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Contact Center Challenges Due To Changes in Customer Behaviour

As we transition from the Age of Information, or the internet of things and move into the Age of Engagement, have the challenges we faced on along the way changed? have they stayed the same? Or are they just getting harder?

Having run some of the largest contact centres in the UK, whilst some of the demand/contacts may have reduced as customers are doing it for themselves, such as basic queries or just checking on things, the challenges from the past 10 years are still prevalent with new trends emerging.

Messy Processes – Messy Customer Experiences?

Yeah, I am sure you have heard it at least once in your life: “Sorry, it is against our policy”. Lately I have head too many times “It is against regulations”. How is it against regulations when others are doing it? Nah, it is just a easy escape from offering bad customer experiences. How many companies actually mix bad internal processes with regulations? Quite many it seems!

What’s The Right Measure?

This was the theme from many of the questions in a discussion around customer experience measures and metrics that I was involved in at the end of 2014.

It’s a good question to debate and discuss, and I’ll outline some of the points below, but it also goes to highlight a potential human weakness. That of the constant search for a ‘silver bullet’ solution to our problems and challenges and I’m certainly not exempt from that temptation either.

If You Want The Truth – Ask The Question 3 Times

We are surprisingly simple – Which makes us really complicated

I was chatting to a colleague Jon Marrs who is in the US exploring opportunities last night, and the thought occurred – It always starts with a question, but do we really understand how complicated it is to ask the right questions?

2+2 = 5 Bad Maths or The Way Forward?

Why Customer Experience Has The Power To Affect Change. I thought this was worth bringing back out as we do tend to live in a volume related world and there is a big temptation to keep churning ‘stuff’ out. But every so often it feels good to go back and kick the coals over and share.

Which Comes First – Activity or Change?

So we like principles like Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point because it resonates with us. The feeling that nothing worth having comes easily, and even the most gifted have to work hard (10 years) to get a top quartile result. It just makes sense….. does it not? Now that leads to a thought which I have been having a ponder on, which is – what sits at the heart of people who excel Vs those that don’t – besides 10 years of effort, and I think it is to do with Volume & Risk.

People Powered Change

Now those who read this blog will know a recurring theme is the need to dress old ideas up as new ones, with the skill being in spotting which one of these ideas ‘time’ – usually based on something that started out in Kotler On Marketing – has come round again. For the winners in 2015, I think the new idea will be leveraging the greatest untapped resource most companies have. Their own Colleagues…

One Constant… Lots Of Variety

So we are a year old. What have we learned? We set up Custerian because we want to help business’s be more successful. Perhaps its an age thing, but you do get to a point in life where you appreciate phrases like ‘Giving Back’ or ‘Paying Forward’ more, so this altruistic outlook, making other’s successful, makes sense.

Get Tw’rking – Maybe more business should get Tw’rking

Now don’t worry I am not suggesting that you down tools and ask your colleagues to start sticking their bums out with a little shake – although that may improve colleague engagement. What I am talking about is ‘Teleworking’! Giving people the freedom to work from home. So will we really see more UK tw’rking! … Continue reading →

What’s Your Proposition?

If You Don’t Have A Proposition, You Can’t Do Big Things What’s your proposition? A simple question, and often one that is met with a blank stare, or a (repeated without much conviction) statement of a few words from the Marketing owned Brand Guidelines – by way of digression, my favourite of all time (and quite …..

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