This is a ready-made opportunity for businesses to shine. All of the components discussed above—better data, data integration across channels and lines of business, using data for prediction—can all be brought to bear in transforming call-center interactions with unhappy customers from "Hail Mary" account-preservation offers to positive conversations that can extend and grow customer relationships. Marketing automation that enables real-time decisioning can equip call centers to capitalize on customer needs at a particular point in time.
For example: If a customer calls incensed regarding over-limit charges on a bill, a quick review of the customer's usage patterns may uncover new ways to save, or new services that the customer may want to consider. A customer questioning the value of his/her current TV package may be enticed by a limited-time offer to try new channels, or a triple-play package that gives them more for their money. A customer calling to make an account change, such as adding a teenager to their cell plan, may benefit from a rethink of their overall service bundle.
Rather than using a series of pre-prioritized prompts, advanced real-time decisioning generates best-next-action prompts specific to the customer and interaction themselves.
Advanced real-time decisioning considers context from the perspective of what the customer has done recently (account behaviors and interactions such as usage, payment patterns, and service contacts); contacts he/she has received (recent marketing activity, promotions, billing communications and more); how, when and where the contact was initiated; as well as the reason for the interaction in the first place.
This more timely and holistic view can present the most current, relevant, and appropriate offers--and demonstrate a true understanding of the customer. Because the offers are more closely aligned with the customers' needs, the benefits of this best next action approach are two-fold:
- The likelihood of a sale is higher.
- The interaction is more likely to be viewed positively (sale or not) by the customer, strengthening satisfaction and loyalty, and reducing the likelihood of attrition.
The Bottom Line: A Better Customer Experience Doesn't Happen by Accident
Let's go back to the question "Why is the quality of customer care being provided by telecommunications companies failing to meet consumers' expectations when the services they provide generally do?"It seems that the shoemakers' children are going barefoot. The very companies that have such extraordinary powers for helping people connect with each other are not communicating as effectively as they could within their organizations and with their customers.
This is a tremendous opportunity for forward-thinking telecoms that start putting their customer data to better use for acquisition, retention, loyalty and customer lifetime value.
About Pitney Bowes Software
Pitney Bowes Software, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes Inc., is a software & services company that enables communications providers to acquire, serve and grow lifetime relationships with their customers.
Our proven solutions enable organizations to engage with each of their customers as individuals and to connect every customer communication ‐ outbound, inbound, marketing, sales or service ‐ into an on‐going dialogue where customer insight and understanding forms the basis for each and every interaction. The end result is that your customers, no matter how or where the contact was made, always go away with the feeling that you know them, you understand them, you care for them and you value them.
