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Research Reveals Major Fault Line Separating the Board Room, Marketing Suite, and Contact Center Threatens Customer Experience
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, Nov 14, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
New research released today reveals critical areas where
organizations are falling short in addressing today's growing
expectations and demands for smart customer service. The key
conclusion: Greater alignment is needed between the board room,
marketing and customer service professionals, and in the metrics
applied to measure customer experience activities, for organizations
to succeed in today's always-on multi-channel customer service
environment.
The research was conducted by the Customer Contact Association (CCA),
the UK's leading independent authority on customer contact strategies
and operations, and sponsored by KANA Software, Inc., a global leader
in customer service solutions delivered on-premise or in the cloud
and used by more than 900 organizations worldwide, including half of
the Global 100 and 250 government entities.
Based on a survey of CCA members and in-depth interviews with senior
customer service professionals from a range of industry sectors, the
study examined call center tactics and strategies as well as
organizational dynamics as part of a wider investigation of key
considerations influencing customer service delivery.
"Organizations are operating in a fiercely challenging business
environment and customer contact teams are dealing with increasingly
complex customer needs," said Anne Marie Forsyth, chief executive of
the Customer Contact Association (CCA). "Our latest research reveals
a pressing need for greater cross-department collaboration and better
representation for customer service at the board level in order to
deliver a truly customer-centric service strategy."
The study identified a number of key challenges that threaten
organizations ability to provide "smart" customer service. These
include:
Companies are using new channels to support customer engagement, but
they don't understand how and why customers are using those channels.
While organizations are today increasingly deploying multi-channel
engagement strategies to support consistent customer experiences,
survey respondents indicated a lack of understanding of when and why
customers choose to use certain channels over others, and overall
channel effectiveness in driving customer satisfaction.
"The advent of new channels is giving customers the option to
interact with brands differently," said Steven Thurlow, worldwide
head of Product Strategy, KANA Software. "As the critical moments of
interaction, or touch points, between companies and customers are
increasingly being spread across different channels and different
parts of the organization, companies are being forced to support more
channels; however they are struggling to get their arms around the
full picture of how and why customers are leveraging particular
channels to ensure they are organized to deliver the information
customers seek from each interaction."
Customer service and the contact center are still not viewed as
having strategic importance.
The survey also shed light on the fact that customer service and
contact center functions lack adequate board representation, with
almost 1 in 10 stating that the board is out of touch with contact
center and customer service issues.
"Putting customers first will necessitate transforming contact center
agents into customer advocates, which will require strong
organizational and executive support," said Forsyth. "As customers
become more vocal, particularly in evolving channels such as social,
it's vital for the contact center to acquire greater visibility and
influence within the organization. Boards must have proper cognizance
of the effect that key resource allocation decisions will have on
customer loyalty and satisfaction -- this will not be possible unless
they acquire a more meaningful understanding of critical contact
center issues."
Marketing and customer service investment decisions remain siloed, at
the expense of the customer experience.
The research also highlights conflicting views about the relationship
between marketing and customer service. While many would argue the
marketing function is well positioned to assist in orchestrating
customer experience for the entire organization, a significant
disconnect between marketing and customer service investment is
revealed in the study findings.
"Organizations must forge closer links between marketing and customer
service functions and move beyond their function-by-function view of
the customer experience," said James Norwood, chief marketing
officer, KANA Software. "A consistent customer experience requires
complete coordination of activities across all touch points.
Furthermore, organizations should evaluate whether different -- and
even diametrically opposed -- metrics or KPIs within the various
parts of the organization are actually getting in the way of this
collaboration and overall success from a customer experience
perspective."
In response to the research, KANA offered the following
recommendations to help rectify the shortcomings and organizational
misalignments identified in the study:
-- Bring the insights from the contact center and the voice of the
customer initiatives into the board room, ideally with C-level
representation from customer service
-- Embed a rotation in customer service into senior executive training
and personal development plans, and involve operational managers in
critical stages of investment planning
-- Partner with industry suppliers to create seamlessly integrated
systems to enable complex business processes to be transformed into
effective customer experiences, simplifying for both agent and
customer
-- Understand how to accurately gauge customer satisfaction and
measurement in as much as it is a true predictor of future behavior
-- Evaluate what technology investments will reap customer experience
rewards, particularly when the current climate calls for a rational
approach
-- Manage contacts so that the correct proportion and type gets automated
or is facilitated by a human
Afull copy of the study report can be accessed here:
http://www.kana.com/smartservice.
About KANA Software
KANA makes every customer experience a good
experience. A global leader in customer service solutions delivered
on-premise or in the cloud, KANA lets organizations take complete
control over customer service interactions, so they can take care of
customers, while managing costs and reinforcing brand. By unifying
and maintaining context for customer journeys across agent, web,
social and mobile experiences, KANA solutions have reduced handling
time, increased resolution rates and improved net promoter score
(NPS) at more than 900 enterprises, including half of the Global 100
and more than 250 government agencies. KANA is based in Silicon
Valley, California and has offices worldwide.
Follow KANA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KANAsoftware
KANA is a registered trademark of KANA Software, Inc. All other
company and product names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw attachid=2152726
Contact:
Erin Lutz
Lutz PR for KANA Software, Inc.
+1 949 293 1055
Email Contact
SOURCE: KANA
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct id=43DB5F436129AC98
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