Face to face or interface-to-interface?

Posted by Richard

When I want someone to do something for me I call them. If I can't get to the person I want I email them, then after ten minutes I call them again.

This cycle continues until I get what I want. I suspect I am not the only person who does this and clients regularly do it to me, so it's the way of the world I guess?

The advent of email has changed the way in which businesses communicate enormously, with the exception of the business activities of Bob Geldof who famously doesn't use email. However there are a number of problems associated with emails from a business perspective and, in many cases, email can cause as many customer service problems as it solves.

Many companies now use the web to generate leads and it's certainly the case with many of our clients. However the relationship between the website and the customer often stops there unless the client is farsighted enough to publish news and product updates on the site to keep customers returning.

But why stop at communicating with clients via the internet just at the initial stages of the relationship? You can use the web to carry out many of the administration and customer service tasks of your business. When done effectively these can lead to much greater customer service levels, greater efficiency from your customer facing staff and importantly, more accountability from those front-line staff.

A great example of this in action is a supplier who hosts a large number of our web servers, Rackspace. For day to day tasks I log into their portal and make my request online. Having dealt with them for a couple of years now I know that within seconds of my email being received they are acting on it and it's actually quicker to email them than to call them, simply because it gets to the right person more quickly. All the communication is documented so I can track where my request is. Even better, when the issue has been resolved they encourage me to review how my case was dealt with in four categories, poor, ok, good and fanatical. This feedback system further improves customer service.

This is not a subversive advert for this company by the way, it's just because I have been so impressed with their service and their web portal plays a big part of this. My colleague also had a similar conversation with friends one evening about the pros/cons of web based customer support versus telephone support. The consensus was that if it's done well, the customer experience is much better with an online support system because it's so trackable - for both parties.

You may be thinking that your clients will never want to communicate with you via the web but you would be surprised. If they can get quicker, more accurate and accountable service they will soon migrate - it's a win-win situation.

Some of the main benefits of this system are:

• Immediate access to case histories on quotes, technical problems and general communications between your customers and staff
• Quick and comprehensive response to clients by not having the phones ringing all day
• Shows your company is engaging with technology to provide better service
• Reduces administration overhead. Can use remote workers to service general enquiries leading to reduced office expenses and greater efficiency
• Use the system as a price point and USP - show off the system to new clients and show them how it can improve their own efficiency.

Many service based businesses could dramatically increase customer service levels and drive up sales and customer retention as a result of using web based applications. We are now developing two systems for our clients - look forward to an update in the new year.