For too many organizations, the call center is failing to deliver the customer experience that customers expect. Simply adding more technology won’t fix the ills of today’s call center.
Technology is never the solution. Technology enables more efficient and effective processes that can create the right customer service experience customers expect.
Steve Jobs, back in 1997, on the strategy that still guides Apple today.
You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.
You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to try to sell it. And I’ve made this mistake probably more than anybody else in this room. And I got the scar tissue to prove it.
The WSJ reported that between 2004 and 2007, Nokia outspent Apple on R&D by a factor of 9 ($22.2 billion vs. $2.5 billion). Money hasn’t solved the problems Nokia faces.
The difference?
Apple is clearly focused on its processes and products. Apple knows who they are, understand the needs of their customers, and they have a clear vision for the customer experience they want their customers to have. They stick with their plan and execute it to perfection time and time again.
Apple has a game plan and it is very patience as its processes develop. Customer experience can’t be rushed. It has to be carefully crafted and then executed to perfection, over and over again. Without this type of focus, simply adding the latest tools or service is a gamble, one that you can’t afford to make.
