There are three characteristics when time is right for change.
- Change happens when the change can add value to all parties involved.
- Change happens when new technology enables change.
- Change happens when new generations (customers) just think different.
Add Value to All:
Social done right in customer service can add value to everyone involved. For the company it can reduce service costs by solving problems fast and therefore reducing calls into the customer service team. It can improve speed of change for the company by listening to customers and getting the first mover information to places in the organization where it is needed. Most important it can drive loyalty and revenue by listening and responding to what customer want and what they are willing to pay for. These happy customers buy more and also tell their friends who also buy more. All of these events increase the brand value of the company.
New Technology:
I hate to say it, because I was around in the beginning of customer service systems, but customer service, as we know it today is broken. It looks more like mainframes than agile apps that can move at the speed of business innovation today. Big box systems (ACD’s, IVR’s), multiple 800 numbers to call to get bad service from people who know less than you do about items you purchased from their company. Email that is rarely answered and if it is answered it is a form letter and it tells you to call into the bank of 800 numbers. There are some companies working hard to leverage this old technology that are doing this right but it is taking an army of people and the company is spending millions on people, millions on systems and millions on maintenance to keep these old technologies limping along. It is time to bring new technology to companies so they can interact with customers in new ways that leverage all the great innovation that has come about over the last few years.
New Customers:
The most important aspect effecting the changes coming to customer service by social is the fact that this is how the customers (remember the people with the money that companies are trying to serve) want and demand to interact with companies. I am not saying 800 numbers, email and self-service are going to be 100% replaced, but I am saying that there is a new starting point for true conversations with customers and that is social. Yes, it is early and tools are just coming to the market that are built for enterprise scale use but companies need to form the correct teams, understand what is out there and jump into this shift with both feet. The executives need to understand it, the VP’s need to embrace this change and top talent at the director and manager level need to be empowered to test, try and learn. This cannot be a new task thrown on top of their overflowing plates. This needs to be the full-time job of people that understand customer service and open to new ways to interact with their market. These people need to be open to new ways of working, listening and having conversations with customers. This requires new thinking in service, sales, marketing, operations, technology, legal and human resources. The tools to start solving this problem are here and better tools are coming. The long pole in the tent to embrace this shift has nothing to do with the tools it has to do with companies and leaders that do not understand. I have had the privilege to see first hand top companies embrace this shift and I have seen other top brands stick their head in the sand and hope this fad will pass. I am not saying that if a company truly embraces social they will win. Obviously the company has to have good products and services and they have to deliver on their promise. But show me two companies with similar products and services in a market where differentiation is limited (this is just about everyone) and the growth company will be the company that leads in this social shift.
NOTE TO COMPANIES: Consumer tools are enabling unhappy customers to revolt…listen to them, react to them and simply have conversations with them and you will win them over assuming to deliver on your companies promise. The companies that get this right will be the market share leaders and those that don’t will lose significant market share over the next three years.
This is not just about unhappy customers – more and more happy customers that are delighted are posting positive things to their friends and network about a great company, a great service or a new surprising positive conversation they had with a company they did not think they liked but now they love.
Here are a couple key stats that signal this shift. More and more people are using their real name on Twitter. People are also turning on geo-location on their smart phone. Consumers want you to know who they are and where they are…are you able to have a conversation with the consumers that matter to you?
Consumers are smart, they know companies can listen if they want to and the companies that start to have social conversations with their customers will win!
I was in the middle of contact centers and customer service for the last 20 years. The next ten years will bring the greatest change we have ever seen.
