters. One of the main reasons that people haven’t fully embraced Twitter is it’s disheartening to post thoughts which no one responds to. The problem in the beginning is that you will have very few followers so you are unlikely to get a reply. The use of hashtags may help get you noticed but again there are no guarantees. Assume that others are also struggling to get their message heard and help them out by replying to their tweets or even retweeting words that you think others would enjoy or benefit from. People like it when you amplify their messages and are more likely to reciprocate. Most importantly, you are entering into the true spirit of social media. If no one ever responded or shared tweets, the whole thing would die out. Get involved and you’ll be surprised how quickly your network grows.

- Post original content. Sharing and commenting on others’ content is the best starting place for beginners but as your confidence grows, you need to start adding original content. This could be links to blog posts you have written, or pithy tweets about lessons you have learnt relating to service. If you combine this with an effort to engage and share with others, you will start to become a trusted source of information.

- Don’t be ‘that guy’. Social media is so new that common mistakes are being repeated almost constantly. Rule one is don’t overdo any of the above. If you constantly retweet, people will stop following you. If all you do is post your own content and don’t engage with anyone else, your network won’t grow. You need a balance between content, comment and amplifying good messages. If in doubt, turn to this guide produced by Chris Dancy which he has called “Don’t be that guy on Twitter”

It is vital that you understand Twitter by experimenting with your own account before attempting to use the social media tool for talking to and serving your customers. Too many businesses have failed to grasp this (regularly breaking Chris Dancy’s rules). In the third part of the series, I’ll be looking at ways that you can use social media to engage with your customers and incorporate it into your multi-channel strategy.

James West has written about the customer service industry for more than 12 years, editing titles such as Customer Service News, Call Centre Focus and now Customer Service TV.

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Social media vs phone - ignore the hype and focus on what really matters

2011-11-10T16:14:00.000Z

Some insist social media will transform customer support while others think traditional channels will be preferred. These debates are clouding the real issues that contact centres should focus on according to Natalie Calvert, managing director of Calcom.

The great customer migration away from contact centres towards web based and social support should be taken with a pinch of salt according to research published by the Customer Contact Association.

Despite hype suggesting that social media will revolutionise how customers talk to businesses, by 2016 just nine per cent of interactions will use platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The report also says that while the importance of phone support will diminish (currently it handles 73 per cent of all service enquiries), it will remain the preferred service option, accounting for 49 per cent of all traffic.

The conclusion of the report is that businesses shouldn’t be duped by the hype about social media and instead keep their focus on the phone. While we applaud voice supporting the contact centre industry, this summary is an oversimplification of a complex issue.

The first problem is the difference between the figures. Let’s accept for argument sake the seemingly generous service volume allocation given to the phone call. The measly prediction of how much customer contact will funnel through social media is harder to swallow given that, as a platform, it is so new and its future impact unknown, but again we will take the numbers on face value.

This means that in five years time, call volumes will drop 30 per cent which, if even remotely correct, will completely redefine the average contact centre, requiring it employ fewer staff to answer calls. However, this may not necessarily equate to mass job losses. If we follow the scenario presented by the research, almost ten per cent of the phone calls will result in a social media interaction which of course require human intervention.

Then there’s the remaining 42 per cent of contacts, where will they go? These will be distributed to other (unspecified) channels which inevitably means an increase email volumes, chat sessions, forum-based peer support, speech automation and web self-service. The good news is that all but the two latter support options require regular human input (forums need regular policing to ensure accuracy and integrity). Even automation, whether it be delivered by speech-based IVR or through web self-service, must be built and maintained, and the people best qualified to effectively handle the growing diversity of channels already work in our call centres.

No one can predict with absolute certainty how customer contact will be handled in future and so that is why attempts to do so inevitably result in an extreme, doomsday conclusion. In reality, the idea that social media will utterly transform customer support is as outlandish as predicting that the stalwart phone call is to remain unchallenged as the most popular channel.

Customer service must change and embrace new channels and this may mean that some job losses occur. But as the industry shifts its focus away from volume handling, the quality and brand building possibilities of service have moved to the fore of business thinking. There are very few companies that have mastered their multi-channel strategy and for good reason: it is very difficult, especially if they hope to keep pace with the evolution of consumer communication. This means that customer service will stop being treated, as it sadly continues to be by some businesses, as an entry level processing role and become a central, company defining position, with pay and respect matching its new found prestige.

Social media is important to our business (just don’t try talking to us on it)

2011-10-21T12:27:00.000+01:00

With the majority of businesses struggling with the issue of incorporating social media into their customer contact mix, two recent reports highlight the difference between perception and reality, and the huge opportunity for those businesses embracing new media to intimately interact with customers.

Figures from advertising body ISBA show 72 per cent of business chiefs insisting they understand the importance of social media, yet a separate study by Econsultancy says that just five per cent of organisations with a Facebook presence bother answering questions asked via the channel.

Mindful of the difficulties of integrating new channels, Econsultancy says that an acceptable response level through Facebook is 65-75 per cent, stating that even the ‘leading’ sectors (airlines and telecoms) are falling woefully short of this goal.

The Calcom view is even more stringent that the Econsultancy figure suggests; for us the acceptable response rate to Facebook questions should be 100 per cent. Ignoring the opportunity to interact with customers on Facebook is like refusing to pick up the phone.

Customer interactions, like feedback, represent one of the best ways for customer service teams to learn what they are doing well and where they can improve. If this interaction takes place on an emerging, dynamic platform such as social media then it is potentially even more powerful because it gives clear evidence of what the current (and future) generation of customers are interested in and how they seek support.

Turning back to the Econsultancy report, 66 per cent of respondents say they have at least one person in-house dedicated to social media, but with the response rate so low, it is strongly inferred that these dedicated workers are focusing on one area only: marketing.

The drivers are obvious - social media appears to offer a ‘free’ marketing channel, but in reality this one-way, push communication is in total conflict with the information sharing principles that have helped social media usage explode.

Social media is not simply an extension of marketing, it is a golden opportunity to directly engage and understand customers, and arguably deserves equal - maybe more - focus than other communications channels.

Generation Y - should customer service leaders fight or collaborate?

2011-10-10T11:13:00.000+01:00

Customer service leaders influenced by a blanket negative portrayal of young people in the UK may fear recruiting their next batch of staff, but Natalie Calvert says Generation Y is not only misunderstood, but presents the opportunity to deliver dynamic, personalised service to a level that is hard to create today.

The UK’s youth - Generation Y or the ‘net natives’ to use two of the common monikers - are stereotyped as spoilt individuals with unrealistic expectations about what society, and most specifically their employers, should give them. This research, in which 40 per cent of 16-18 year olds will apparently demand a laptop before they even consider going to work, sadly appears to enforce the negative perception of young people who will be soon joining customer service operations across the country.

However, having studied this issue at great length for our Generation X/Y programme (the whitepaper can be downloaded here), we at Calcom have a different view. In our opinion, the next influx of employees are not inherently unemployable or unsuited for customer service roles, they are just struggling to bridge the same generation gap that the older generation see as insurmountable.

For example, the seasoned business professional might be frustrated that new starts disobey corporate rules that have been in place for years. But if we look at this issue from the perspective of Generation Y, we might see that many of these rules are draconian and have no bearing on the quality of work being produced. Similarly, while the older age group thinks about how they can progress their career at the same employer, younger people increasingly look to gain experience at multiple companies before moving on to the next stage of their employment.

We found that these subtle differences cause major conflicts with customer service operations and the whitepaper offers a range of advice on how to resolve these difficulties. The first step is to acknowledge the differences and be empathic, no matter how illogical it might seem, and remember that no one is intrinsically right or wrong about working practices - if the older generation had found the magic formula, all customer service operations would run perfectly.

Continuing this line of thinking, there are signs that the next generation of workers could refresh working practices in a positive way. Returning to the research referenced earlier, a third of net natives say they are more likely to work out of hours if provided with smartphones and laptops, while 15 per cent are happy to share their location with their employers through applications such as Foursquare.

With consumerisation of IT blurring the lines between work and home life, we may find that the always-online generation are happy to work when required, using technology to seamlessly shift between playing games and talking to friends, to managing a few urgent work-related chat sessions or giving input to email requests. If the price for this flexibility is to allow staff access to social media at work and relaxing the dress code, are customer service operations wise to say no?

Next generation ‘net native‘ staff demand the latest tech at work

2011-10-07T17:20:00.000+01:00

The next influx of customer service workers expect their employers to provide them with the latest technology and social media tools so they can work effectively, according to research by Siemens.

40 per cent of 16-18 year olds think they should be give a laptop when they start a job, with almost a third stating that the latest technology will persuade them to work outside of contracted hours. There is also likely to be conflict between businesses, attempting to limit social media access at work, and Generation Y, half of whom think that online peer-based communities are essential for effectively collaborating and communicating with colleagues.

“To retain and maximise the productivity of 'net natives', organisations need to align their communications and technology environments to allow effective collaboration and information flow,” says Siemens vice-president Adrian Brooks, further commenting that “today’s working environment is all about enabling individuals to select the most appropriate communication channel to the task at hand.”

Welcome to the Calcom customer experience community

2011-09-19T17:18:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Calcom blog. At Calcom, we are passionate about helping our clients improve the experience they deliver to customers. We also believe that to achieve this goal, we must all share ideas and best practice. This motivated us to produce this blog, which offers free-to-access news, advice and comment about the customer service industry, which we hope will enrich and help grow the community.

First up, I explain why good intentions relating to customer service often fail, and what we can do to fix the problem. This is sadly a fundamental flaw we see with many companies, but which I’m happy to report can be resolved without huge disruption or cost. Most importantly, those who tackle this area will find they are left with much happier and focused staff.

Next I’m pleased to present our guest writer James West, who is talking about the power of social media, both for engaging customers and our own personal development as service professions. This article offers a shortcut into the customer service community which is extremely useful for anyone who is baffled by that world, or simply looking to expand their network. I’ve worked with James for many years on the various service publications he has written for and I’m sure you’ll appreciate his input in this newsletter ongoing.

We also have an update on how contact centres are doing building their multi-channel capabilities, plus a look at a number of tools we find useful for learning about our customers, and their customers too. Finally, you can learn about our involvement with some of the big upcoming industry events. Awards and conferences are crucial for us as they enable us to meet many of you face to face and share ideas. This newsletter aims to extend that experience throughout the year and we hope you are able to share this with us by forwarding this email to anyone you think may benefit from it, and following us on Twitter.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these issues, or any feedback you have, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

Natalie Calvert

CEO

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Why understanding customers is the key to encouraging their loyalty

2011-09-19T17:06:00.000+01:00

Solving problems and quickly answering the phone is no longer enough to inspire loyalty. Calcom’s CEO Natalie Calvert explains why getting inside the minds of customers provides the building block for creating, and maintaining, service excellence.

To deliver a great customer experience in 2011, we believe you must understand who your customers are and what they expect from brands. By understanding what they like about dealing with companies, and what drives them nuts, you can begin to plan your service provision accordingly, rather than offering the service you think your customers want.

At Calcom, we use a number of tools for gaining customer intelligence which we are going to share with you. The first, MTV Sticky, is a goldmine of information about the next generation of consumers. It’s amazing to see that when talking to an organisation they trust, such as MTV, young people are happy to reveal masses of information about themselves, which brands they think are cool and play fair, and which ones to avoid.

There is lots to learn from this website, but for us, the most important lesson is that it refutes the idea that people want to keep suppliers at arms lengths. The emotional attachment that trust and strong branding create, enforced each time a service interaction takes place, can create a powerful, perhaps lifelong, loyalty in all of us.

For a targeted look at the mobile habits of young people, we recommend Mobile Youth. Mobile is clearly a crucial customer platform, growing in importance all the time. Combine this fact with the rate of change in the technology and useage habits, and the often fickle nature of the next generation of consumers, and the reasons for taking some time to study attitudes is crucial for all businesses keen to maintain and improve the services they provide.

Another site we have been using is called What Do you Love? from Google. This innovative tool offers an array of information on searches, whether it be a company name, topic or individuals. It’s a great way to learn about brands and customer-related subjects and find sources not typically unearthed during regular searches.

Natalie Calvert
CEO
calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Brilliant people, where's the brilliant service?

2011-09-19T16:34:00.000+01:00

Customer-facing staff in the UK are intelligent communicators and problem solvers who are keen to deliver excellent service. So what’s stopping them? Natalie Calvert, CEO of Calcom Group says we are currently letting our staff down, explains how to begin making amends and the fantastic opportunity for those who get the best from their employees.

Bright, empathic, enthusiastic, brilliant; all words I regularly use to describe the people delivering front line service I meet on an almost daily basis. So if the people in most organisations are so passionate and driven, why is customer service excellence still the rare preserve of the elite providers rather than a universally recognised norm?

This is one of the key questions which led to the creation of the Team Leader of the Future, a programme designed to investigate what happens once the boardroom customer strategy meeting ends and the hard work begins.

We will be talking about some of the key findings of the programme in more detail over the coming months, but the most alarming observation we have found during our time speaking to businesses is the glaring difference between what is being discussed at the top and what is communicated through to Team Leaders and ultimately the staff tasked with delivering services.

In other words, the senior executives might have a clear, absolute picture of how service provision should operate, and how it relates to business performance, but unless the front-liners have the same picture communicated to them, nothing will change. The task of the Team Leaders is being made even harder by the volume of admin they are expected to process - up to 30 per cent of their working day. This means there is precious little time for Team Leaders to communicate with their managers, or give meaningful guidance to their team.

It is easy to talk about delivering good service, but unless your business is structured and targeted around this goal, with rewards for staff based on service outcomes, it is just rhetoric (the classic case of the plaque on the wall proclaiming service excellence being held up as some kind of tangible proof of commitment to customers).

The good news is that communication/reward/structure issues, while tricky to rebalance for businesses dealing with day-to-day operations, can be fixed (we help businesses with this issue all the time). This statement can be made with confidence because the key element is already in place to affect change: the people. The vast majority of front-line service professionals want to feel satisfied they are integral to delivering a positive customer experience. Therefore, they will accept any changes imposed if it is explained why this will enable them to work more effectively. As long as you have a plan for change, supported by your staff, you are in the perfect position to do great things and ensure that service becomes a brand building, business differentiator.

Natalie Calvert
CEO
calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Your shortcut to the customer service online community

2011-09-19T16:32:00.000+01:00

Whether you are seasoned social media operator, or baffled by Twitter, you cannot ignore the new way of communicating these tools offer to the customer service world. James West from Perfect Motion Media explains the power of social media and how you can quickly grow a useful online community.

Social media, we are told on seemingly a daily basis, is the future of communication - the most important emerging channel for customer service and an oasis of expert information. However, from an outsiders perspective, this seems like technology hyperbole of the worst kind, especially regarding Twitter, with its stream of shorthand and symbols used to convey seemingly random and unconnected topics. The temptation, despite the hype, when confronted with Twitter is to simply walk away.

If you feel this way, you are not alone - around 80 per cent of all Twitter accounts are said to be dormant and 50 per cent of all tweets are generated by an elite group of 20,000 people according to research from yahoo, which adds to the feeling that it is a members-only club.

The good news, however, is that breaking through the Twitter looking glass can be achieved faster than you think, thanks to a convenient short cut which I will share with you. Key to Twitter is finding the right people to follow who are sharing ideas relating to the issues you care about. This can be achieved by traditional means, such as searching for keywords and people you already know, but this is a laborious process. The smarter move is finding a list of people to follow who are recognised as online thought leaders, such as this one: the Customer Experience Online Influencers 2011 list.

This list is by not exhaustive, complete or definitive. It does however pool some of the most prolific and knowledgable professionals currently in the world who discuss customer service everyday. Perhaps more importantly, the people on this list ‘get‘ social media and are therefore strong role models for those looking to understand the do’s and don’t of social media interaction. By following all of those on the list (their twitter names are listed on the far right of the table), you instantly gain access to this body of ever evolving customer service knowledge and news, and by observing their actions, will learn the right way to communicate through Twitter.

I will be sharing a number of tricks and tips with you via the Calcom site and its Community newsletter, which will help you use social media to develop and grow your career, and benefit the customer experience your business delivers.

James West has written about the customer service industry for more than 12 years, editing titles such as Customer Service News, Call Centre Focus and now Customer Service TV.

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Businesses not measuring the cost of multi-channel

2011-09-19T16:31:00.000+01:00

Multi-channel and social media are continuing to redefine how customer service is delivered, but too few companies are measuring the cost of non-phone related support.

The 2011 Contact Centre Benchmarking Report from Dimension Data shows that the use of channels such as chat and social media continue to outpace expansion of email and telephone interactions. However, the report states it is “surprising” that so few companies across the 66 countries surveyed are measuring the cost of delivering service through alternative channels, although it acknowledges there has been an increase in this practice compared to last year.

This lax approach to establishing exactly how much could be saved by promoting alternative service options is even more puzzling because increasing efficiency continues to be the top commercial driver for contact centres.

Despite the hype around using social media as a viable customer communication tool, just one fifth of contact centres are currently managing interactions on sites such as Twitter. Complementary tools such as web chat and instant messaging are being adopted at a quicker rate; Dimension Data expects more than half of centres to employ these technologies in the next 12 months.

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert

Calcom nets hat-trick of industry highlights

2011-09-19T16:29:00.000+01:00

Calcom is pleased to announce its involvement with three pivotal events on the customer service and business calendar in 2011.

The first is the European Call Centre and Customer Service Awards, which Calcom is supporting as sponsor. By deciding this year to merge two Awards programmes - National Customer Service Awards and the European Call Centre Awards - the organiser UBM has created an unrivalled, prestigious event which celebrates those customer service teams and individuals trailblazing a bright future for the industry.

The Awards Ceremony takes plays at the London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane on Tuesday 11 October. These have been timed to fall on the first night of the Call Centre and Customer Management Expo, at which Calcom will also be exhibiting. Running on 11-12 October at London Olympia, this event has become the undisputed live event for UK service professionals. Natalie Calvert, Calcom’s CEO, will be speaking at the event alongside other thought leaders from blue-chip organisations such as BT and Ernst & Young.

Finally, Natalie has been chosen as one of four judges at the National Business Awards (NBA), and is involved directly in judging the Customer Focus Award. Endorsed by prime minister David Cameron, who says the event truly “shows off the best of British”, these Awards are sought by businesses keen to enjoy the publicity and prestige that scooping such an endorsement brings. The Customer Focus Award highlights businesses that pride themselves on their customer-centricity with businesses including Lovehoney, LV= and Pets at Home in contention this year.

calcomgroup.com

@calcomgroup

@nataliecalvert