Due to factors from the past few years, including the pandemic and increased digital transformation, customer expectations have heightened – and being able to offer omnichannel customer service has never been more important. Customers expect faster, more personalised communication, whether that’s in first call resolution, relevant cross-sell or upsell offers, and more. However, organisations are still struggling to deliver, with customer wait times tripling and customer service employee turnover soaring from around 50% to as much as 300% in some businesses.

How can organisations successfully deliver on the rising demands of the customer and communicate in the right way? And what are the implications if they fail?

1. Knowing the right channel

Evolving behaviours, a rise in vulnerable customers, and the upcoming requirements outlined by the FCA Consumer Duty highlight a growing need for organisations to understand how to communicate in the right way.

A survey showed that 75% of people who struggled with anxiety stated they avoided face-to face, phone and postal communications altogether regarding managing their utility bills.

With the number of vulnerable customers continually on the rise – impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, ongoing pandemic and more – implementing new ways of engaging should be at the top of organisations’ agendas to avoid customer churn. Businesses that choose inflexible or a single channel approach to communicate will only lower customer engagement and increase dissatisfaction.

Utilising an omnichannel customer engagement approach can help identify and engage with those at risk, and increase the likelihood of resolving issues, collecting payments, and delivering better experiences for customers and outcomes for businesses.

2. Unlocking your customer insights

There’s customer data a plenty in every organisation, but sometimes it’s hidden or not easily accessible. In CallMiner’s recent CX Landscape Report, 58% of organisations say their CX teams are not completely aligned with the rest of the business. Disjointed team alignment can also cause data siloes, which create challenges when addressing the needs of customers.

It’s essential for organisations to use tools that work together in harmony and provide a holistic view of the customer journey. That way, they can gain the actionable insights needed to provide better communications and service to their customers. When organisations understand their customer demands and reasons for their contact, they are able to arm their agents with the knowledge to successfully deliver the appropriate resolution.

3. Getting personal

Personalisation is now expected as standard, and those who don’t deliver this risk being zoned out. A recent study revealed that 84% of consumers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business and 91% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them.

For organisations to deliver this, they need data, and to use this data to drive actions. Organisations that utilise technology, such as conversation intelligence, to combine all of their data, can analyse customer journey touchpoints and use these insights to develop and drive more personalised messaging through their channels. With these insights, organisations are equipped with the knowledge on things like when to deliver a message, which channel they should use, and why it’s appropriate for that moment.

4. Making your employees happy

The majority of consumers (83%) said they were more likely to purchase from a brand that they had an emotional connection with. Building these connections begins with your agents, who are on the frontline and the voice of your brand. However, with agents having a higher-than-average turnover rate and many suffering from burnout, these challenges have to be addressed.

Providing agents with tools to automate the common administrative, time-consuming tasks can help alleviate some of the pressure they may feel in their day-to-day role. When agents are happy and are better equipped to deal with customer issues, they improve customer satisfaction through more effective and efficient communication.

5. Investing in the right technology

Market competition is fierce, and customers do not have the time to wait for organisations to start delivering the experiences they expect (nor do they need to). A multitude of competitor offerings, products and services are already on your customers’ radar, and they’ll be ready to move on quickly and easily if you don’t fulfil their requirements.

Investing and adopting in the right technology is paramount to successfully providing the experiences customers demand. The right technology can drive business improvements, operational efficiencies, and employee performance, and deliver value at speed to your customer base.

To learn more, join me at Credit Connect’s Online Collections Technology Think Tank on February 23 at 9:40am for a session on ‘The value of customer engagement and communications’, where we will be exploring: What are the best strategies? What is the best mix between people and technology? How can we ensure the best customer outcomes are achieved every time we communicate?

Register your place today: https://www.credit-connect.co.uk/collections-technology-think-tank/