Scaling Up ServiceThree ways the contact center

can help retailers compete

The Rise of the Complex CallConsumers’ omni-channel expectations and the growth of alternate service channels like self-service pages on the website have turned the retail contact center on its ear. The role of the call center agent is dramatically changing from acting as a retailer’s front line in online service to becoming a specialized resource for handling highly complex and exception-based cross-channel inquiries.

Unfortunately, however, traditional customer service metrics such as average call length and call volume handled are ill equipped to analyze the efficacy and resolution of complex inquiries. So, too, are the myriad technologies they currently use to find information and address issues.

Align your CSRs’ tools with your customers’ needs.

Tip

56%of consumers contact customer service about post-transaction shipping or delivery questions.

The retail industry fields a higher ratio of complaints as a percentage of total call volume than any other industry. And the majority of those complaints have to do with complex transaction and delivery‑specific issues—issues least suited to self-service channels.

Source: CSI Group

The majority of consumers prefer dealing with live (vs. self-service) channels to address complex inquiries:

36% Telephone

33% Live Chat

25% Email

5% Online Support Portal

2% Social Media

Source: Microsoft

The growing focus on complex inquiries is putting stress on contact center agents to perform. The International Customer Management Institute found that 70% of call centers are experiencing performance issues, including broken processes, lower agent morale, and lower first contact resolution as a result of the increasing complexity of calls.*

What’s driving the complexity?

Even and uneven exchanges“I bought one of X, I’d like

two of Y.”

Cross-channel exchanges and returns

“I purchased a red one in the store, but then I found a blue

one online.”

Manual price overrides to match competitor pricing

“I found it later on sale for 10% off.”

Changing payment methods “I want to swap out

credit cards.”

Splitting payment “I forgot to apply a

gift card I had.”

Application of in-store promotions to online orders

“I didn’t realize your stores were running a sale on that item.

Appeasements“I was shipped the wrong

item…again!”

Late-stage order changes“Is it too late to cancel one

item and add another?”

*Source: ICMI

Adopt KPIs to measure how well you serve the customer, not just how fast.

Tip

Traditional measures of contact center effectiveness focus on efficiency of interactions—which in effect assumes that speed of service is the same as quality of service. Let’s look at some status quo measures of contact center efficacy:

Traditional Call Center Metrics Context Intended Outcome

Average Call Length or Handling Time Interaction Shorter calls

Service Level or Average Time in Queue Interaction Shorter wait times

Average After Call Work Time Interaction Higher throughput of calls

Transfer Rate Interaction Faster call routing

Abandonment Rate Interaction Shorter wait times and more effective IVR

First Call Resolution Interaction Fewer customer calls regarding the same issue (typically not specific to actual resolution steps or details of transaction)

Customer Satisfaction Interaction and Transaction Better agent performance (typically not specific to actual resolution steps or details of transaction)

Conversion/Up-Sell Rate Transaction Higher customer lifetime value and average order value

While these metrics continue to be valid, today’s competitive market is one in which customer switching costs (the cost that a consumer incurs as a result of changing brands, suppliers or products) are rapidly diminishing. It’s therefore important to ensure how well—as much as how quickly—customer issues are being addressed.

Focusing on speed of service can be a bit of a red herring when it comes to gauging quality of service. While it’s an extreme example, a recent well-documented customer call at Zappos—a company that prides itself on its contact center efficacy—lasted a full eight hours. The Zappos team member who took the call was lauded for exemplary customer service, and the brand received significant buzz for its extraordinary attention to service.

Expanding from Speed to Quality

Recommended Call Center Metrics Context Intended Outcome

Order modification success rate Transaction Improved order servicing flexibility

Appeasement frequency by category Transaction Identify areas of fulfillment process improvement

Proactive resolution of customer issues Transaction Improve loyalty by saving customers time from having to call

Issue resolution steps taken based on customer value

Transaction Prioritize more expensive resolution options for your highest value customers

Cross-channel inquiry resolution Transaction Create a more seamless, omni-channel brand reputation among customers

Customer follow-up Transaction Reinforce customer retention through transaction-specific follow-up after issue resolution

Issue resolution steps taken based on holistic customer sentiment

Transaction Make issue resolution more proactive by responding to indirect service triggers, such as social sentiment, return/exchange frequency, etc.

Using call center KPIs that are linked to the best possible resolution for both the customer and the brand, measured using real-time customer analytics and transaction-relevant metrics, helps keep focus on what’s important. To see how this works in practice, contrast status quo contact center KPIs with these recommended metrics:

Tip

Expand the reach of your contact center—and add a multiplier effect to your customer service investments.

• Managing multiple geographies and currencies

• Managing multiple brands of the retailer

• Extending the infrastructural technology of the contact center to other channels, such as the store and website

As customer service representatives become more holistic customer relationship and transaction experts, their role broadens to apply across the enterprise. In effect, they become “enterprise associates.” The expanded role of the contact center agent allows omni-channel contact centers to evolve into enterprise-wide customer experience touchpoints, rather than merely dedicated functions of specific channels. This expanded reach can apply in multiple ways:

Those problems are a product of disparate, legacy and channel-specific contact center technologies, which are soon to be displaced by progressive merchants.

Less than 13 PERCENT

can locate problem hotspots that affect the customer experience

Nearly67 PERCENT

of global retailerscan’t track interactions that span multiple channels

*Source: 2016 Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report, Dimension Data

The problem with most current contact center technologies is that they focus on interactions rather than transactions. The most glaring inadequacies of three common systems are:

• Traditional customer relationship management (CRM) – Doesn’t typically offer visibility into purchases and payments necessary to resolve more complex inquiries

• Interactive voice response (IVR) - Only capable of addressing the most basic of inquiries like order confirmation and arrival schedule

• E-commerce - Often duplicative of insight and order access that customers can gain on their own via the website

While IVR and CRM systems have their place, growing complexity of customer inquiries requires CSRs to have visibility into transactions across all channels. Facilitating this requires:

• Access to an omni-channel repository of transactions, which is often facilitated by an enterprise order management system

• A comprehensive user experience (UX) that connects CSRs to vital order information and service functions, such as order line-level status; order edits; payment status; omni-channel exchanges, returns and appeasements; full network inventory availability; and more

The Limitations of Current Contact Center Solutions

SIDE BAR

Contact centers get better when the right people, processes and technologies are brought together. As customer inquiries become more complex and consumer expectations continue to climb, the integration of enterprise order management with CRM and other contact center applications has become imperative to customer service quality.

Omni-Channel Customer Service solutions from Manhattan Associates allow retailers to convert their call centers into profit centers. Within the context of our Enterprise Order Management system, merchants can empower omni-channel customer service associates to assist shoppers with any question or concern, at any point on the customer journey.

Scale Up to the Challenge

• Provide CSRs fast and easy access to a customer’s most recent transactions originating from any channel

• Make order inquiry calls shorter by providing the most requested information with fewer clicks

• Provide ability to enter and manage orders in a call center

• Support order capture functions like pricing, promotions, taxes and payment processing

• Support returns/exchanges for orders from any channel

• Enable buy online, pick-up in store conversations with customers and accommodate their preferences

• Provide a view of the full lifecycle of every customer transaction

• Enable a rich user experience through an intuitive user interface

• Give CSRs the ability to sell across the entire network using multiple delivery methods like ship to address, pick-up in store and ship to store

Solution Features + Functions

Customer Service + Order Management + Store Solutions

Some things just work better together. Learn more about Omni-Channel Customer Service solutions from Manhattan Associates at www.manh.com.