CCC’s blog is relatively young…we’re coming up on our second anniversary in early 2012.  What that means is that we are very much still experimenting with different types of posts and different functionalities for the blog itself.  One feature we added in 2011 is the ability to do real-time polling within our blog posts.  As we wrap up the year, we thought you might like to revisit some of our more popular questions to view the final results!

If these polls are any sort of window into the minds of our readers, then here is what we know about you:

1. You were torn on making a choice, but ultimately you think that social media is a viable, long-term option for service.
2. Indeed, you are tech-savvy…and would love to see QR codes become a new channel for service.
3. Forget the major IVR investments though!  You’re keeping it simple with low-cost fixes.
4. Everything to everyone—generalists are your employee of choice.
5. Keep it simple with those folks though…only 1-2 web chats at a time, please!
6. Your adherence policies do not give much leeway when it comes to reps taking a short “time out” after a difficult call. Read More »

“What is the future of the customer experience?”

Seems like the $64,000 question, right?

Well, I had the pleasure of attending a summit on this topic a couple of weeks ago.  Sitting in with customer service executives from around the globe and across many industries – like financial services, retail, and telecommunications – it was a great couple of days away from the office to give me time to think about the answer to that question.

We talked about everything from big data to integrating service into the customer’s more mobile lifestyle to expanding into new channels to using VOC to, of course, social media.  We discussed customer expectations today, and how to drive change throughout the organization.

And at the end of the day, after having a chance to reflect on all the rich conversations – I had a few takeaway thoughts I wanted to share with you: Read More »

More than 1 billion people around the world use social networks. Let’s pause on that for a second. ONE BILLION people. That’s more than three times the size of the U.S. population. It’s equivalent to the entire population of Africa.

There’s no doubt, then, that social media has changed the way customers interact, the way they access and process information, and the way they engage with brands. Customers today – both in professional and personal situations – want coherent and organized information, accessed simply and quickly.

Yet this preference for social networks doesn’t have to be confined to Facebook. Through company-sponsored online customer communities, companies can create internal social networks that provide benefits to both customer and company.

In fact, many service organizations have built web-based user communities to provide customers with an interactive platform to exchange ideas, collaborate with peers to ask questions, and access shared information. Since customers tend to trust peer advice, live communities often serve as a starting point for issue resolution and can even deflect contact center calls. Read More »

CCC has partnered with Iconoculture to bring you the latest in global consumer trends.  Below is our bi-weekly update featuring the latest Iconoculture insights available now on the CCC site.

A recent survey of European shoppers found that 96% of UK customers are likely to speak up about poor customer service experiences, along with 95% of shoppers in Italy and 91% in Germany.  This is an alarming statistic for companies doing business in Europe – especially in light of recent technology that has drastically simplified the customer complaint process.

Not long ago, a customer who wanted to complain about a bad service experience had few options: hand-write a letter, send an e-mail, or make a phone call.  Complaining required a significant investment in both time and effort.

Thanks to social media, however, customer complaints are easier than ever. Not happy with the service you received from your airline? Quickly send a 140-character gripe to the company’s Twitter handle. Dissatisfied with a recent interaction with your bank? Tell the world about it on the company’s Facebook page. These websites provide a more convenient platform for complaining customers – and with 73% of European internet users now participating in social networks, it is crucial that companies pay attention to online customer content. Read More »

Whether they need to know a product price, gather information, or simply complain about something, Asian customers are increasingly turning to social media for assistance. Ovum reported that nearly 40% of Indian consumers use social media for customer service— compared to only 12 % of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom. In China, too, service through social media has almost doubled in the last two years, as people turn to social media as a viable alternative to phone. This trend of increased use of social media by customers is pushing companies to tap into social media as a service channel in Asia.

Before jumping in, however, companies should consider the diverse social media landscape in Asia, as well as the cultural/local nuances of various regions: Read More »

CCC has partnered with Iconoculture to bring you the latest in global consumer trends.  Below is our bi-weekly update featuring the latest Iconoculture insights available now on the CCC site.

If you’re part of the growing number of consumers that own a smartphone, you can’t wait to make use of the latest and greatest features that these gadgets offer—everything from voice-activated commands to real-time GPS navigation and face-to-face video calling.

But despite an overwhelmingly positive response to most new mobile features, consumers have very divergent views when it comes to one feature in particular: location-based services. These services refer to mobile technology that makes use of the geographical position of the device and its user; and as the mobile space has grown more social and connected to immediate information like time, location, and context, features like these have also raised some major privacy concerns for consumers.

While a recent Iconoculture survey found that only 10% of consumers had prior experience with location-based services, it also found that 41% of participants expressed zero interest in using location-based services, with concerns over privacy violations universally cited as the reason. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Did you miss our webinar featuring what you need to know about social media?

If so, worry not—we’ve compiled key ideas and takeaways discussed during our Q&A with Cindi Freeburn, Director of Community at QVC, and Joanna Howard, Head of Strategy at BT. Cindi and Joanna told us how their companies are using social media as a customer service channel, including insights covering:

-Using social media to provide technical support

-How to measure the ROI of social media activities

-Whether reps should specialize in one channel or work across platforms

-Lessons learned and advice for using social media as a service tool

CCC members, find out the key insights you missed and learn how QVC and BT use social media as a customer service channel.

I’m a visual leaner, which means that I learn best by seeing or watching how something is done.  And a quick Google search tells me that about 2/3 of the population falls into this category of learners, so there are quite a few of us out there.

So imagine my disappointment when I tried to find some visual assistance (read: how-to videos) to repair my washing machine and only found the product manual on the company Web site.  I’ll get back to my washing machine in a minute, but first why don’t companies have how-to videos on their sites for customer support?

Read More »

Note: This post, authored by Corey Mull of our sister program the Marketing Leadership Council, is a great introduction to the ins and outs of Google+.  CCC is assessing the impact this platform will have in the world of customer service more specifically and we will be back in a few weeks to share our thoughts.

A few weeks ago, to almost no hype or pre-arranged fanfare, Google launched a new social network, called Google+. On the surface, it looks and functions a bit like Facebook, but under the hood there are some important differences that could break Facebook’s unchallenged hold on the “strong-tie” social networking space.

There’s been a lot of Google+ analysis out there, some of which you’ve likely already read, so we’ll try to get at the most essential things to know by looking at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Read More »

This post was written by Latika Mahajan, a Senior Analyst with our broader Sales, Marketing, and Communications research team.

In a recent blog written by Pete and Lauren, 55% readers voted for Social Media being a viable, long term customer service option. Given the growth of Facebook and Twitter accounts, the percentage of votes will probably only increase, if I had to guess. By linking social media channels with a unique objective (e.g. Twitter for broadcast notifications, and in-the-moment support; Facebook for engagement and discussions), companies are increasingly innovating on how they connect with the “socially-connected” customer to troubleshoot, engage, and build service differentiation. Here are some of my favorite examples of companies working with social media.

Facebook and Twitter are popularly used by the service industry for troubleshooting:

Mindful of Facebook’s viral nature, companies are linking complaints via social media with responses through traditional channels.

• A customer of home furnishing chain Pottery Barn, was fed up with the customer help line and in-store service, so she posted photos of a tabletop explosion on Pottery Barn’s Facebook Page. Within 30 minutes she received a call from a customer representative who worked with her to find a solution. This led to a negative experience turning positive, averting further negative comments on a public channel. Read More »