Businesses need to ensure that they offer good customer service and response times. However this has been rendered more complicated due to the fact that nowadays customers are interacting with companies using the phone, video, SMS, chat, social networks and mobile apps.  Taken in a local context it is even not unheard of for clients to post messages aimed at businesses on third party Facebook walls, while still (somewhat unfairly) expecting speedy replies.

One answer is to employ a team of people to constantly monitor these platforms and respond in a timely manner - however of course this is not a very cost effective way of setting about things. As more and more people adopt mobile phones, it has become increasingly logical for companies to set up a self-service system in the form of a mobile app.

"As smartphones become the primary communications device for the enterprise, integrating the mobile phone into the corporate network provides significant value to users and the company. Look to incorporate mobility into next-generation IP projects, and encourage employees with company-owned mobile devices to fully use mobile applications." Bill Menezes, Hype Cycle for UCC Gartner

Setting up a self-service mobile app has many benefits, one of the most important of which is the fact that it is more comfortable for customers, who can interact with your business when and where they please, getting an immediate response. The benefits do not stop there, however. Such a system ensures that only those client requests that truly need human interaction are escalated to a call with an agent in your customer care department, leading to less time wastage, more assertive customer interactions and ultimately, savings in human resource costs. All of these together ensure a rapid return on investment for the company.

The above becomes even more pertinent when it comes to running a call centre. Mobile Apps such as the ones available from Collab enable your clients to interact with you, anywhere, anytime and choose the most comfortable way to do it: Voice; Video; SMS; Chat; Social Networks, Click2Call, etc...

With a visual interface clients experience a new way to communicate with you through 3G or Wi-Fi, making choices from an interactive self-service menu that gives them the information they require on the spot.

The power of mobile enables companies to receive contextualized customer requests instantly and to act on them immediately, escalating the situation as per the particular circumstances of the client.

A simple example will immediately illustrate the power of these tools. Imagine you are a bank and one of your clients is on holiday in New York. The client loses his wallet and needs to take immediate action to safeguard his financial information. With a self-service App it would be possible for the client to immediately cancel his credit cards. The app would then recognise and process his geographic location and offer recommendations on-the-fly regarding banks nearby which can offer emergency support. Through a voice conversation with the a customer support agent, who is fully aware of the client's problem, some personal data checks are run and the next day the client gets an emergency card issued. The client's holiday is saved, and your company will have gained a truly satisfied and loyal customer.

There is no doubt that using such self-service mobile app solutions will result in an increase in customer satisfaction and retention, as well as a reduction in company overheads. This is a win-win for all concerned, with both the customer and your company benefiting enormously.

Collab's OneContact solution is a multimedia contact centre software solution, offering a complete and integrated communications management for your call centre including voice, video, email, instant messaging and social networks. For more information, you can contact Alert by visiting our website on www.alert.com.mt or +356 2060 1234

TECH Update

Microsoft have announced that they will soon be releasing Windows 10. Interestingly they seem to have skipped a number, going straight from Window 8 (or 8.1) to 10 without ever releasing version 9 - probably in order to impart a clear message that Windows 10 is a major leap ahead and massive improvement on its predecessor.

The OS will mark a return of the Start button, a feature that had disappeared in Windows 8, much to the chagrin of many users. In fact it appears that this latest version of the MS Operating System will incorporate a number of popular features from Windows 7 and Windows 8, in a bid to appear familiar to users and increase take-up.

Windows 8 has not been adopted widely due to the major changes in interface, which increased the learning curve for users. Clearly Windows 10 will address this, in a bid to get people to finally migrate from Windows 7, which is still the defacto operating system in use by the vast majority of businesses.

 

eMarketing Update

The use of social network IDs to log in to third party websites and mobile apps has now become ubiquitous. Research conducted in July 2014 by OnePoll has shown that 77% of US Internet users opt to sign onto sites or apps using their social media credentials.

The main reason cited for this behaviour is that respondents do not enjoy filling out new registration forms, which is seen as a time consuming and tedious process. Also important is the fact that the plethora of usernames and passwords that a user must keep track of has become almost impossible to manage, so using one social network login is a way to simplify matters.

The leading social network ID used for social logins is Facebook with 56% of social networkers worldwide. Google+ comes in at second place with 24%, while Twitter is third with 12%.

For more eMarketing news go to www.alertemarketing.com

 

Ludwig Micallef is the General Manager of Alert eBusiness, local resellers of Collab Communications solutions. www.alert.com.mt