Are Your Online Customer Service KPI’s Going In the Wrong Direction?

Posted on November 30, 2012 in Blog, Customer Service Software, Online Self Service, Virtual Agent Software, Web Self Service

Customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, loyalty, Net Promoter® Score and other performance metrics are all effective at measuring the health of your business. So naturally, you work hard at trying to deliver an outstanding service experience whenever possible. It’s rewarding to see these KPIs improve over time. But what if those same KPIs start moving in the wrong direction? Of even greater concern, what if you can’t figure out why?

With more and more customer interactions beginning online, it makes sense to start by improving the online experience you are delivering to your online visitors. It also helps to think like today’s web-savvy consumer. This may seem intuitive, but many businesses don’t do this. Their online presence is proof as many corporate websites are very confusing to consumers. And this is not good news if your organization is trying to improve its online service KPIs.

Customers today are treating your company’s website as their first point of contact to ask questions, and resolve their issues.  In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review article based on an extensive consumer survey showed that 57.7% of callers to a call center were on the website before calling, and a staggering 34.4% are still on the website!
With this in mind, a few things that will frustrate consumers when they are online and possibly lead to poor overall customer satisfaction are:

• Hunting for Answers
  When customers have to hunt for answers on densely populated websites that feature outdated help tools like FAQ’s and site search, it can have serious consequences when it comes to customer satisfaction.  According to Forrester Research, “The success of self-service interactions hinges on effortless, easy service. Forty-five percent of US online adults say they will abandon a purchase if they cannot find a quick answer to their question.¹ So not only do customers walk away disappointed, but there’s a missed revenue opportunity.

• No Escalation Options
  For those consumers that do stick around on your website, it can be a challenge when there are no obvious ways to escalate their question through chat, email or phone, should additional assistance be required. The fact is, questions do arise that require the assistance of a live contact center agent, and it’s important to make this transition from your website to these other customer interaction channels as seamless as possible.

• Limiting Their Choices
  Henry Ford was once quoted saying, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.” While this mindset might have made sense in the early days of assembly line manufacturing and mass production where economies of scale and efficiency took priority, it doesn’t cut it today. Customers expect a superior experience across any interaction channel they choose including the corporate website, social media, mobile or contact center agents. Offering only a few such as website or agent support will erode customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, loyalty, and Net Promoter® Score since customers who choose to interact with you through mobile or social media channels, will receive a less than satisfactory experience.

Are your online customer service KPIs going in the wrong direction? Do you have the right customer self-service tools built into all your service channels (web, mobile, social and agent desktop) to accommodate your customers?

To learn more about Virtual Agents and how they can help your company improve your online customer service KPIs, watch this video.

Watch the Video: Your Customer Satisfaction Scores Need to be Better

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1.  “Implement Effective Customer Service Metrics”, Forrester Research Inc., August 21, 2012.

NPS®, Net Promoter® & Net Promoter® Score are registered trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company and Fred Reichheld.