Most contact centers are reactive, customers reach out to brands in search of answers to their questions. In today’s day and age, there are innumerable ways for customers to reach out to brands which lead to an overwhelming volume of inbounds that agents have to sort through. For customers, this means longer wait times and decreased satisfaction levels. In an era of eight-second attention spans and umpteen choices, if a brand loses a customer due to a negative service experience, it’s likely they’ve lost them forever. A preemptive method to ensure higher customer satisfaction and loyalty is proactive engagement.
Differentiate Based on Proactive Engagement
In 2015 Forrester cited proactive outbound engagement as one of the top 6 trends in customer experience. Proactive engagement is defined as the art of anticipating a customer need and providing help at the right moment using the medium your customer prefers in order to create more memorable experiences. Here are the three reasons why enterprises should invest in proactive outbound engagement:
1. Build stronger relationships
With proactive engagement, enterprises are in the driver’s seat. This provides an opportunity to get away from the status quo of always providing reactive service. Look at it as a means to delight, engage, and build a connection with the customer through personalized content that meets their needs when they are least expecting it. Instead of speaking at your customers, speak to them through personalized communication.
2. Detect problems before they start
Customer feedback is a goldmine for gathering the information you need to provide a stellar CX. There are many tools out there to measure Net Promoter (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores. While detractors are vocal on why they don’t like the product, the passives are a tricky lot because they are indifferent and that indifference means they have no reservations about taking their business elsewhere. What enterprises need is a strategy to have customers complete these surveys. By using a proactive approach, enterprises are inviting customers to have a constructive conversation. This helps businesses quickly hone in on pain points before they become an insurmountable issue leading to additional brand detractors.
3. Increase revenue opportunities
In the day and age of outsourced memories, customers have become accustomed to businesses reminding them about critical events such as upcoming payments or appointments. A 2016 consumer survey by Wakefield Research shows that 90% of the consumers would like to do business with companies that send them reminders, 93% of the consumers prefer to be contacted through non-traditional channels like text messages and 83% of the consumers said they expect the companies they revere and do business with to remind them of critical events.
93% of the consumers prefer to be contacted through non-traditional channels like text messages
Banks can avoid payment defaults through timely reminders and medical centers can reduce patient no-shows by confirming in advance if they are able to keep their appointments and then rescheduling if necessary. Proactive reminders have become table stakes that ensure a great customer experience and demonstrate to customers that your business cares about them.
At Sparkcentral we work with some of the top customer-centric brands in the world who are at the forefront of creating a great customer experience by leveraging digital messaging channels. Sparkcentral would be happy to help your business better understand how to improve customer satisfaction and uplift the customer experience through proactive engagement on channels that work best for your business and for your customers. Contact us today!
