Overview

Technology-driven tools are shifting power into the hands of savvy customers who will not tolerate service delays, unempowered agents and scripted responses. This non-technical book explains in plain language how the emergence of customer-facing mobile apps, social media, virtual worlds, web collaboration and online communities, coupled with the proliferation of cloud-based contact center interaction tools and customer experience management systems, is transforming traditional customer service for both large and small companies. Technoservice may be augmented by business operations support for established customer service environments (i.e., facilities, staffing, scheduling, training, empowerment and incentives), or may exist as a non-mediated service to customers via the Internet. The business case for this approach is that it minimizes costs and maximizes customer satisfaction, while effectively gathering critical business intelligence data. In order to realize this outcome, a company must focus on the three critical areas of process, integration and knowledge. This book explains how process-driven systems, multichannel user interaction, streamlined content provisioning and data gathering can substantially improve customer satisfaction. Traditionally, one of the biggest problems for customer service executives has been how to balance employee productivity and efforts to encourage customer loyalty within the constraints of a budget designed to rigorously contain costs. While this mindset persists today, at least for some corporate thought leaders a renewed focus on the end-to-end customer 'experience', the emergence of social media and the perceived need to monitor and react to virtual 'tribes' of online customers has loosened the purse strings when it comes to centralized customer service. By implementing processes, tools and knowledge bases that facilitate a timely and relevant response to a customer's inquiry or problem, management are seeking a significant return on investment in the form of customer loyalty. There are three major business needs which continue to impact the evolution of Technoservice. These are customer satisfaction, cost reduction and business intelligence. Specific goals may be attributed to these needs, such as resolving a customer inquiry or problem on the first contact, maximizing customer access to agents or databases, gathering customer data, and providing tools for business analysis. Overview of this book Fundamentals discusses the evolution of the modern customer service environment and the business drivers behind every successful customer service operation - customer satisfaction, cost reduction and business intelligence. Process considers those processes which are most relevant to the customer service environment, including a detailed overview of the quality improvement, data gathering, escalations, and follow-up work processes. Channels describes the various manifestations of Technoservice, including voice, self-service, email, chat and other media. Integration focuses on the technologies that are transforming customer service and how these are being integrated. This chapter also takes a critical look at the traditional role of systems development in contact centers. Content examines the differences between knowledge bases and intelligent troubleshooting systems, and how these systems can be used in a customer service environment. Intelligence focuses on Technoservice as an integral contributor to business planning by describing data gathering, analysis and information sharing functions and processes.

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9781484849767

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Michael Cusack is a consultant who specializes in evaluating call center operations and implementing best practice principles in the areas of process improvement, systems design, and content management. His client list includes companies such as General Electric, Novo Nordisk, CitiBank, Kemper Insurance, Yellow Freight System, The University of Pennsylvania, and AT&T. Cusack's background includes several years in the telecommunications industry, principally as a management consultant with the Bell Laboratories Customer Care Group. He was also employed as a human factors engineer with the AT&T Artificial Intelligence/Knowledge Systems Unit, and has been involved in the planning and reengineering of call centers for more than a decade. He is an experienced communicator, and has presented customer care strategies to decision-makers from several multinational corporations, as well as initiating educational forums on worldwide customer care involving representatives from countries such as Holland and Ireland. Cusack has lived and worked in six countries. He received his Master of Arts in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Fairleigh-Dickinson University in the United States. He can be contacted via cusack@att.net. Reviews for his previous book entitled Online Customer Care include: Cusack is clearly an expert in customer care systems. He provides extremely detailed information on best-in-class technology and processes, well-tempered with real-life examples that illustrate common implementation pitfalls. -- Bill Scheerer, President, Performance QUEST LLC, and former Quality, Engineering, Software and Technologies Vice-President AT&T/Lucent Bell Labs Cusack's book is a timely and detailed introduction to the world of emerging technologies in customer care, and will be a valuable resource to any organization attempting to set up world-class customer care operations today. -- Rohit Ramaswamy, Ph.D. This inspiring book is a must read for every employee in any enterprise that truly strives to harness customer care as a competitive differentiator. -- Margaret Molloy, Vice President, Marketing, Telecom Ireland

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