Published on April 24th, 2017 | by Guest

When technology disrupts customer service

Today’s contact centers thrive on technology. They can’t operate without Internet connectivity, automation tools, and smart computer programs that let them deploy omnichannel services. Technology, therefore, makes it easier for brands to provide a high-quality customer experience. Unsurprisingly, many entrepreneurs have come to believe that technology is a core ingredient of business success.

This mentality, however, is a double-edged sword.

While there are obvious benefits to building a technology-centered company, there are massive drawbacks as well. Left unwatched, these mistakes can be detrimental to your business.

1. Mindless absorption of technology

These days, more and more call centers are acquiring one tech tool after another at an unbelievable pace. Their goal here is to be trendy, to implement customer support strategies that people will find easy, fast, and efficient. Getting there, however, is harder than it seems.

Many contact center managers readily give in to the allure of sophisticated customer service technologies without considering their existing resources. Do they have the right people with the right skills needed to operate these tools? Are they choosing the right tools with the exact features that suit their goals and strategies? How will these technologies affect their operations in the long run?

You must remember that every piece of technology you acquire must have a definite purpose. It should sit right within the framework of your operations. Otherwise, rather than aiding your processes, the technologies you have may end up sabotaging your entire strategy.

2. A skewed focus on data

Many call centers now have the capability to collect massive amounts of information about their clients. They do so using data analytics tools like customer relationship management programs, speech and voice recognition software, and many others. These allow them to gather, store, and organize customer data.

The availability of big data in contact centers offers a lot of promising opportunities. Brands get to capture useful market insights, which lets them create customer-centric products and services.

The problem, however, is that it’s easy to be blinded by the potential of data to turn your business into a successful enterprise. As a result, many company leaders make decisions based on data alone. Nothing’s really wrong with this, until they start thinking that they can rely on data for every move they had to make. In effect, therefore, some managers refuse to tap into other forms of knowledge when making decisions. They may end up treating their intuition, experiences, or their entrepreneurial ideas as subpar sources of information.

Another thing that many brands have trouble with is turning customer insights into actionable strategies. It’s one thing to collect information, but using those data to create effective strategies is an entirely different matter. The latter requires a separate set of skills, such as strategic thinking, rigorous planning, and effective communication.

3. Making technology the core strategy

What many managers do nowadays is that they buy a piece of technology and then mold their customer experience strategies around it. This practice, unfortunately, is a perfect recipe for failure.

Technology should help you deploy a better and more efficient customer service, not dictate the terms by which you need to carry out your processes. Thus, before you look for the right tech solution, you should first build your strategy. This should serve as your basis in selecting the right tools that will allow you to implement your plans.

Author Bio:

Faith Ocampo is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, social media, customer service and business strategy. You may see her published works at Open Access BPO, or follow her on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter for interesting updates.

Tags: customer, disrupts, service, technology