Then why do you need apps?
For those have read more than one or two of my posts, you know some of my ideas come from…well…peculiar places.
This one also comes with an “I’m confident in my man skin” admission. So, let’s see who else of the XY chromosomal persuasion will admit it. I dig the movie Beautiful Girls. Even without the qualification as a “chick flick”, its a really entertaining movie. Ok, I won’t ask any guys to raise their hands in support of me. But, you know who you are.
There is though, a scene in the movie where Michael (Noah Emmerich) opens his new pub to his friends. He offers his first new customer’s “apps”. They all, in unison, retort “apps?”. Michael says “yea. I’m a proprietor now. I got apps”. You know, chicken wings, chips, dip. Those apps.
Well, when it comes to mobile customer service, I’ve come to a realization that, when the word “mobile” is mentioned among most folks I’ve been talking to recently, the first thing that comes to mind is apps. Gotta have an app.
Do you? Really?
In my business, I’ve spend the past several months mapping out dozens of the most common use cases for which my client’s customers engage them for customer service. And the reality is that the chasm between “tethered” channels and mobile, particularly mobile self service, is pretty sizable.
It reminds me of a social media workshop I facilitated last Summer with a roomful of senior marketing pros. I asked a rorschach test question. “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say ‘social media’?” You know the answer. It was Facebook and Twitter.
In this case, I would guess the answer to that question for mobile customer service would be “apps”.
But why?
There are so many applications (no pun intended) for mobile customer service that are a far cry from the self service nirvana-esque app that seems to be the predominant focus. And, this chasm also seems to be the main challenge in moving forward with mobile-enabling customer service delivery. Because the level of development and integration to deliver true mobile customer self-service is pretty complex.
So, I have a two step suggestion. This is nothing earth shattering. But, from what I’m hearing, it appears like there’s value in calling it out.
Step one. Start simple. Start with mobile-enabling your current web presence. What’s more frustrating than having to swipe your way around a standard website on a 3×5 inch screen?
Step two. Keep your back end agent-based process the way they are today. Heresy, I know. And, think of the mobile device as just another portal into your contact center. Make functionality like click to chat, click to call, send an email and sms front and center on your mobile website. Get your customers comfortable with engaging with your contact center through the mobile device.
Then, if the adoption rate grows. You have your business case for investing in the bigger project of mobile self service.
If it’s applicable to your proprietorship.
