SELF-SERVICE: CREATE HAPPY CUSTOMERS & REDUCE COSTS

Transcription

1 RR SELF-SERVICE: CREATE HAPPY CUSTOMERS & REDUCE COSTS January 2018 Omer Minkara VP & Principal Analyst Contact Center & Customer Experience Management

2 Helping customers help themselves also known as self-service has become a necessity in CX programs. This report will explore the reasons why that is, and will highlight the building blocks needed to achieve success in implementing self-service. Why is Self-Service Adoption on the Rise? In October 2017, Aberdeen published the Omni-Channel Customer Care: How to Deliver Context-Driven Experiences study, highlighting how firms deliver customer support across multiple channels. Findings from this research revealed that 40% of companies currently have a self-service program (see sidebar) in place, and another 27% of firms consider establishing one in 2018 and beyond. Together, these numbers mean that self-service is not an emerging best practice or trend. Rather, it s an established activity companies of all sizes use to varying degrees. Companies build and manage self-service programs for numerous reasons. Overall, the reason why more firms incorporate self-service within their customer experience management (CX) programs is because it delivers results (Figure 1). Definition: Self-Service For the purposes of this research, Aberdeen defines self-service as the use of technology tools that empower customers with the ability to address their own needs, without interacting with a live agent. Self-service interactions take place across multiple channels. These include the company website, an online community, voice (IVR or virtual assistants), mobile applications, text messaging, in-app messaging, and chat bots. Figure 1: Companies with Self-Service Programs Have Happier Customers & Enjoy Greater Efficiency Companies with Self-Service Programs 10% 8.4% Companies without Self-Service Programs 8% 7.0% Year-over-year percent change, n=422 6% 4.9% 4% 3.4% 4.3% 2% 0% -2% -0.7% -4% Customer satisfaction Improvement in customer Agent utilization rate effort score 2

3 Before analyzing the performance benefits of incorporating self-service into CX programs, let s note that self-service is not a method to deflect customer requests. When their needs / requests are deflected, customers will prefer working with other businesses that are more proactive about addressing their needs. Therefore, self-service must be viewed as a tool that customers can choose to address their needs themselves. However, buyers shouldn t be forced to address all issues through self-service. With current technology capabilities, selfservice works well in addressing simple requests such as password resets, account balance checks, etc. Complex issues (e.g., modifying an investment portfolio) are best reserved for agent-assisted service; self-service in these scenarios will likely confuse customers, who will then ultimately seek agent assistance (high-touch support). Aberdeen s February 2016 Self-Service vs. Assisted Service: When's the Right Time to Use Them? study takes an in-depth look at when to use self-service versus agent-assisted service. Figure 1 shows that companies with self-service programs excel in performance improvements, compared to those without them. These firms improve (decrease) customer effort, which subsequently helps them increase customer satisfaction rates. In fact, companies using self-service (from hereon also defined as self-service users ) enjoy 71% greater annual improvement in customer satisfaction rates, compared to nonusers (8.4% vs. 4.9%). When customers address their needs themselves, the number of issues that must be handled by agents decreases unless the firm receives a greater number of customer requests than the number of issues addressed through self-service. Additionally, by tracking self-service activity, companies can forecast traffic across all agent-assisted channels (e.g., live chat, phone, and ). This is done by analyzing historical traffic through these channels and observing it in correlation with selfservice activity to determine the number of agents the company must schedule to handle interactions across each channel. Self-service is not an emerging best practice or trend. It s an established activity companies of all sizes use at varying degrees. Self-service users incur $1.25 million less in annual agent labor costs, compared to non-users. As a result, firms can minimize over-scheduling that leads to unnecessary labor costs as well as under-scheduling that leads to longer than average customer wait times. Data shows that this added visibility through selfservice helps companies improve agent utilization rates by 4.3% yearover-year, whereas non-users observe a 0.7% worsening a 5.0% delta in favor of self-service users. To put this into context, a firm might have 500 seats in its contact center, with the annual labor cost for each agent 3

4 being $50,000. This 5.0% delta would mean that by using self-service, the company can utilize its agents time better. Specifically, it would decrease agent labor costs by $1.25 million each year (calculated by 500 agents $50,000 5% annual improvement (decrease)). How Do Companies Enable Self-Service? Companies can enable customers with self-service capabilities in numerous ways. Figure 2 illustrates the adoption of these various capabilities. Figure 2: Adoption of Self-Service Capabilities Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Portal with product & service information Keyword search box Click-to-call Virtual agent / Chatbot Portal with customer account information Natural language search Click-to-chat Downloadable manuals, drivers, etc. Mobile applications Online communities Educational videos Resolution decision trees Wikis 6% 76% 50% 46% 38% 37% 37% 35% 34% 32% 31% Companies with Self-Service Programs 28% 28% 25% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Percent of respondents, n=422 Each self-service capability illustrated in the above figure provides different benefits. For example, FAQs enable customers to browse the self-service website or mobile application to find answers to questions other customers might have asked before. Through frequent monitoring of customer issues, companies can ensure the FAQ content is up to date with the most relevant issues customers aim to address themselves. A customer-facing knowledgebase that provides product and service information is yet another self-service capability. This content doesn t need to include FAQs; it can detail specific product features or service pricing providing customers with a one-stop information hub to address their questions. 4

5 Other self-service capabilities include click-to-call and click-to-chat, which enable customers to click a link when browsing the self-service website or mobile application to initiate a live chat or a phone call with an agent. This allows firms to help customers seamlessly switch channels for agentassisted service. While firms have many options regarding features to incorporate in their self-service capabilities, there are also numerous challenges that must be addressed to achieve the goals driving self-service programs. When asked about the top challenge companies face when building and managing a self-service program, the number one challenge cited by companies with self-service programs is that customer needs are too complex to be addressed through self-service. In other words, self-service activities are not customer friendly (Figure 3). Figure 3: Self-Service Doesn t Work on Complex Issues Customer needs are too complex to be addressed via self-service 63% Difficulty navigating self-service portals 42% Lack of information in self-service portals 41% The issues customers are looking to address via self-service are not currently supported Poor search functionality 16% 31% Companies with Self- Service Programs 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Percent of respondents, n=422 To succeed in self-service, firms must have a clear understanding of a) customer expectations, and b) the complexity of solving client issues. They must be coupled with a top-notch user experience where customers can easily navigate the self-service portal on their own. These are in fact among the other top challenges cited by self-service users in Figure 3. The ability to address these challenges is highly linked with organizations attaining Best-in-Class results (see sidebar) through their self-service programs versus those that frustrate clients with a poor self-service experience. 5

6 Best-in-Class Firms Maximize Results Through Self-Service Aberdeen used three key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine organizations with Best-in-Class self-service programs (Table 1). These KPIs are measured by at least 69% of contact centers. Thus, in addition to being relevant indicators of self-service success, they are also widely measured metrics across many firms. Table 1 shows that Best-in-Class firms achieve far superior results across these KPIs, compared to All Others. Table 1: Best-in-Class Self-Service Programs Deliver Superior Results Company Performance (n=422) Best-in-Class All Others Customer retention rate 88% 50% Year-over-year improvement in customer satisfaction rate Year-over-year improvement in first contact resolution rates 29.8% 2.1% 18.4% -0.1% As illustrated above, Best-in-Class firms retain 76% more of their clientele, compared to All Others (88% vs. 50%). That s because they achieve 14.2 times greater annual improvement in customer satisfaction rates than All Others (29.8% vs. 2.1%). Top performers achieve such results because their use of self-service helps address customer needs, helping them improve customer satisfaction rates and as a result, retain their happy clients. These firms also achieve 18.4% annual growth in first contact resolution rates, compared to All Others observing 0.1% worsening. This means that customers of these top-performing firms address their needs at the first point of contact when using self-service, instead of making multiple efforts to address their needs themselves, or subsequently contacting the business for agent-assisted service. In other words, the top performers have found ways to alleviate the challenges observed earlier in this document. Figure 4 shows additional CX KPIs where Best-in-Class users of selfservice outperform others. The Aberdeen maturity class framework places companies in one of three categories based on their self-reported performance across key metrics: Best-in-Class: Top 20% of respondents based on performance Industry Average: Middle 50% of respondents Laggard: Bottom 30% of respondents Sometimes we refer to a fourth category, All Others, which combines Industry Average and Laggard organizations. 6

7 Figure 4: Best-in-Class Self-Service Strategies Maximize Customer Experience Results Year-over-year percent change, n=422 24% 20% 16% 12% 8% 4% 0% -4% 23.9% 0.4% Cust omer retention 20.3% Customer lifetime value 18.1% 3.4% 2.8% Number of positive mentions through social media channels 17.1% 16.6% 0.6% Improvement in number of customer complaints Best-in-Class All Others In addition to enjoying greater current customer retention rates, Best-in- Class firms also improve this metric year-over-year. This is enabled by the top performers decreasing the number of customer complaints through a superior self-service experience, and hence minimizing customer effort. In return for addressing their needs well, buyers of Best-in-Class businesses retain and grow their spend over time helping these businesses improve their financial results. This is indicated by 6.0 times greater annual improvement in customer lifetime value by the Best-in-Class versus All Others (20.3% vs. 3.4%). Figure 5 sheds more light on the financial impact of getting the selfservice experience right. Data in this chart shows that Best-in-Class firms improve (decrease) the average cost per customer contact by 12.5% versus All Others, observing a 3.6% worsening (increase). To put this into context, this delta of 16.1% (12.5% versus -3.6%) would mean that a contact center incurring $5 million in annual support cost would decrease this cost by $805,000 ($5 million times 16.1%) by designing and delivering a top-notch self-service experience. 4.5% Improvement in customer effort score 9.4% -1.3% Improvement in customer contact abandonment rate 7

8 Figure 5: Getting Self-Service Right Helps Improve Financial Results Year-over-year percent change, n=422 20% 16% 12% 8% 4% 0% -4% 18.3% 5.8% Annual company revenue 15.2% 14.8% Agent utilization rate 0.0% 0.0% IVR completion rate Best-in-Class All Others 13.4% 13.0% 12.5% 2.6% Average profit margin per customer -0.4% Cross-sell and up-sell revenue -3.6% Improvement in average cost per customer contact 10.3% 0.4% Number of quality SLA s met The financial benefits of a Best-in-Class self-service experience are far reaching. They include firms improving agent utilization rates by 15.2%, compared to All Others observing no improvement. This means that a contact center incurring $1 million in agent labor costs would reduce this cost by $152,000 ($1 million times 15.2%), if the overall customer traffic level remains the same. Furthermore, Best-in-Class firms improve the number of quality servicelevel agreements (SLAs) successfully met by 25.8 times more year-overyear (10.3% vs. 0.4%). Since this measure reflects an organization s ability to comply with internal and external regulations, it means that these firms reduce the cost of non-compliance (e.g., customer churn due to unhappy customers and cost of potential litigations). Figure 5 illustrates that the combined benefits of greater operational efficiency and happy customers helps Best-in-Class firms achieve 2.2 times greater annual revenue growth, compared to All Others (18.3% vs. 5.8%). Having observed the performance gains achieved by Best-in- Class firms, it s no surprise that more businesses are establishing selfservice programs and fine-tuning existing ones. However, simply enabling self-service is not enough to drive the results observed thus far. To become Best-in-Class, companies must incorporate the necessary building blocks deployed by Best-in-Class firms. Self-service is not a method to deflect customer requests. When their needs / requests are deflected, customers will prefer working with other businesses that are more proactive about addressing their needs. 8

9 Building Blocks of Best-in-Class Self-Service Programs A close look into the key activities used by Best-in-Class firms reveals three sets of building blocks used by these firms. 1. Design & Manage Top-Notch Self-Service Processes Activities in this first stage are centered on ensuring that self-service works as intended. To this point, all Best-in-Class firms currently have a process through which they analyze repeat customer contacts to determine common issues (Figure 6). This means observing all customer contact data captured through systems such as automated contact distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR) and CRM to determine why customers are contacting the business repeatedly. Figure 6: Regularly Gauge How Self-Service Addresses Customer Needs 100% 100% 86% Best-in-Class All Others 80% 68% 71% 69% 60% 59% 40% Repeat customer contacts are analyzed to determine common issues among customers Percent of respondents, n=422 Automatically update IVR workflows based on retained and new data uncovered by business intelligence Migrate lower value interactions to self-service If the combined view of customer data across all systems reveals that a customer contacted the business through the same channel or through different channels within a short time span (less than an hour) between each contact, it s highly likely that the customer requires help for the same issue, and hence these can be categorized as repeat contact. To distinguish between repeat and new contact, companies must observe customer interaction history and focus on interactions taking place during a pre-determined short time span. Once repeat contacts are determined, firms can then use business intelligence tools to find patterns. For example, if a greater percentage of repeat contacts are about service interruptions in a specific region, this would help reveal that the 9

10 company is experiencing service interruption in that area. This would prompt the contact center to dispatch technicians to address the problem, as well as send notifications to other clients in the same area letting them know that the company is aware of the problem, and is working to address it. This, in turn, would help decrease inbound customer traffic about service interruption. Analysis of repeat contact also enables firms to determine issues where customers are not able to address their issues themselves through selfservice. This would then prompt the firm to analyze the self-service content to ensure that it s easy to understand and accurate in helping customers solve their issues. If not, the company can update the selfservice article to minimize future repeat contacts. The financial benefits of a Best-in-Class selfservice experience are far reaching. Top performers also regularly analyze IVR data (e.g., the number of calls contained / addressed through the IVR and the types of calls) to determine if existing IVR flows and content works as intended to help address customer issues through self-service. Yet another process management activity used by the Best-in-Class firms is analysis of the type of customer issues. For example, when customers call into the contact center, they may be asked to share the nature of their issue via inputs within the IVR system. If the issues are simple (e.g., password reset or account balance check), the customer can be enabled to address these issues through the IVR. On the other hand, if the issue is more complex (e.g., billing error or address change), the customer would be routed to an agent. Such activities help firms utilize self-service in an ideal fashion, thereby decreasing potential customer frustration that might be borne out of poorly designed processes. 2. Get the Self-Service Content Right Activities in this second category are aimed at ensuring that customers get the most value out of their self-service experience. Specifically, Figure 7 shows that Best-in-Class firms are 16% more likely to personalize the self-service experience based on existing account data (93% vs. 80%). This is enabled by firms building a unified view into customer interactions across all channels and mapping the journey of each buyer. In fact, data shows that the Best-in-Class are 29% more likely to tailor customer journeys based on visibility into previous interactions (75% vs. 58%). 10

11 Figure 7: Weave Omni-Channel within the Self-Service Experience 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 93% 80% Personalize customer interactions based on existing account data Percent of respondents, n=422 88% 55% Enable customers to access the self-service portal through log-in information for social media accounts 80% 61% Best-in-Class All Others Enable custom sales & support activities through real-time analysis of customer behavioral data 75% 58% Tailor customer journeys using data on previous interactions Tailoring the self-service experience in line with customer journeys is a key ingredient of omni-channel customer care programs. These are programs through which companies aim to deliver truly consistent and personalized interactions across all channels. Having visibility into customer journeys also allows firms to utilize the selfservice experience as a platform to pursue relevant cross-sell / up-sell offers. For example, a financial services provider such as Bank of America or Wells Fargo can tailor the self-service content viewed by a customer with an auto loan to feature content on mortgages. This would allow Bank of America and Wells Fargo to drive incremental customer spend through a more contextual customer targeting model. It s important to note that customers will only be satisfied with their selfservice experiences if they can address their issues with minimal effort. Expecting buyers to remember (yet another) user name and password to access a self-service portal is adding unnecessary effort, and doesn t help accomplish this goal. Instead, Figure 7 shows that Best-in-Class firms are 60% more likely to enable customers to use social media log-in information (e.g., Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn information) to log into the self-service sites (88% vs. 55%). In addition to helping minimize customer effort, this helps firms with visibility into customers social media activity, and learn more about their needs, sentiments about the business, etc., to drive even more personalized future interactions. 11

12 3. Don t Forget About the User Experiences The third set of activities used by Best-in-Class firms help these top performers alleviate the principal self-service challenges (e.g., irrelevant content, and poor user experiences) noted earlier. Specifically, Figure 8 shows that top performers are 22% more likely to use a centralized knowledge base of product / service content (93% vs. 76%). This is important, as the content in this repository is what the customers view through the self-service portals (with the help of proper workflows and content management systems). Figure 8: Lay the Foundation to Maximize the Likelihood of Self-Service Addressing Customer Needs 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 93% 76% 87% 68% 80% 73% Best-in-Class All Others 73% 62% 50% 40% 30% Centralized knowledgebase of product / service information Percent of respondents, n=422 Systematically protect & prevent against fraudulent activity in realtime Automatically translate content on self-service portals based on customer's language preferences Monitor the keywords customers enter into the search box on company website to update content in self-service portals Monitoring which keywords (broken screen, password reset) customers most frequently use when searching within the self-service portal also helps firms determine the most common issues customers struggle with. In turn, this helps top performers redesign the self-service portal so customers can more easily access content related to these issues. An important element of self-service is that its benefits apply to companies across all industries, including heavily regulated ones such as financial services, insurance, and health care. Figure 8 shows that Bestin-Class firms are 68% more likely to have a formal program in place to ensure that the self-service activities are in compliance with regulations across such industries. This helps these top performers reduce the risk of non-compliance with regulations such as such as PCI-DSS and HIPAA. In turn, it increases customer trust and decreases the risk of facing potential costly litigations. 12

13 Recommendations Success in CX programs is no longer related to using more channels. Best-in-Class firms master use of each channel within their channel mix in such a way that enables them to deliver truly personalized and consistent interactions. Self-service is no exception. Some firms in the past have looked at self-service as a way to deflect customer traffic, instead of using it as a value-add channel that enables customers with the ability to resolve their own needs, without having to navigate a complex IVR menu or explain their issue to a contact center agent. Data in this document reveals that self-service helps firms differentiate themselves through superior performances. However, the benefits of selfservice are truly amplified when self-service is used for the right issues and delivered in combination with the best practices used by Best-in- Class firms. If you re not using these best practices, we highly recommend you make them a part of your existing or planned self-service activities to achieve similar results enjoyed by top performers: Regularly gauge how self-service addresses customer needs Weave omni-channel within the self-service experience Master managing the user experiences Related Research Knowledge Management in the Contact Center: The Path to Insightful Customer Conversations; November 2017 Omni-Channel Customer Care: How to Deliver Context-Driven Experiences; October 2017 Chat Bots in Customer Experience: The Modern Way to Sell More & Serve Better; October 2017 How Self-Service & Digital Tools Have Transformed the Modern Contact Center; June

14 About Aberdeen Group Since 1988, Aberdeen Group has published research that helps businesses worldwide to improve their performance. Our analysts derive fact-based, vendor-neutral insights from a proprietary analytical framework, which identifies Best-in-Class organizations from primary research conducted with industry practitioners. The resulting research content is used by hundreds of thousands of business professionals to drive smarter decision-making and improve business strategies. Aberdeen Group is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group and represents the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group