Category: Customer Experience

When innovation arrives, the logistics people have to scramble to keep up, because innovation always makes it hard to do things the way we used to.

Over time, an innovative company thrives if it can get its logistics in order. Ship the right stuff to the right people on time and on budget.

Once this happens, it often means that the logistics people gain in power and influence. After all, they pulled off a miracle.

Then, when the next innovation shows up, the logistics voices in the room are likely to have more say in what happens next. That’s why upstarts who feel like they have nothing to lose are so much more likely to innovate–they don’t realize how hard it is going to be.

Innovation doesn’t work without logistics.

Every call center knows customer feedback is precious. That’s why we invest staff, time, and technology budgets into call center software and organic outreach to learn how customers feel about the service they receive. Customer satisfaction and net promoter scores are helpful metrics, but the after-call survey is the most immediate resource. But what kind of questions should you include? And how should you structure your survey?
Keep reading—we’ll guide you through everything you need to know to write a successful after-call survey!
What is an After-Call Survey For?
An after-call survey is a series of questions requesting customer feedback right after an interaction. The value is in the timing—customers will give the most accurate accounts of their service experiences shortly after they’ve happened.
The surveys give contact centers valuable insight into agent performance, customer experience, and other factors that can inform CX strategy. Keep in mind though, that the after-call survey is an important tool to drive improvement in the call center, but it’s not the only one. Of course, you should still use other KPIs to improve your call center. Now, how do you write an after-call survey that brings the most value to your call center?
7 Tips for Writing a Good Post-Call Survey
You’ve probably drafted customer satisfaction surveys before. The after-call survey is similar, but the caveat is the timing. Your customers have just finished an interaction with a call center rep—they may have used IVR (interactive voice response) or a phone call. They might feel a little fatigued after the interaction, so post-call surveys should be short and sweet. Here are some more tips for writing a solid after-call survey.
1.    Think About Your Audience
Let’s say your customers are patients at a healthcare facility. Since their interactions with your contact center concern health matters, they might be more sensitive than, say, eCommerce customers. Keep that in mind. And, if you know your customers prefer to communicate via text message IVR, continue offering that channel for your after-call survey. The same goes for phone calls.
DID YOU KNOW? 33% of customers prefer social media communication with a company to phone calls.
Always keep your customers in mind when drafting your survey. Imagine what they’re feeling and thinking after an interaction.
2.    Have a Goal in Mind
Goals are important in every aspect of the call center. Having a clear goal will help keep your after-call survey targeted and focused. What are you aiming to improve, or what situation do you wish to clarify? Some after-call survey goals could focus on improving or understanding:

Agent productivity and performance
Operational efficiency
Product satisfaction
Customer experience

3.    Understand the Difference Between Recruited and Random Calls
This goes hand in hand with thinking about your audience. A recruited call means the customer is already expecting it. Perhaps they scheduled it with one of Fonolo’s Voice Call-Backs. This type of call might require less introductory information. By contrast, a random call means the customer isn’t prepared for the call.
4.    Personalize Each Survey
Living through the pandemic has lead customers to need and expect more empathy, and personalization is a small way to offer that. You might have a carefully crafted questionnaire or script for your after-call survey. Consistent questions are easier for analysis, but that doesn’t mean you can’t personalize them.
Introduce surveys by using the customer’s name. Ask questions about recent purchases and try to refer to specific problems they’ve discussed with agents.
FACT: 68% of customers expect empathy from customer service agents.
5.    Mind Your Timing
Statistics show that Mondays are excellent days to send out a survey, but every call center is different. Your best bet is to experiment with timing and assess which time frame garners more responses. On top of that, consider regulations from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Review restrictions to avoid potential legal issues, especially if you are working in a healthcare setting.
CLICK TO TWEET: After-call surveys give you a snapshot of #customerexperience. They’re proven to improve customer retention and inform customer service strategy. Learn how Fonolo’s Visual IVR can take customer surveys to the next level!
6.    Use a Good Software Product
So, you conducted an after-call survey. Great! But how did you do it, and where are your results? A strong contact center software product is the best way to streamline the process and accurately collect survey data.
For example, Fonolo’s Visual IVR has an intuitive post-call survey feature that automatically sends survey questions at toggled time frames. It offers your call center a well-documented view of response rates, survey answers, and timing information.
7.    Continuously Improve Your Campaign
Metrics are every call center leader’s bible, and that remains true for the after-call survey. How are your response rates? What are customers saying? How much information are you gathering?
Conduct your survey for a month and assess the results. Have you collected enough data? Are you visualizing survey results to make them more actionable? Fonolo’s Portal could help with real-time insights and data-rich reporting.
Keep in mind response rates can be low, starting as low as 5%. But you should aim for around 30% for an after-call survey. If your customers are abandoning the survey or refusing to take it, consider your timing. Or, you might consider incentivizing customers with a special offer or discount.
Sample After-Call Survey Script
Still need help getting started? Use this handy sample script as a guide!
Sample Call Introduction:
 “Hi (Customer’s Name),
I’m (call center rep name or robot) from (name of organization) and I’m contacting you to inquire about your last interaction with (last customer service rep they spoke with).
The survey that follows should only take (insert duration in minutes) and will help us (X goal). Your participation is voluntary and appreciated.
We value your feedback and want to make sure you receive the highest quality in your service experience. If you’re busy right now, feel free to press X for a Voice Call-Back.
Note: Feel free to exclude the third paragraph of this introduction if you’re working with recruited calls and customers are already expecting you to reach out.
 Sample Call Survey Questions:
 Did you solve your problem regarding (recent customer issue) during the phone call or interaction? (This question speaks to FCR.)

Was the agent knowledgeable, professional, and helpful? (This question speaks to agent performance.)
How long did it take you to reach us? (This question speaks to operational efficiency.)
On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with (specific product) and your last interaction with us? (This question speaks to product satisfaction and overall customer experience.)

Sample Call Conclusion:
 “Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We appreciate your business and look forward to supporting you in future purchases.”
Optional: “You’ll receive a special offer in your email shortly.”
 Feel free to adjust the sample based on your call center’s goals, customer needs, and any other relevant factors.
 The post How to Write an After-Call Survey Script first appeared on Fonolo.

When an organization has caused harm (through error or intent), it’s tempting to be sure they learned a lesson. We want folks to take responsibility, to admit culpability and to be sure they won’t do it again.

But if you need those things to happen to make things better for all of us, we’re going to have to wait a long time.

Perhaps it makes sense to embrace, “now that I know what I know now, I can make a new decision based on new information and do this instead.”

Taking responsibility for yesterday is great. Taking action for tomorrow is even better.

We often become what we do, as opposed to simply doing what we say we would when under duress.

submitted by /u/sstales [link] [comments]

It’s normal to feel it. It changes our careers, our dress and even the way we live our lives.

The question is: is it caused by external or internal forces?

More often than not, it’s simply something we invent. The people we imagine are busy watching and judging us might not even know we exist.

Social pressure is something we make up to simplify our decisions.

The Net Promoter System introduced in 2003 by Fred Reichheld and used widely as a key Customer Experience score has been updated to NPS 3.0 which looks at earned growth rate, which is the revenue growth generated by returning customers and their referrals. Promoters (Score 9 or 10 when saying if they would recommend the product, service, or the company) are your super fans who are usually identified as the ones who provide compliments. These super fans in turn refer new customers which impact your earnings in the current period, which begs the question of “is this a new era of customer loyalty in the post-COVID world?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElIZuoEH74 submitted by /u/CXinTheCity [link] [comments]

Listen to one musician’s track in isolation on any record (like this one) and you might be amazed at how trivial they sound. Paul McCartney, one of the great bass players, in one the great groups of all time–it sounds a bit like a school music recital.

Because we don’t listen to the tracks in isolation, because the isolation isn’t the point.

Human beings care about harmonies. About originality. About the tension that comes from the new. And we care about the dynamics between and among people who are working together.

That’s why we listen to the whole song, not one musician’s isolation track.

It’s not about the gloves.

The pointlessness of the white gloves is actually a big part of it.

Good service meets expectations. It is the fulfillment of a promise to the customer.

White glove service goes far beyond that. It is designed to surprise and delight. It creates a connection with the recipient that goes beyond a simple transaction, already paid for. It is a signal of care and respect, of gratitude and abundance.

As soon as we start to wonder if slightly smudged grey gloves are okay (“no one will notice,”) or look to others for what is acceptable, then we might as well simply do the minimum.

It’s possible your organization has just saved a ton of money by moving online–no longer paying rent, upkeep or overhead on a local sales facility. One way to replace this demonstration of stability and commitment is to invest in white glove service instead.

Because it is an investment.

It pays off in loyalty, in word of mouth and in employee satisfaction as well.

If you do it right. Which means you need to do it all the way. Or don’t bother.

The chief marketing officer at a big company has an impossible job. The typical duration of a CMO is 18 months because once the CEO realizes that hype for money can’t solve their problems, they get restless.

The problem lies in what people think “marketing” is.

Marketing isn’t paying for ads, changing the logo or building a social media presence.

Marketing is product design, customer service, pricing, customer delight and creating and living a remarkable story. Marketing is creating the conditions for the network effect.

And yet, the typical CMO isn’t in charge of ANY of those things.

No wonder it’s frustrating. You thought you were getting a marketer, but all you did was hire someone to make a commotion on social media.

The words matter. If you are hiring someone to be in charge of promotion, say so. But if you want someone to be in charge of marketing, have them be in charge of all of it. If it touches the market, it’s marketing.

Happy Friday! We’re bringing you the latest roundup of industry news. This week, we’re looking at Medallia’s integration with Salesforce, a new product launch by Forsta and Spotify, and new research from inriver about what really drives customer loyalty in the cost-of-living crisis. Key news Medallia launches Frontline Engagement and Quality Management app on Salesforce AppExchange. Starting…
The post This week in CX: Medallia, HubSpot, and Spotify appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.