When trying to look at customer journey lifecycle in e-commerce it would usually consist of Awareness, Consideration and Acquisition, with Awareness and Consideration being the “top the funnel” and acquisition is the “bottom of the funnel”.
Tagging customer services tickets for the customer journey, these would be the categories:
Top of the funnel:
Require More Information About The Product
Mid Funnel:
Trouble Using Coupon Or Promotion
Having Trouble Paying For My Order (Billing)
Acquisition (Bottom of the funnel):
Made Order And Would Like To Make Changes
Waiting For Delivery
Received Product Not As Expected
Reps AI have done research which is based on more than 50,000 customer service tickets, divided by these categories and analyzed by a “Customer Expectations” algorithm.
Ticket Volume
Looking at the volume of tickets, it is apparent the further the customer travels in the ‘customer journey’, the more tickets they open. Categories on top of the funnel consist of fewer tickets, and as you move further through the process, more tickets are opened.
This seems to represent the level of customer engagement throughout the purchase cycle in e-commerce, the closer the users are to purchase the more they are engaged with the product and the company. There are opportunities in the early stages of the funnel to find different channels to increase customer engagement.
Scores
The “Customer Expectation Score” (CExS)is a unique algorithm which scores every ticket on a scale of -5 (didn’t meet expectation) to 5 (exceeded expectation).
CExS is higher on top of the funnel. In these early stages of the customer journey, service teams are usually able to exceed their expectations. But the more the customers are engaged the more challenging it becomes to meet their expectations. And as the expectations grow, the scores begin to decline due to the increased challenges which exist on the bottom of the funnel.
This is confirmation that while providing information is “easy” for service reps, the more the customer progresses in the customer journey toward acquisition the more they rely on customer service reps, and it is more crucial making it easy service reps to exceed customer expectations.
CExS CSAT Analysis
In order to validate the CExS data, it was analyzed in comparison to CSAT (customer satisfaction) score. The chart below shows the average CExS score on tickets which received ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ CSAT score, per each category.
the CExS matches CSAT score which validated our algorithm is working accurately.
We can see a large majority of the categories showing positive CSAT scores.
Drill down analysis brought one important conclusion:
CSAT scores will often show a score of the product and/or overall experience and not answer if the customer is satisfied with the service and the service rep.
This was most significant in the “Would like to make changes to the order” and the “Received Product No As Expected” categories. in these categories, the customer was happy with the service (based on the analysis of the CExS score) but because the product itself didn’t meet their expectation the score they gave on the CSAT survey was “negative”.
On “Billing” categories, customers expectations are often not met, a lot of times because of the usability of billing systems and the “Rep Experience”. Customers expect payment to be easy and secured and go without trouble. They also expect to be billed as they were told with no surprises or hidden catches. In terms of payment and billing, anytime a customer’s expectations are not met, the emotions will run high and the disappointment is much stronger than on any other category.
Recommendations for Exceeding Customer Expectations in 2019
- Use this report and your own classified data to find the categories of tickets where your reps are able to exceed customer expectations and the categories where they’re not meeting customer expectations. Build a training program based on the categories on which your reps need help.
- Improve the“Rep Experience”: How difficult is the billing systems for your reps, how often are they leaving the ticketing system. Do they have access to all the systems they need? Are they accessing too many systems?
- Empower your customer service reps with training, career development and being available for them when they need you.
- Analyze your CSAT score, specifically if you’re measuring your reps based on it. Are you customers scoring the product or are they actually scoring the service your team is?
- Once a customer decides they want to make a purchase, they expect everything to go smoothly, specifically everything related to billing. If they have a coupon they expect it to be accepted. If they have an issue with billing, they expect service representatives to show respect for their money and provide a quick resolution.
- Set the right expectations for your customers; The right expectation on when their product should be delivered, and the right expectation of they would receive once the product arrives. Then make sure all your service reps understand these expectations — and then make sure they know how to exceed them.
And to wrap it all up; customers in 2019 expect you to be communicative, knowledgeable, understanding and to engage. They want to feel they are doing business with a human being.
