Dissatisfied Customer Experiences - can they be improved?

In a recent Avaya study carried out by callcentres.net, it was found that only 72% of customers were satisfied with their customer service experiences. With this equating to 28% of customers failing to be satisfied, organisations should find these results disconcerting, as these figures have the potential to translate to large revenue losses.

With customer expectations continually evolving, many organisations may fit customer service into the “too hard” basket. However, customers are not looking for complicated solutions that are difficult for organisations to implement. This is reflected in the survey results which indicate that two of the top considerations for an ideal customer service experience were to have their query resolved quickly and in addition, to be able to speak to an agent quickly. With 25% of consumers either having switched or likely to switch businesses based on a poor service experience, organisations have the opportunity to provide a positive interaction experience and create and retain loyal customers.

Speech recognition is one method for improving the customer’s experience. By implementing a solution that enables the caller to simply ‘tell’ a solution what they would like to do, the customer can interact naturally and easily have their query resolved or speak to an appropriate agent. For example, if a customer is seeking their account balance, they simply say “account balance” and will be authenticated and provided that information. If renewing their car insurance, they say “I would like to renew my car insurance” – this statement enables the system to ‘understand’ what the customer is looking for and, using configurable business rules, quickly routes them to the appropriate agent for their renewal request.

These speech solutions are designed with a customer-centric focus and do not trap the caller into complicated and frustrating IVRs, or speech recognition solutions that do not recognise their intentions. Organisations that implement a solution with the customer in mind, can not only create more efficient operating procedures, but can also create a positive customer experience.