The Importance of Technology in Customer Service

Customer service matters more than ever.

In a 2018 report from Microsoft, 58% of those surveyed claimed that customer service affected the choice of brands they were willing to buy from.

Equally, 55% of consumers claim to have backed out of a purchase they intended to make due to poor customer service.

As well as influencing purchase decisions, excellent customer service makes for:

Greater customer loyalty
More referrals
A strong brand reputation
Higher spend per customer.

But without the right technology, excellent customer service is not possible.

Download the infographic, or read on below to find out about the ways that technology is of paramount importance to customer service.

Audio quality matters

According to a survey from the Customer Experience Foundation…

68% of customers will hang up a customer service call due to poor voice quality.

"Consumer churn will increase if communication is an issue, [leading to] a loss of business opportunities such as upsells or new products and offerings."

Professor Morris Pentel, Chairman of the Customer Experience Foundation

To achieve superior customer service and reduce customer frustration, investing in a high-quality telephone system with crystal clear voice quality is a must.

Customer service teams want to work remotely

A survey from Gartner found that…

70% of customer service workers wish to continue working from home in some capacity.

Having a remote customer service team requires powerful technology.

Technology that makes in-office capabilities available from wherever staff choose to work.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to sustain a consistent level of service.

The best cloud telephony systems can use mobile apps to extend the capabilities of your desk phone to anyone in your business network.

Across any device,

And in any location.

This technology means customer service employees are granted the freedom they desire…

With the technology they need to deliver the same excellent customer service.

Data security is essential

On matters of data security, customers are more conscious than ever.

Data breaches can cause permanent damage to your brand reputation.

And they can erode customer trust.

49% of people would not use an online service or application that recently experienced a breach.

And 78% of people would stop engaging with a brand online following a data breach

With more businesses switching to internet telephone systems, voice data will soon become the new target area for private information theft.

To protect the data of their customers and maintain their loyalty, customer service teams need to ensure their communications systems are highly secure.

End-to-end encryption is key to protecting the information of both businesses and customers.

Checked out our guide to business communication?

Customer expectations are at an all-time high

The modern customer knows what they want:

Quicker responses

80%+ of consumers expect an immediate response to customer service enquiries

Minimal hold time

In a survey of 2,500+ consumers, 60% said 1 minute hold time was too long

Support on their preferred channel

75% of customers expect a consistent experience across whatever communications platform they choose to engage with.

To speak to the right service rep

72% of consumers see explaining their problem to multiple people as poor customer service.

The features of customer service technology can solve many of these problems…

Skills-based call routing

Set rules that forward customers queries to the right rep, who has the skills and knowledge to resolve their query

Interactive voice response and self-service

These functions mean all queries can be answered immediately, and the customer’s reason for contacting can be determined while they wait for an agent.

‘All-in-one’ omnichannel support

Integrate all your channels – from web chat, to email, and even fax – and manage activity across them from one single window, so you never miss a customer again.

In short, better customer service technology supports a better quality of service, a happier workforce, and keeps the information of you and your customers safe.