Category: Customer Experience

“The best way to learn if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
– Ernest Hemingway
Companies that practice what I call “leadership bravery” are choosing to reverse the trend on business practices that have defined their industries. Through leadership guidance and company actions,  they are establishing more balanced relationships, where both sides win.  Both customer and company are better off because they are in each other’s lives.
What Does Leadership Bravery Look Like?
Ask how we will and will not grow.
Three common behaviors are common among these admired companies as they move in this direction. First, leaders are clear about how they will and will not grow.  Leaders diligently take actions to point out exactly what the high road is; creating a path for the company to follow.  For example, by refusing to open their stores on Black Friday, REI’s CEO took a stand to inspire employees and the marketplace by deciding how they would and would not grow.  For REI, Black Friday is a family day, not a commerce day.  Airbnb takes the high road by showing employees how to embrace the coda “belong anywhere:” building its culture of “belonging.”
Lean into transparency.
Next, they choose to be transparent in explaining the “why” behind their actions, such as pricing or how and why they build products the way that they do.  By sharing information about their products and pricing, and by openly transferring knowledge to customers they prove they want to do what’s best for them.
When writing my book, Would You Do That To Your Mother?, I learned a term that describes this approach to fearlessly sharing, that builds bonds with customers: “radical transparency.” In that book, you’ll read about OVO Energy in the UK, who practices this level of transparency with customers by opening up their pricing plans to the public, outlining exactly what the energy costs are to them, so customers feel equity in what they are paying.  As a result, they are earning customer raves and growth.
Transparency, increasingly, is becoming more important to customers, and more differentiating for brands.  A recent Harvard Business Review article cites a study by researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management, which found that consumers may be willing to pay 2% to 10% more for products from companies that provide greater supply chain transparency.
Level the playing field.
Finally, these admired companies choose to level the playing field, reducing or eliminating practices where in the past, customers might have felt that the company was holding all the cards. They are deliberately resisting or changing industry practices so that customers feel a balanced and equitable partnership, and one based on trust. For example, Luscious Garage brings the technician and customer together as partners making decisions.  As a result, they have eliminated that phone call of waiting for the ‘final’ estimate of the car repair, turning the experience instead into one of collaboration, trust, and even joy.
Why Take the High Road?
Some of the high-road actions these admired companies take to grow may sound irrational.  But repeatedly, examples of their bravery in committing to customer relationships have proven otherwise.  They build bonds by the humanity that their acts display.
The high road is a choice.  And while it’s not always the easiest choice, it’s the one you’ll be happiest about in the rearview mirror. It’s the stuff that clearly makes that mom of yours proud.
The high road is also the route to success for companies who take this path. Empirical data and anecdotes from customers and employees prove that behaving in this manner grows a business.  Fred Reichheld was one of the first to connect the dots between “golden rule behavior” and business growth.  Further, Danny Meyer’s Hospitality Quotient proves how companies with business practices and employees that deliver values based and human experiences significantly beat the S&P 500. But the key to growing in this manner is leadership.  Leaders must build a company that believes that doing the right thing is the right way to grow.

Some of the high-road actions companies take to grow may sound irrational. But repeatedly, examples of their bravery in committing to customer relationships have proven otherwise. It can be a route to success.Click To Tweet

Leadership Bravery Pays Dividends
As customers, we desire to give our trust to companies who trust us back.  We seek out companies whose employees are given permission to do the right thing, and where we are honored as assets. We breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude when “Gotcha!” moments are flipped to “We’ve got your back” moments. We applaud accountability  because we know that everyone makes mistakes.  And we thank goodness for the companies who level the playing field, and give us information to prosper.
It takes all of us years of experience to figure out exactly how we, as leaders, will take the high road.  But as we go through the ups and downs of living…it becomes clearer.  Situations provide the choice.  The hard work is having the life lessons to test it out.  Those moments where my dad would say to me, “Jeanne, you can learn from this if you let yourself.”

This blog post is excerpted and adapted from Would You Do That To Your Mother? 
Learn more about the book and find out where to order »
The post 3 Actions to Take on the Road to Leadership Bravery appeared first on Customer Bliss.

Slowly, or all at once.

Culture shifts slowly. “People like us do things like this.” Seismic events may make newspaper headlines, but they don’t rapidly change the way human beings in community behave.

Instead, the status quo erodes, redefining itself as it goes. If you’re the kind of person who believes in what’s all around us (which is most of us), then you won’t change your beliefs until the people around you change as well.

That’s why the smallest viable audience is so important. Focusing on a specific group of people, understanding their beliefs, engaging with empathy, creating new social norms and then, peer-to-peer, spreading the new normal.

Science, on the other hand, can shift more rapidly. A new paper detailing groundbreaking research on Parkinson’s disease, for example, can persuade 100 of the right doctors and funders of a paradigm shift. If they’re participating in the scientific method, they’ll do their research and change their assumptions.

And then, as always, it goes back to the slow move toward culture shift. It took twenty years for the medical community to embrace the fact that ulcers were caused by bacteria, not pastrami sandwiches. The bacteria didn’t care if the community believed in them, but the patients were glad the doctors made a new decision based on new information.

The culture is changing far more rapidly than it ever has before. And yet, it still changes slowly enough for us to grow impatient when important ideas and practices around health, justice and community are ignored.

And yet it changes. Persistent and consistent effort with focus is our only way forward.

With the world slowly opening up to the possibility of travelling, the sector starts growing hopes in the travel industry recovery. Dave Burling, chief executive at Tui Group, Britain’s largest holiday company, pointed out that as “restrictions come off, demand will come back, bringing cash flow and jobs.” The demand is very much there. An…
The post The role of customer experience in the travel industry recovery appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

The line has officially blurred between digital and in-store experiences for consumers. With that comes big pressure on retailers to deliver a better customer experience (CX), with more than half (58%) of retail customers telling us that their expectations for interactions with their preferred brands and retailers are higher than a year ago. The contact center plays a huge role in elevating and unifying the customer experience. Most CX professionals (74%) said that customer interactions with the contact center have a significant influence on CX—a share anticipated to rise to 90% within two years. Full article: https://www.talkdesk.com/blog/future-of-retail-contact-center/
submitted by /u/vesuvitas [link] [comments]

The global pandemic changed the way we interact with each other, and with brands. Driven by emotional and transactional needs, consumers across the world have demonstrated their values – and indicated their plans for the future. In mid-2021, the Qualtrics XM Institute surveyed over 1,000 people in the UK as part of its wider global…
The post How the pandemic has made UK consumers rethink their relation to brands appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

submitted by /u/CX-Expert [link] [comments]

Look around your call center. Do your agents seem tired, frustrated, or fed up with work?
Call centers have a reputation for being difficult places to work, especially for front-line agents. This results in high agent churn or disengaged employees. A poor work culture inevitably has a direct impact on your customer experience ─ in other words, if your agents aren’t happy, your customers won’t be either.
Agents are the heart of your call center, so it’s in your best interest to ensure they are satisfied and motivated in their daily work. Start by exploring our list of agent engagement strategies below.
A Guide to Fostering Agent Engagement in a Hybrid Contact Center
The Challenge of Driving Agent Engagement
Working as an agent can often be exhausting and discouraging. It is common for customers to be frustrated when contacting support, and agents are the most likely to catch the brunt of their rage. It takes someone with great self-control and tremendous disposition to be a successful call center agent, but even the most natural customer service professionals are susceptible to the effects of low morale.
It is up to your leadership team to cultivate a positive and engaging work environment where your staff can perform at their best. With the right tools and training, a positive work culture, and proper incentives, you can help your agents thrive.
3 Reasons Why Agent Satisfaction is the New Customer Satisfaction
5 Agent Engagement Strategies for Your Call Center
1. Involve your corporate culture in the call center.
There are still businesses that view their contact centers as “cost centers”. But many successful companies are now discovering the importance of maximizing customer interaction and instilling this value for all departments and employees.
Online retailer Zappos is a great example. They achieved legendary status for their customer service by focusing on employee culture. In fact, their former CEO Tony Hsieh is famous for saying, “we’re a service company that happens to sell shoes.”
Call center workers at Zappos receive seven weeks of training on company culture and customer happiness. Plus, employees at all levels of the company are required to spend time on the phone so they understand what it’s like to serve their customers.
2. Reward your team regularly.
Given the repetitive nature of call center work and the metrics-based approach used to track performance, it can be challenging to keep agents focused and motivated. Providing rewards is a common way to incentivize them ─ however, be warned that when applied improperly, this approach can backfire and cause resentment and rivalry in the team.
Get strategic with your rewards. Consider offering additional compensation (bonuses) based on group-wide performance. This emphasizes the importance of teamwork and collaboration and encourages your agents to work together and even mentor one another.
On an individual level, get into the habit of recognizing agents for achievements, milestones, and going above and beyond in their work. Regular acts of public recognition can really improve morale and bring out the positive spirit in everyone.
3. Invest in the right tools and technology.
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, many call centers are understandably hesitant to invest in new upgrades. However, providing your agents with the proper tools helps them feel valued, and makes their daily work easier and more enjoyable.
Worried about the budget? Remember that the right technologies can actually lower your operational costs while improving the experience for both customers and call center staff. Removing the more monotonous and frustrating parts of the job allows the agent to enjoy the better parts of their role, like engaging with customers and solving issues.
Don’t be afraid to explore newer technologies. Speech analytics is a great example, as it can help companies create more accurate profiles for customers, leading to better quality conversations and happier employees. Call-back technology is another popular option for its ability to lower call spikes and ease customer frustration by eliminating the need for long hold times. These solutions shorten handle times by ensuring conversations start off on a positive note.
Top Contact Center Technology Trends in 2021
4. Measure what really matters.
If you tell your customers that they’re your “top priority”, you should tell your staff the same thing. Otherwise, your call center reps are likely to spend their time worried about how many calls they handle, instead of making sure customer issues are actually resolved.
Sarcasm aside, the specific motivation of agents is often at odds with the marketing directive of the company. So why not measure metrics that are more aligned with corporate goals? For example, use CSat scores as a function of productivity. Allowing staff to see this data and understand how they contributed to a customer’s satisfaction can go a long way in keeping them motivated.
5. Let your agents shine.
It sounds cheesy, but it’s true: one of the best ways to empower employees is to give them autonomy outside of answering customer calls. Your agents are on the frontlines of customer service every day, which makes them a great source for fresh ideas.
Give them opportunities to participate in the planning and training process and create channels where they can provide feedback. Agent engagement surveys are a great way to collect this information. Trust us, your agents will be a lot more motivated knowing their employer values their ideas and contributions.
How to Make a Call Center Agent Engagement Survey The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

It will be a long time before I spell “handkerchief” incorrectly. That’s because in third grade, I lost the entry round of the spelling bee to my friend Elisa because I got it wrong. Who knew that there was a “d”?

And now I know where I keep the thermos in my house. I spent twenty minutes looking for it the other day, and failed. A few days later, I came across it. Because of the previous challenge of missing it, my brain was on high alert when it finally appeared.

That’s how we learn most of the foundational things that we know, remember and care about–not through exposure, but through effort and failure.

That’s why tests aren’t nearly as useful as projects. Just about anything worth learning is worth learning the hard way.

AVANT Named Newest UJET Master Agent Partner

Collaboration unites UJET’s CCaaS 3.0 cloud contact center platform with AVANT’s forward-thinking vision, execution, and performance management capabilities, including its Trusted Advisor platform.
82% of enterprise customers work with Trusted Advisors to help make and execute technology purchasing decisions, according to AVANT’s 2021 State of Disruption Report; the combined, complementary capabilities of UJET’s ultra-modern enterprise cloud-based contact center with AVANT’s best-in-class ecosystem of Trusted Advisors provides clients with a complete solution that meets the needs of the modern day customer and elevates their CX.
Brands will be able to rapidly deploy the integrated solution for customer experiences tailored exactly to their business—from high-growth startups to large enterprises.  

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 8, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
AVANT, a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier distributor for next generation technology, and UJET, Inc., the world’s first and only CCaaS 3.0 cloud contact center, today announced a new strategic partnership. The partnership brings together UJET’s ultra-modern enterprise cloud-based contact center with AVANT’s best-in-class ecosystem of Trusted Advisors, providing clients with an all-in-one solution to build customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and long-term value through a secure, scalable and reliable implementation model.
“Cloud native omnichannel” solutions have proven insufficient for delivering modern customer experiences in the smartphone era. Traditional CCaaS solutions all attempt to minimize the friction and frustration that is created when consumers switch between multiple channels while attempting to resolve issues. With CCaaS 3.0, channel switching can be eliminated altogether by leveraging the smartphone’s native capabilities to blend channels fluidly, offering more efficient, contextual, and personalized customer journeys.
“UJET’s next generation platform has the potential to truly disrupt our space and improve CX for our customers. This is the same type of innovation that drives the AVANT Trusted Advisor platform,” said Shane McNamara, EVP of Engineering and Operations, “The combined capabilities of AVANT and UJET will provide our clients with a solution that transforms the customer experience to drive brand loyalty, growth and operational-efficiency.” 
UJET taps into the power of the smartphone to offer consumers an intuitive, natural UI for self-service, interacting with agents, sharing digital media, making secure payments, and rating their interaction – all without ever leaving the app or web experience.  
“UJET is passionate about disrupting the contact center and modernizing customer experiences,” said Karen Bowman, Vice President of Global Channel, UJET, “The customer-first philosophy shared by AVANT and UJET helps enterprises around the world build brand trust and loyalty by delivering truly exceptional customer interactions.”
By leveraging UJET’s ultra-modern cloud contact center, AVANT further enhances its ability to increase productivity, customer satisfaction and cost savings on behalf of clients around the world. Through this one-of-a-kind partnership, AVANT and UJET are setting a new benchmark for the contact center solutions market with scalability, security, and reliability. 
Additional Resources:

See AVANT’s 2020 Year in Review for a look back at some of their biggest accomplishments, featured highlights, and more.
Learn about AVANT’s Trusted Advisor Academy, a new certification program available in AVANT’s Pathfinder, that offers training and certification courses for today’s most innovative technology solutions to strengthen and bolster the expertise and credibility of the Trusted Advisor by helping them train like pros.
See UJET as a Leader by G2 in Contact Center Operations for the 4th Consecutive Quarter and other recent awards and recognition

Hear directly from customers why they selected ujet.cx and the difference it has made in their contact centers 

Tweet this: Ready for the next generation of #CX? @avant_ccc and @ujetcx are excited to announce a new strategic partnership as an integrated solution to help brands transcend omnichannel to deliver unified CX for the smartphone era.
Social Networks:
AVANT

Web: https://goavant.net/

Pathfinder: https://goavant.net/company/pathfinder/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/avant_ccc

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/avant-communications_2/

UJET

Web:  www.ujet.cx

Blog:  https://ujet.cx/blog

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/ujetcx

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/company/ujetcx

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/ujetcx

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/ujetcx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ujetcx

About AVANT
AVANT is a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier distributor for next-generation technologies. AVANT provides unique value to its extensive network of Trusted Advisors with original research, channel sales assistance, training, and tools to guide decision-making around IT services that promote business growth. From complex cloud designs to global wide-area network deployments to the latest in security services, AVANT sets the industry standard in enabling its partners and clients to make intelligent, data-driven decisions about services, technology, and cost-effective communications. For more information, visit www.goavant.net, or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About UJET
UJET is the world’s first and only cloud contact center platform for smartphone era CX. By modernizing digital and in-app experiences, UJET unifies the enterprise brand experience across sales, marketing, and support, eliminating the frustration of channel switching between voice, digital, and self-service for consumers. Offering unsurpassed resiliency and the flexibility to deploy across leading public cloud infrastructures, UJET powers the world’s largest elastic CCaaS tenant at up to 22,000 agents globally and is trusted by innovative, customer-centric enterprises like Instacart, Turo, Wag!, and Atom Tickets to intelligently orchestrate predictive, contextual, conversational customer experiences.
Learn more at www.ujet.cx and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to our blog!

Media Contacts
AVANT
Lucy WoolsonAVANTPR@walkersands.com
Holly Barker
UJETpr@ujet.cx
The post AVANT and UJET Announce Strategic Partnership to Deploy Next Generation of Customer Experience appeared first on UJET.

As organizations face rising customer expectations for personalization and interaction, the limits of on-premises contact centers are evident. IT decision-makers in the public sector have been adopting cloud-based contact centers to address this concern. According to a recent study by Aberdeen Research, the adoption of cloud technology to modernize contact centers increased 94% between 2013 and 2019. On a typical day, education, government, and nonprofits field thousands of questions from constituents, while changing stay-at-home mandates require institutions to provide consistent, up-to-date, real-time communication. With staff availability limited for in-person IT help desks due to the coronavirus pandemic, institutions are increasingly relying on their contact centers to bridge the resulting services gap. For organizations relying on legacy contact-center solutions, the shift during the pandemic created challenges in maintenance, scale, and innovation. The three factors most frequently cited by the public sector for driving cloud adoption are:
Lower total cost of ownership
Flexibility to add capacity and capability
Improved customer experience
Full article: https://www.nojitter.com/ccaas/3-factors-driving-public-sector-cloud-contact-center
submitted by /u/vesuvitas [link] [comments]