Tag: Customer Experience

Business

When technology fails

Frustration with technology

It’s interesting isn’t it how we all have a different perspective concerning technology and its role in work life especially when it comes to interacting with people.
For example there’s a lot of friction caused by technology in the contact centre world, as customers generally hate queueing and certainly dislike a lot of the queueing technology, music and repetitive queue messages.

Too much friction and frustration.

It’s probably fair to say that technology is often blamed but is actually rarely at the root, as most often it’s how the technology is implemented and whether it’s a good fit for the problem that you’re trying to solve that is actually the cause.
One high priority action I’d strongly advise is to listen to your customers and examine their behaviour, and this will inform your technology choices to some degree.
Don’t be too quick to blame the technology but certainly do review regularly and take the pulse of your customers regularly. Technology evolves very quickly as do people’s adoption rates and being easy to do business with is a Critical Success Factor for you, and should certainly be one of the key measures you keep your eye on.

Business

Chat bots are a waste of time and effort. Or are they?

Many organisations have turned to quick fixes in order to attempt to address the deficit in resources in their businesses and to avoid having to take the call of at all possible.
Primarily this is because they do not have the personnel available due to Covid restrictions, and technology shortfalls – Shortfalls in that their technology was designed for a traditional office Contact Centre with office based workers, and not for a dispersed homeworker, workforce. Some might hand out criticisms of short sightedness, but let’s be fair – how many of you predicted the Covid crisis and it’s impact accurately?? Thought not.

Increasingly we are, as consumers, looking for flexible ways to connect with our suppliers, but to avoid the often lengthy queues that drive us potty. We are also seeking simplicity – for transactional interactions, we don’t always want or need to speak with a human, and we might also just need something text based, such as a balance check on our bank account, or checking a booking, ordering a ticket, making an appointment, etc,….

Often seen as the quick fix, business may turn to adding a webchat capability, or a chatbot capability, and more often than not, they are another silo in the communications morass, that simply pushes customers away.

Most chat technologies offer a synchronous engagement only, and very often these services are manned by social media teams, who are probably not well versed in the issues customers want resolving. This often leads to added frustrations for the consumer, as they are still not getting their questions answered, and may well STILL end up having to break off and make that call, joining the queue they were trying to avoid, and having to explain the whole thing again – It’s simply not very customer-centred is it?

Automation has been on offer for years, including IVR, and yet the way we, as consumers want to engage has changed. Yes we do still want to talk to a human being where appropriate, but by no means always.

Artificial intelligence is bringing a new paradigm into play, enabling intelligent automation, where consumers can share the intention of their inquiry using natural language, and receive a higher quality engagement, and satisfactory outcomes.

Well thought out solutions also allow for a joined up and customer centred journey. Meaning that we reduce friction with a single persistent conversation, that captures the discussion and passes it all to an agent, if required, avoiding repetitive questioning. Resulting in a well prepared agent, and a really satisfying customer experience.

Is this were possible, without the need to replace existing platform technology, wouldn’t that be of enormous value?

Ask me how Graham@koopid.ai

Business, Customer Experience, Customer Focus

Artificial intelligence is now, successfully replacing contact centre agents

Contact centre leaders have for some time been evolving from their original call centres, (handling just phone calls) Into multi-channel and ultimately Omnichannel solutions, whereby customers can arrive on any channel and enjoy a continuous conversation wherever the engagement takes them.

For some contact centre operations, this has meant an extremely slow evolution, due in some part to the often significant investments required, but also the time taken for full deployment, and user adoption schedules can be lengthy.

This delay in moving to digital-first contact centres often causes frustration to customers as increasingly they (customers) are choosing to make contact using their conveniently located smartphones, and want to use one of the common messaging apps.

Typically this means starting on a digital channel – such as:

  • Webchat
  • Chatbots
  • WhatsApp
  • Facebook messaging,

Etc.,

and escalating to a voice call with a human being where circumstances dictate.

Serving customers on their channels of choice is a critical Customer Experience “moment of truth”, and ensures that focus is on them rather than us.

This transition certainly needs managing with care, as the last thing customers want, is repetitive questioning after they have authenticated or explained the reason for calling on the digital channels.

All of this conversation MUST remain with the caller just like it would on an SMS chat on your smartphone.

This is what we expect from any technology offering chat today, and anything less than this is UNACCEPTABLE.

To learn how Koopid.ai delivers this capability without a rip and replace strategy – click here

Business

Pinch punch it’s October 1st – 192 days into lockdown

The latest in my Pinch Punch series of posts. It’s my clumsy attempt at poetry, aiming to capture the moment of the Covid lockdown, along with my own passion for Customer Experience excellence and the technology landscape that either enables or thwarts this

Customer Experience, Customer Focus

Pinch punch its September 1st!!

The latest in my Punch Punch series of posts, where I attempt to describe what’s going on under the Covid crisis using my finely honed poetry skills, 

😜
Pinch punch, it's September 1st
Covid 19 has made the workforce dispersed
 
Working remotely is now the new way
But for many they're excited for the office return day
 
Life's been a bit different for a large part of the year
And I've read that we're all drinking more beer
 
Social distancing continues to be followed
And facemasks are being bought by the load
 
We're yearning for our cancelled events to reopen
Going to concerts that evoke our emotion
 
Business as usual is no longer the case
We're meeting by video and not face to face
 
Communication tools have become more critical
As they're bridging the gap to replace the physical
 
As we increasingly use our digital options
Business must accelerate their adoption
 
Meeting customers the way they want to engage
Before you send them into a rage
 
Don't make us queue for hours and hours
Give us the tools and self service powers
 
We don't need to wait to get something done
We want to do it ourselves whilst on the run
 
When you make it easy, we're as pleased as can be
Calling is ok but but it's not always for me
 
WhatsApp and other asynch channels are a boon
They save me holding and queuing and feeling like a buffoon.
 
It's easy to do with software in the cloud
No rip and replace need to be allowed

And It's ready in hours rather than weeks
The solution is exactly what everyone seeks

Make the move now, don't get left behind
Your customers will appreciate you're that way inclined

Koopid AI is leading the surge
And they're poised and ready for when you get the urge
Business

Pinch punch it’s August 1st

The latest in my Punch Punch series of posts, where I attempt to describe what’s going on under the Covid crisis using my finely honed poetry skills, 😜 with a slant on prevailing Customer Experience for us all

Pinch punch it’s August 1st
Lockdown is easing, being reversed

Businesses and offices are now resuming,
Pubs and bars welcoming people consuming

We want to stay safe away from the virus
The isolation however is starting to try us

Inspite of the crisis we’re currently enduring
Technology projects are rapidly maturing.

Agents working hard to service their customers’ needs
Customers queuing because no alternative feeds

Automation is desirable, else customers you’ll lose
Give them digital channels and see what they choose

Access when they need it to check something out
Agents are free when the complex ones shout

Human to human and voice is the best
And intelligent automation for the rest

Almost half will leave you if you don’t improve
This lack of choice and automation will force customers to move

So act right now and give us a call
To serve customers better not the few, but them all.

Business, Customer Experience

Pinch Punch it’s the first of July

This is my third and latest attempt at combining poetry with the #Covid_19 situation and our business engagement with #KoopidAI. I am kind of getting into the swing and hoping it tells a story (It works ok in my head). Here you go (with video link below also)

Pinch punch it’s the first of July
The days and weeks, they just fly by

The lockdown is easing, going back to work
Covid is still with us, but where does it lurk

Businesses are hurting, they’re battered and bruised
The new rules aren’t clear, I’m slightly confused

Pubs begin to reopen, just hear them cheer
We’ll soon be back there socialising with beer

The new normal is the central debate
Businesses are pivoting to keep the books straight

We continue to drive for an improved experience
Automating processes making customers delirious

Agents are freer for the more complex calls
Artificial intelligence catering where complexity is small

Getting Koopid up and running is surprisingly swift
The no code solution is simply a gift

From Monday to Tuesday is all the time we need
A clear map of workflow and we’re up to speed

Whatever your age and whatever your vintage
Digital and Mobile first is the greatest percentage

And there’s no need to rip and replace
Evolving new channels at your own pace

Pinch punch it’s the 1st of July.
Business, Customer Experience, Customer Focus, remote working, working from home

AI. Pinch punch it’s the first of July

I was thinking about the new month on Friday and always have a race to be the first to say “pinch punch”, especially with my cousin, and I begin to start dreaming about this in context of the current Coronavirus crisis and here’s the result. I hope you like it.

Update .. Added video here https://bit.ly/Trust-Pinch-punch

Pinch punch it’s the 1st of may
The days are flying by, dissolving away

Covid-19 has kept us locked down
And sadly for many they’re wearing a frown

The frustrations are plenty, reaching out for response
Call volumes are soaring, cant meet their wants.

Staff are furloughed, unable to work
They’re being sent home but not to shirk

The questions keep coming, but nobody is there
Automation could help but it’s relatively rare.

Businesses struggling with too few staff
The calls go unanswered, are they having a laugh

Wait times growing lengthy running to hours
We just need something processed to feel empowered

First choice is the smartphone to connect and reach out
But it’s hard to feel valued when you mess us about.

Your site says no contact, you’re all in turmoil
You’re not on your own, we are all going to boil

Nobody is winning, we are all coming last
We need you to help us and please do it fast

Instead of a human perhaps use AI
To automate process with a robotic guy

And when it’s all over, we would embrace IT
Mundane to the robot for access and speed,
And human to human, as its best, we’d accede

Business, channel, Customer Experience, Customer Focus, partnership, Sales, Selling

How Koopid.Ai are disrupting the Contact Centre space

Here’s a short video explainer for Koopid.ai – and we’re exhibiting at the Call and Contact Centre Expo at the Excel on March 18th and 19th, so please come and say hello and learn more. This could be what your customers have been waiting for.

Want to chat? Then call us on 0800 999 1882 or mail me graham@koopid.ai

Thanks for reading and hope to connect soon- or to see the solution in action – click here