PART 1: CUSTOMER INTERACTION DESIGN Why is Designing for Customer Experience so important?

Transcription

1 BEST PRACTICE SERIES PART 1: CUSTOMER INTERACTION DESIGN Why is Designing for Customer Experience so important? Interview with Mike Pell, Director of Design Services Interactions LLC 1

2 WHICH DO YOU WANT FIRST, GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS? A recent study found that $41 billion was lost in one year because of poor phone customer experiences. That s the bad news. The good news is that improving the design of your automated customer service interface whether that be IVR, Virtual Assistant, or another solution can increase system efficiency, agent productivity, call center cost-effectiveness, and overall customer satisfaction. By following the Best Practices of Design Professionals like Mike Pell, you can transform your most important customer service channel into a valuable corporate asset and support a growing generation of customers who demand increased self-service options. 2 3

3 Mike Pell has worked in call centers since He s answered phones, trained agents, written scripts, recorded vocal performances, supervised designers, and managed IVR development teams for all kinds of businesses and industries. For the past decade, Mike has served in a variety of roles at Interactions, designing highly conversational speech solutions for enterprise customers. MIKE PELL Director of Design Services, Interactions When a recent survey of consumers rated automated phone systems the most annoying invention of all time, he took it personally. Mike knows it s possible to design phone contact channels that are warm, friendly and helpful. He and his team implemented solutions like this for companies recognized for their customer focus such as Hyatt, Humana, and LifeLock. His goal at the start of every project is always the same to design and build the automated customer service solution of my client s dreams. Even the best technology will yield poor results with a poorly-designed customer experience flow. Through years of experience, Mike has accumulated a wealth of design best practices that he carries with him while designing new client applications to boost customer experience while delivering maximum cost effectiveness. Here are nine of Mike Pell s Customer Interaction Design Best Practices. 4 5

4 1. BE RESPECTFUL What s the single most important consideration when designing for the customer experience? MIKE PELL: That s an easy one. You have to care deeply about the caller. The best way to show that you care is by being respectful of their time. Make every interaction as brief, simple, and straight-forward as possible. The fewer the transaction steps, the happier the caller. 2. BE HUMAN How else can customer interaction design demonstrate that an organization cares deeply about its customers? MP: Put the caller at ease by creating interactions that sound natural. The more human-like your interface the better. That means carefully crafting your scripts. Always read dialog out loud before recording it. You ll be surprised how often you ll think: People don t talk like that. Then, revise the script so the interaction feels comfortable. 3. BE CONVERSATIONAL What are some other secrets to writing effective dialog? MP: Anything you can do to create friendly, conversational exchanges is helpful. For example, address the caller directly and use simple words and short, concise phrases don t worry about breaking the rules of grammar. It s okay to use contractions because that s how most of us talk. And don t forget to pay special attention to the casting, directing and recording of the vocal performance. 4. BE FRIENDLY What else can be done to create a positive customer experience over the phone? MP: A good rule of thumb is to treat every caller as a friend. I m amazed at how many automated phone systems adopt a tone that s accusatory rather than helpful. To be effective, you have to make every caller feel like you have his or her back, whether they are speaking with a live agent or an automated interface. 6 7

5 5. BE CURIOUS How do you balance the optimal customer experience with the needs of the business? And its lawyers. MP: Never stop asking why. Always challenge assumptions. Be open to new ways of doing things. Be curious. Look at the ways companies you admire handle similar situations. Speaking of lawyers, a good example is the use of legal disclaimers. There are many different ways to satisfy legal obligations without sacrificing a positive customer experience. Don t ever accept the explanation, because that s the way we ve always done it. 6. BE COMMITTED How should an organization align itself internally to ensure success in customer experience design? MP: In my experience, the organizations that assemble the strongest possible internal customer experience teams achieve the greatest results. The best teams are constantly surveying callers, examining agent side calls, evaluating script performance, tweaking transactions and refining applications. They collaborate often and openly with their web team and marketing department. The top teams are always on the lookout for new speech, touch and text-enabled interface technologies and applications. Continuous process improvement requires real commitment. And having a customer interaction or experience champion among your senior management team doesn t hurt either. Make every interaction as brief, simple and straight-forward as possible. 8 9

6 7. BE BUSINESS-MINDED What role can an automated customer service system play in meeting call center business goals? MP: An automated interface is the front-end to almost all phone interactions, and is often the first encounter consumers have with your company s contact center. It s the gateway to your customer service representatives. Automating live agent transactions can save time and money, and when done right can build customer loyalty. Providing the most positive customer experience among all your competitors is a great way to differentiate your brand and grab market share. 8. BE BRAND LOYAL What about branding? MP: Creating positive customer experiences is good business and good branding. Every automated system has a persona, hopefully by design, but unfortunately, sometimes by accident. Be sure the personality of your automated interface complements your brand and reflects the nature and needs of your customer base. 9. BE TRUTHFUL Any final thoughts? MP: Yes. Always tell the truth. Never lie to a caller. It s harder to do than you might think. But, when you cross that line, people will realize they have been lied to (usually after they re transferred) and they ll be angry, hurt or resentful. It s not the way to win friends or meet business goals. Be sure the personality of your automated system complements your brand and reflects the nature and needs of your customer base

7 LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERACTIONS Interactions is a leading provider of speech and natural language technology that enables businesses and consumers to engage in productive conversations. With flexible products and solutions designed to meet the growing demand for unified, multichannel customer care, Interactions is delivering significant cost savings and unprecedented customer experience for some of the largest brands in the world. Founded in 2004, Interactions is headquartered in Franklin, Massachusetts with additional offices in Indiana, Texas, New Jersey and New York. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT US AT: OR GIVE US A CALL AT: (866)