With continuing economic woes for global businesses and consumers such as interest rate hikes and petrol price increases, strengthening relationships with existing customers and ensuring the expectations of new ones are instantly exceeded and can be a very real way to ride the waves of rough business seas.
At the very frontline, such as call centres in particular, this customer-centric approach can make a tremendous impact.
A recent study by US benchmarking firm, SQM Group, showed that a strong focus on first call resolution and call resolution generally will produce better customer retention and more opportunities to deepen the customer relationship.
The survey also found that on average 15% to 35% of those who contact a call centre fall into the cracks - many of these calls are left unresolved. The downside is not only a lost caller, moreover these customers tell others about their negative experience and can defect to a competitor.
The key to a winning business model for businesses today can therefore be found in ensuring that the needs of new and existing customers are met - not just some, but all of them.
This, however, is a challenge for business as achieving excellent customer service that keeps customers coming back for more requires employees who are skilled and ready to maintain the service standards set out by the company.
The solution to this challenge of front-line staff readiness lies in new techniques that empower these key staff with a real understanding of who their customers are and how to address them in the most effective way.
Simulations or “Real Play” is a phenomenal new approach to achieving this - these training techniques involve a firm's customer profiles being defined and a simulated service environment set up to enable staff to play out scenarios with various types of customers.
In a call centre environment, this for example involves simulated calls from “customers” (these simulations usually involve professional actors) with specific product knowledge levels and needs.
A call centre staff member gets to alternate between being the caller, call receiver, and an observer over the course of the training. Contributing to the effectiveness is that staff teach each other at peer level during the training process.
Training in real-time has proven to unlock some remarkable breakthroughs for staff in term of their service abilities.
A company that recently took this approach is RMB Asset Management. Working with training consultancy Learn to Lead, RMB employed real-time simulations as part of its call centre customer service training.
Bianca Dippennaar, CEO of RMB Unit Trusts, says the company recognised customer service excellence as a way to gain a competitive advantage and saw real-time simulations as an exciting way to develop skilled service consultants.
“Our clientele consists of investors and well informed people who know about financial services which demands we have highly knowledgeable service staff. In addition, legislation for the financial services sector changes regularly and the environment becomes more complicated - these factors just make it all the more important to train our front-line people well,” says Dippenaar.
“Using innovative training methods like real-time simulations, which are feedback driven and very practical in nature, allows the employee to see the perspective of each of our different types of clients. It gives them the tools to be truly confident when approached,” she adds.
In addition to this external customer focus, RMB used the techniques to increase the understanding between front-line service staff and back-office administrative staff, looking at the question: What does your internal customer need?
That companies globally are latching on the value of increased customer-centrism is clear if one looks at international studies in the field - a recent study by US consultancy Novations Group, for example, confirms that demand for customer relations training is growing, with 64% of HR managers questioned reporting a rise.
With innovative training techniques such as real-time simulations now proving their value, teaching employees how to react in any given situation and read the signs of every customer is now more possible than ever before for companies.
Businesses that take this customer focus to heart can become the leaders in their industries. These firms appreciate and recognise each and every customer and show that customer wows can make a real difference, even when there are economic woes.
