How many solutions are there on the market for Customer Service Management? What are the existing technologies to develop such solutions? Today, they are many, in various shapes, sizes, costs and benefits. What is the best solution for the company?
Only few are, but unfortunately many companies follow the "fashion" by implementing one of them. It is there when they die trying and in the end the result is dissatisfied customers, loss of loyalty and low customer achievement, something really detrimental to the health of a company.
Within any company before making a decision that involves a large investment, with the possibility of extraordinary results, but at the same time a risk against one of the most important stakeholders, the client, it is necessary to clarify some key points that allow them to question What is the right solution to maximize the potential of the company and achieve a high level of customer loyalty, something that many companies are looking for today.
The starting point is the definition of the customer service strategy and its relationship with the general strategy of the company. Imagine a distributor of consumer products, whose vision is to be the # 1 company in the country and the preferred supplier of consumers. To fulfill this vision, it has several strategies: reducing costs, growing sales and knowing the consumer.
Now, let's think about the customer service department of this same company, with a strategy that does not complement this vision: minimize contact with the customer and consumer by telephone means to reduce costs and organizational structure. If a solution with these characteristics were implemented, in which, for example, the only valid channel for contact is direct mail, the cost of having this will be much higher if a strategy is not established that really enables sales growth and increases the relationship with the consumer so that he is always faithful to the company. What would happen at the end of this implementation?
At best, a savings that is not really a savings and that may incur additional and unnecessary expense, inefficiencies and no results that provide the overview. And in the worst case scenario and the most likely, unsatisfied customers who ultimately prefer another provider. In this case, death in the attempt is subject.
Once the Customer Service strategy is clearly related to the general strategy, the second point to mention is the precise definition of its objectives, action plans and expected results. In order to build this, it is necessary to form a multifunctional group to be able to offer different perspectives and finally result in a strategy that is challenging enough, but at the same time achievable. Continuing with the case of the company that distributes consumer products, now let's imagine that the Customer Service strategy is to win at the first moment of truth to increase sales with direct customers (for example, large chains). Within this service strategy, if we assume that only the sales manager and the logistics manager were involved,Without a specific action plan and without a clear way of following the expected results, or worse, without being clear about the results, each of the managers would make a plan with their people independently and inconsistently between the two areas. In the end, the plan of one of the two departments could be totally counterproductive and they would even be proposing solutions in which they are not experts, would deal with issues that they do not dominate and in the end they lose all control over the strategy.In the end, the plan of one of the two departments could be totally counterproductive and they would even be proposing solutions in which they are not experts, would deal with issues that they do not dominate and in the end they lose all control over the strategy.In the end, the plan of one of the two departments could be totally counterproductive and they would even be proposing solutions in which they are not experts, would deal with issues that they do not dominate and in the end they lose all control over the strategy.
The solutions would not be effective and there could be occasions when there is a very broad sales support, but with an unsuitable distribution channel for them, losing in the first and second moment of truth with these direct customers, who are the process of purchase (order taking, relationship with sellers) and delivery of the merchandise, respectively.
What would happen in this case, if for that same strategy you have a leader and with it, a group of multifunctional people? A work team made up of marketing, sales, finance, logistics and systems people, within which each person is an expert on a specific topic, and together they form a unified strategy, with action plans (in each area), with its managers and the way each function involved contributes to the great result. In this case, an integrated solution could be implemented that really responds to the defined strategy. In the aforementioned case, one could talk, for example, of implementing a Contact Center in which each function and not specifically one, can contribute so that it, in an integrated manner, can meet the results that are aimed at achieving the strategy, according to his role,as specified:
Sales: Pre-sale services, clarification in price lists and product coding, account status and inventory management.
Logistics: Portfolio services, billing concerns, delivery dates, order and product information.
Marketing: Support services for business growth, information on initiatives, sampling management and commercial support material.
Finance: Support in cost structures, concerns with promotions management, increased profitability.
Systems: Information services for monitoring strategies, concerns in advanced ordering processes, deliveries, billing and collection, specialized services for proper implementation of the solution according to the strategy.
What is the challenge for companies today? Having the ability to create a robust enough strategy in which all functions are involved and responsible for providing customer service that surprises and creates a high level of satisfaction. The multifunctional team, the objectives, the clear action plans, from different perspectives and the expected results are key elements of the customer service management strategy. Without these, the death of the solution is not so immediate, but fast enough to leave a great tastelessness within the organization.
The third point, and not the least important is to enter the world of the client. Do we want to create loyalty in our clients? Do we want to get more clients? So let's ask ourselves, do we know them well enough to understand what leads them to be faithful, to return and not abandon us? Something that commonly happens in companies is that they have a clear service strategy, a clear loyalty strategy, but in the end when implementing it, with advanced or simple solutions, as the case may be, it does not work, and many times it is. It’s no use then, doing a fashion strategy,or create it starting from the solution already to be implemented (the reverse process should be correct), since when it came into operation, the client simply did not need it.
Returning to the case of the company, what if the strategy to win with the consumer is clearly defined and the solution for Customer Service Management is focused on using instant messaging to create a direct relationship with it, but the majority of consumers of the company's products do not have a cell phone? The solution simply has no effect, it is an expense rather than an investment and it is clearly demonstrated that the customer's world has not been entered. Without this third point, death is inevitable and irreversible.
But what if, on the contrary, the company knows its customer and its world in a way that identifies what drives it to be faithful, what it needs to be fully satisfied? With such knowledge, the solution to be implemented, taking into account that this solution must cover the general strategy, the customer service strategy and its elements, involve a multifunctional group and logically have stable control and monitoring mechanisms, can bring extraordinary results.
If any company has tried to implement an advanced solution for Customer Service Management such as CRM, WAP, SMS, Internet, Contact Center and even direct mail, and has failed in the attempt, it is not too late. Possibly this sudden or sudden death has brought with it high costs and a stagnation in the development of customer relationships and logically an impossibility of creating loyalty in them. However, the important thing will be that the company can recognize at which point or points it failed in its process and resurrect to try again, and this time, making the Service strategy live, with extraordinary results and the customer is its best friend.
