Multichannel - should you make the switch?
Customers are becoming increasingly demanding and with the evolving needs of generation Y (the tech savvy new age customer who thrives on instant communication) and in a world where some people prefer to text and email rather than call, it is important that organisations offer a range of contact channels to meet the growing expectations of their customer base who expect to have a choice.
The changing customer generation is driving technological developments and adding pressure to our industry. Demands such as faster, more instant and a varied choice of communication channels for our customers to interact through.
Understanding customer generations is crucial in our sector and it is important to understand that each organisation can have its own customer generation or a range of generations within its customer base. It is critical that we understand all generations to allow us to ensure that we are providing the right communication channels for our customers.
With an increasing need in today's current economic climate for customer retention, maintaining market share and adding client value, a multichannel approach should be considered. Service should be tailored to suit each customer generation and this means having a range of channel options.
Which channels?
Following a recent survey we undertook we saw that a huge 93% of people taking part already have a multi channel solution in place.
Phone is still top of the list for an organisation's main point of contact, but an even spread is becoming apparent as organisations start to offer a range of contact channels to suit their customer needs.
Can it cut costs?
Cost is still at the forefront of most organisational decisions and as well as enhancing the customer experience, multichannel can be seen to be used as a cost cutting exercise, allowing organisations to offer channels which are cheaper to operate than voice. Cheaper channels should however not be implemented to the detriment of the customer experience. An improved customer experience has to be the primary motivator for deploying a multi channel solution. Saving money should be the secondary driver for moving to multi-channel.
Giving you valuable insight
Valuable customer insight and intelligence can be gained through a multichannel solution making this more attractive to organisations.
Social media is fast becoming a new customer management channel. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are playing a significant role in influencing buying decisions, with consumers using them increasingly as a feedback channel. At the moment they are an influencer but it is predicted that in the future, social media sites will become key communication and interaction channels for businesses.
It's all about customer choice
Multichannel is all about customer choice and the right channelling, giving your customers options as to how they choose to communicate with you. It is important you understand and analyse what your customers want before you implement a 'one size fits all' approach or offer a channel just to keep up with the latest trend or fad.
Today's customers expect a seamless approach when they deal with companies, irrespective of whether they are calling up for information, commenting on a blog, or buying something on line while on the move. Understanding differences in customer behaviour and attitudes allows organisations in our industry to deliver the most effective and competitive customer management solutions.
Our recommendations
The secret to a multichannel approach is right channelling, it is vital that organisations offer the right channels to the right customers - a multichannel approach can improve customer service and retention if you have the right channels. Most organisations already offer a multichannel solution based on their customers preferred choice of contact.
Voice is still the most widely used communication channel indicating there's still a dominant place for it among a wider multichannel offering.
Technology does exist in the marketplace to integrate a full multichannel solution to existing systems and Capita has the capability to do this.
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