For an optimization to become truly successful you need to focus on creating customer value rather than simply bringing out the cheese slicer. Luckily, now there is technology that allows you to save time, as well as improving the experience for both customers and staff.
Most of us are not delighted by having to wait in line, look for information or carry out repetitive work tasks. Or try to find a person with the right competence that you can connect the customer to. And it’s not only boring – there is also a risk that it creates stress for the employees, as well as cause irritation or generate negative consequences for the customers, patients, or citizens.
In this article on the ACE-blog we share five tips that stop the time snatchers in their tracks, and that move people and information closer together in a smart ecosystem.
1. Make it easy to search for information
Skånetrafiken is a public transportation provider in the south of Sweden, and the winner of the trade organization Kontakta’s award for best customer service in 2022. Susanne Jönsson is the area manager for customer service and notes that one of the biggest changes that has taken place in the industry, since she entered it 20 years ago, is that the customers ask more complex questions. Previously the travelers would ask when the bus for Nymölla left Kristianstad, or if the dog could tag along on the commuter train. Today they want to know why a bus takes a certain route or why the ticket price has gone up.
As the customers ask tougher questions and expect better service, the people that serve them need tools that allow them to quickly find the right answers. Information that is stored in several places, and in several versions, is the time snatcher’s best friends.
Read more about how Swedish Skånetrafiken and Norwegian Entur have benefitted from the AI driven knowledgebase ACE Knowledge to save time and to make the workday easier for the customer service staff.
Blog: Skånetrafiken: number one in customer service
Blog: Entur makes it easy to travel eco-friendly by train
2. Key messages in the right place
And speaking of ACE Knowledge. Since the solution can be integrated on your website, the customer service staff can easily publish information that they want to share on the start page, or in a different part of the site. For example, an operational disturbance, plans for snowplowing, or that the parking lot for the doctor’s office now is at the back of the building. But it may also be about extended opening hours the weekend before Christmas, or a campaign offer for child car seats. Oftentimes it takes just two minutes to publish the information that helps a lot of people to find the information on their own, rather than having to call or chat.
But it’s not always easy to know why there is an onslaught of contacts. With a tool for Interaction Analytics you can analyze the calls and find trends, which allows you to address the root cause rather than having to add more people to manage the calls.
3. Reach people on the go
Identifying the right person, and getting hold of them, is also a common time snatcher. Our soon to be released app ACE to Go makes it easy to include experts, and staff who are on the go during the workday, in the contact center. The app makes it easier to reach the right competence, such as the doctor or the building caretaker on call. And with more competence within easy reach the chances of solving the questioner query during the first contact increases – which paves the way to a great customer experience. The app also makes it easy for the person who receives calls to prioritize according to degree of urgency.
A snapshot of ACE To Go in the Google Play Store. Naturally also available for iPhone. Read more in the blog post “More mobility in the contact center with ACE To Go“
4. Let the robot show their best moves
Robotization generated a time savings of 5% for the member service team at the Swedish trade union Byggnads. They got there by analyzing their ways of working, and automated seven dreary processes that the staff were happy to see go. And they use the time they save to take the digital customer meeting to the next level.
Read more about Nicklas Mattsson and his team, and how they have achieved such great digital transformation success.
Whitepaper (pdf): Not a fan of repetitive tasks?
Blog: How to tell if your workflow is a hot prospect for robotics
5. Self-service makes everyone happier
Good self-service solutions save time for the organization that provides them, as well as for the people who use them. Not least by being available around the clock.
Save time by creating self-service solutions that are simple, and that are offered at the right time and place on the customer journey. Look for things that a lot of people want help with, such as downloading forms, getting a copy of an invoice, make an address change or cancel the doctor’s appointment. Read about how E.ON did it.
