unified communications - u.s. cellular for business · 2019-12-20 · improving customer service,...
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Visit us: uscellular.com/business | Call us: 1-866-616-5587All rights reserved: ©2018 U.S. Cellular
Unified Communications: Improving Customer Service, Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings
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Switching from traditional telecommunications to a
cloud-based phone system has massive benefits for
businesses. Today, organizations turn to Unified
Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to cut costs
and enhance security by bringing their online and
phone-based communications under a single
umbrella. Businesses who use UCaaS can realize
cost savings, added mobility, improved business
continuity and disaster recovery, and increased
operational and data security.
But the benefits to customers are just as significant,
leading to measurable returns on investment
thanks to improved conversion and loyalty over
time. UCaaS allows businesses to serve customers
— whose expectations have shifted in recent years
— by going mobile, expanding availability,
improving responsiveness and personalizing the
customer experience.
UCaaS Benefits for Businesses
UCaaS Benefits for Customers
1. Infrastructure cost savings
2. Added mobility & agility
3. Business continuity & disaster recovery
4. Increased security
1. Adherence to modern expectations &
standards
2. Expanded business availability
3. Improved responsiveness & decreased
response times
4. Personalized, customized service
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Though millennials drive many of these trends, they
are true for older generations (namely Boomers and
Gen X) as well. And the youngest customers, those
in Generation Z, have even higher expectations than
their predecessors. Companies hoping to attract
and retain millennials and Gen Zs must therefore
pay close attention to these features, all of which
UCaaS can enable or enhance.
Availability
“Business hours” are a thing of the past. With
e-commerce, social media and all forms of
communication available 24/7, it’s natural to want
companies to remain available too. Factor in global
connectivity, time zones, remote work and flexible
hours, and “9 to 5” means something different to
Today's customers want:
• Availability
• Responsiveness
• Messaging options
• Personalization
every customer. UCaaS solves the availability
problem by facilitating mobile and remote work
and offering more options for customer service.
For example, a small business owner could use UCaaS
to have a customer's after-hours call forwarded from
her office line to her mobile phone, allowing her to
respond to the customer directly from her business
phone number.
Responsiveness
Customers today have much less tolerance for
waiting, requiring businesses to shift their approach
to communications. Hold times, long phone trees
or waiting several hours for a message reply can
sour customers on a business, prompting them
to seek a more convenient provider. UCaaS
enables responsiveness with real-time, organized
communications that equip customer service
teams to collaborate and respond to inquiries in
a timely fashion.
Messaging options
Millennials and younger customers express a reduced
willingness to call businesses on the phone. Instead,
they prefer messaging — as do customers of all ages
who are busy, mobile or frustrated with hold times.
Messaging lets customers communicate when
multitasking or unable to make time for a phone call.
And because many younger customers are simply
more comfortable with messaging, options to text or
chat can put them at ease and encourage long term
loyalty. UCaaS makes messaging available from all
connected devices, business landline numbers, so
customers receive the same level of service no matter
their preferred method of communication.
Personalization
Customers now expect businesses to come prepared
with an understanding of their history, needs and other
data that differentiates them from other customers.
Meeting the Modern CustomerWhile 88% of companies may think that their
organization currently understands customer needs,
only 61% of customers feel that their needs are being
met. Within this gap lies $62 billion — the amount of
money businesses lose each year to poor customer
service.1 Fortunately, UCaaS helps businesses bridge
that gap and retain their customers.
The average customer no longer has an appetite
for meeting a business on its terms. Instead, today’s
customers increasingly expect near-constant
availability, quick responses and a variety of ways
to get in touch — all with a personalized experience.
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With UCaaS, organizations can link their business
intelligence and CRM systems to their
communications services to deliver intelligent
personalization and demonstrate to each customer
that their business is valued.
For example, when a customer calls, an integrated
UCaaS system can display their complete purchase
history to a representative automatically, without
any additional customer input.
The Mobility AdvantageGone are the days when businesses, especially small
businesses, could afford to leave their phones
behind and pick up customer messages back in the
office. Now, remote access to all communication
tools is vital to meeting customer expectations.
Integrated communication tools like UCaaS allow
total access to calls, voicemails, SMS and even
collaboration tools from any authorized device —
from desk phones to mobile phones to computers
and tablets. This access and flexibility allows
businesses to have increased agility and improved
response times for customers.
The Benefits of Business Mobility
1. Increased agility: Businesses that
work anywhere deliver results for their
customers faster.
2. Improved response times: Customers
are no longer willing to wait for
businesses to return calls.
This permits responses in a fraction of the time
without sharing personal numbers or otherwise
compromising data security. In addition, business
representatives can respond in the mode (calling,
texting or messaging) that each customer prefers
without having to switch devices.
This improved ability to respond has demonstrated
impact on customers’ attitudes toward businesses.
Responsiveness and availability have dramatic effects
on business favorability: a CMO Council report found
that the most important attribute of good customer
service is a fast response time.2 Meanwhile, 55% of
customers reported that not being able to talk to “a
real person” right away is the top reason they dislike
calling customer service.3
UCaaS enables owners and employees to receive
customer communications on one device, no matter
where they are. For instance, they can make business
calls from personal phones — with their business
number displayed on their outbound Caller ID.
Reasons customers dislike calling businesses:
1. Inability to reach a real person right away
(55%)
2. Having to repeat info to multiple reps (49%)
3. Waiting on hold (41%)
4. Navigating multiple menus (39%)
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Personalized Service Through Cloud CommunicationsWhile increased agility and mobility leading to more
responsive service is core to UCaaS, customers are
also keenly interested in the technology enabling
businesses to “know” them. Most businesses already
recognize that creating personalized experiences for
their customers will be integral to future success: 73%
of business leaders said that delivering a relevant and
reliable customer service experience was critical to
their success in 2017, and 93% agreed that it would be
critical in 2019.4
Personalization increases customer satisfaction,
retention and loyalty. And its inverse,
depersonalization, has extremely negative effects:
44% of customers express frustration when
companies fail to deliver relevant experiences,
including personalized customer service.5
Cloud communication technologies allow businesses
to both link their CRMs and other back-end systems
to their phone and messaging services. They also
enable companies to better understand who they’re
talking to and provide personalized service from the
start. Most businesses recognize that creating
personalized experiences for their customers will be
integral to future success.
According to a Rare Consulting study, personalization
is a massive loyalty driver, especially among younger
generations. And personalization is a high priority
for a significant percentage of customers of all
generations.6
ConclusionCloud communications clearly have a huge role
to play in modernizing business and allowing the
flexibility, agility and intelligence necessary to
compete in today’s marketplace. Businesses that
embrace the cloud can better serve their customers
by meeting modern expectations, using mobility
to their advantage and personalizing the customer
experience.
How generations value personalization
1. Boomers: 40%
2. Gen X: 48%
3. Millennials: 52%
4. Gen Z: 54%
At every customer touchpoint, businesses can know:
...all without asking the customer more than a few cursory questions.
• Details of the customer’s most recent contact
• Information on the customer’s purchase/service history
• An overview of the customer’s personal details
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Sources1. Researchscape International, 2017. “Talend Great Expectations Divide” survey.
Available at https://info.talend.com/rs/talend/images/pr_en_tld_datadivide_fullinfographic.jpg
2. CMO Council, 2017. The Customer in Context: Understanding the Real Expectations of Today's Connected Customer. Available at https://cmocouncil.org/thought-leadership/reports/the-customer-in-context
3. NewVoiceMedia, 2016. “The $62 Billion Customer Service Scared Away.” Available at https://www.newvoicemedia.com/en-us/news/the-62-billion-customer-service-scared-away
4. Harvard Business Review, 2017. “Closing the Customer Experience Gap.” Available at https://hbr.org/sponsored/2017/08/closing- the-customer-experience-gap
5. Harvard Business Review, 2017. “Closing the Customer Experience Gap.” Available at https://hbr.org/sponsored/2017/08/closing- the-customer-experience-gap
6. Rare Consulting, 2016. “Rare: Redefining Loyalty.” Available at https://rare.consulting/rare-research/loyalty
To learn more about cloud-based communication systems that can benefit businesses, visit U.S. Cellular — the network that works
In the Middle of Anywhere.
To learn more, call 1-866-616-5587 or go to uscellular.com/business
Visit us: uscellular.com/business | Call us: 1-866-616-5587All rights reserved: ©2018 U.S. Cellular