Editorial
The Gist
- Centralized data. Empower frontline workers with real-time insights and comprehensive data to make better, more informed decisions, enhancing overall efficiency.
- Seamless transitions. Ensure smooth handovers from self-service to live agents, reducing friction and improving customer retention and satisfaction.
- Proactive service. Address potential issues before they escalate, significantly boosting customer satisfaction and fostering a positive brand perception.
Frontline workers are crucial in shaping the customer experience, impacting first impressions, customer engagement, problem resolution and more. And though they make up 70% of the US workforce, frontline workers are often the least empowered and engaged. According to McKinsey, frontline workers feel the lowest level of support and highest levels of burnout, which hinders both the employee and customer experience.
So how can organizations empower customer-facing teams to make better decisions and provide an exceptional customer experience? Ultimately, it comes down to the centralization of data, which provides workers with the context needed to make better decisions.
Here are a few ways organizations can do just that.
Bridging the Gap: Innovating Customer Service Transitions
Though many customers prefer the convenience of self-service, chatbots and FAQ pages aren’t able to resolve all issues. Unfortunately, this critical transition between self-service and customer service is a point of failure for many brands.
Gartner found that 62% of customer service channel transitions are “high effort” and drive nearly half of customers away from self-service in the future. On the other hand, 74% of customers who experience an easy transition to an agent say they’ll use self-service again.
Because representatives aren’t asking customers to repeat information, seamless transitions also reduce call times by an average of four minutes per interaction. This empowers frontline workers with the information they need to quickly and efficiently resolve issues. It also empowers customers by giving them the confidence to return to self-service in the future.
Brands can create seamless customer service transitions that benefit customers and organizations alike.
Leverage Technology to Create Context
Rather than repeating information to customer service reps, technology should give agents all the context they need to quickly and efficiently solve customer issues.
Guide the Customer Journey
Brands should guide customers through the self-service journey rather than leaving them to find their own way. Tools like pop-ups, case creation and digital interactive voice response can ensure customers stay on the right path.
Advertise Seamless Transitions
Emphasizing how easy it will be to get extra help if they need it will encourage customers to try self-service.
Related Article: Customer Support: Definition, Importance & 5 Essential Strategies
Empathy: A CX Superpower
More than 85% of brands believe empathy is a key driver of customer loyalty, and 67% of consumers prefer empathetic customer service over efficient resolutions. Still, nearly half of brands find it challenging to express empathy.
When frontline workers lack the autonomy and authority to make key decisions, empathetic customer service becomes particularly difficult. Instead, brands should bake empathy into customer service policies and grant frontline workers the freedom to exercise empathy when the occasion calls for it.
Brands should follow the lead of pet ecommerce brand Chewy, which has built a name for itself through simple acts of kindness to its customers. The brand made headlines for sending bereavement cards, pet portraits, courtesy refunds and countless other empathy-fueled interactions between frontline workers and customers. These actions create lasting emotional bonds with customers and capture the heart of small businesses, even as a company grows.
Related Article: Empathy & AI in Customer Experience: How Their Tango Can Wow
The Power of Proactivity
Unsurprisingly, most consumers (83%) say they want brands to proactively solve problems before the customer makes the effort to call or message the company. Likewise, 92% of consumers say proactive customer service changes their perception of a brand in a positive way, and 87% say it motivates them to take positive action.
This shift from reactive to proactive delights customers and empowers frontline workers by giving them the authority to help customers before problems escalate. For example, Quest Diagnostics recently shifted from reactive to proactive by streamlining patient check-in with an interactive self-service kiosk.
This solution saves frontline workers time and reduces patient wait times by automating insurance card scanning, wait list queuing, pre-registration and more. More importantly, frontline workers are equipped with greater knowledge and context to better serve patients.
Unifying the Last Mile: Strategies for Brand Consistency
Though outsourcing last-mile delivery can help brands save money and expand reach, ensuring brand consistency with last-mile workers can be challenging. Nearly all consumers (98%) say delivery is an important factor in brand loyalty, yet 61% of retailers say they lack visibility in the last mile.
Brands can overcome this disconnect by providing last-mile workers with the tools and data they need to better serve customers, including:
Comprehensive Training
Last-mile workers should have access to in-depth training on processes, standards and products. Amazon exemplifies strong last-mile training with its Last Mile Driver Academy, an on-site course that teaches last-mile workers driving safety, loading and organizing techniques, package handling tips and more.
Brand Guidelines and Standards
Clear and concise brand guidelines and standards ensure consistency for all types of last-mile and frontline workers, including delivery teams, retailers and partners.
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Leveraging Critical Data
Brands can help last-mile workers provide a better customer experience by leveraging data to provide information about what’s selling in the local area, industrywide trends and more. They can also leverage data to measure worker performance and provide feedback on how last-mile workers can improve.
The Future of Customer Service: Empowering Frontline Workers With Centralized Data
The frontline revolution is here. Brands can adapt by providing frontline workers with the centralized data systems and context necessary to make better decisions.
When brands leverage critical information about customer history, inventory and other real-time insights, frontline workers are empowered to personalize interactions and foster a customer experience that drives loyalty and brand advocacy.
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