Remembering our principles
In these papers we explored our own definitions and standards of customer service (‘excellent’, our minimum and ‘remarkable’, a service standard we aspire to meet as often as possible) and introduced 4 principles that we believed brought technology and customer service together.
For us, these are principles to be considered when introducing technology (and specifically, online technology) to help improve customer service. We are using them as the basis of developing our customer service platform; our technology ‘values’ if you like.
I want to briefly re-visit these principles as we dust-off our old white papers for some renewed focus and research. Despite maturing ideas and fast development, these principles are still closely tied to our mission and technology.
Self-service
Self-service is arguably the customer service ideal for many industries. It’s quick and convenient for the customer, introduces transparency to the process and gives access to other web-based services, online communities and information of interest.
Self-service isn’t always the most suitable service channel but providing it as a genuine choice is fundamental to remarkable customer service.
Personalisation
It’s fairly obvious that great customer service means a personalised service. The online experience must be at least as personalised as speaking to someone on the phone (although sometimes, that’s a pretty low threshold)
We think the customer should be immediately identified, profiled and presented with information most likely to interest them. They should only have to enter their information once, be offered a configurable experience so they can determine how they view and use the service and importantly, given the ability to access and edit their personal information. Software such as Live Chat systems can also help create a personalised, online experience and are often more efficient than using alternative assisted channels.
Centralised Delivery
Centralised delivery means providing all the necessary information required to address a customer enquiry in a single interaction.
Any information that customers can obtain from an organisation should be available through a single, transparent service point, whether its personal data tied to their account or more general information.
Customer and service information should be easy to find, understand and use, regardless of which business area maintains it.
Community
Online communities are a growing phenomenon which allows members to collaborate, share and assist one another. Supporting a collaborative customer community is a sign that an organisation trusts their customers, wants to listen and recognises that sometimes other customers can provide better service than the company itself.
Providing the tools for a customer community to grow and to feedback is fairly simple but requires an organisational attitude towards openness which, as with many of these principles, cannot be achieved by technology alone.
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