SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS AND FIND THE HIDDEN GEM
The subscribers at a Communication Service Provider (CSP) today are generally underserved when it comes to customer service in general, and specifically for technical customer support.
Overcoming barriers in CSP Customer Service
It's more the rule than the exception that CSPs try to avoid actual interaction with the customer base by all possible means: having the customer go through endless FAQ pages and efficiently hiding the contact form and customer support number, so the hurdle of just getting in touch with the CSP is painful enough. If the customer eventually finds the means of contact, the waiting and response time can be very long, and the received response is often unsatisfactory due to poor tools and knowledge at the CSP technical support.
The role of automation in CSP Customer Service
In a time when automation is a key word (automated operations, automated customer onboarding, service delivery, and orchestration), customer service is lagging. The customer journey is smooth and simple until there is a technical issue—that's where the journey often becomes full of hurdles and sharp turns.
Leveraging customer feedback as an asset
But trying to avoid issues does not make them go away, and what if there is a hidden gem that the CSP is missing out on? Not only are the subscribers underserved, which in itself is a measurable source of dissatisfaction and churn, but also the customer feedback as an asset is underutilized. If we should learn just one thing from the approach of the big internet companies, it should be that customer engagements and reactions really are a valuable asset.
Channels of engagement in CSP Customer Service
If a CSP were able to provide their customers with the means to engage with customer service through their channel of choice—be it through an app, via a digital assistant, a phone call, or a visit to a branch store—those engagements would sum up to a great source of intelligence that can be utilized for the benefit of the customers as well as the CSP itself.
Utilizing engagement data for CSP Customer Service improvement can
Train models to provide proper responses and recommendations for mitigating customer issues.
Map the customer service engagements with network locations or nodes, service platforms, customer equipment, etc. This information can provide the service and network operations center with knowledge about what issues in the network create the most customer engagements, thereby providing important input for prioritization.
Provide intelligence for network and service planning by understanding which parts of the network or service platforms generate the most engagements.
Provide increased intelligence for customer retention and churn prevention. Technical issues are a large part of the reason customers churn, and being able to see what issues customers are engaging with is an important part of understanding which customers are prone to churn.
Combining customer perception and engagement data
As an addition to the last point above, this can also be combined with actively measuring customer perception of service delivery and mapping that to both the active customer engagements as well as the measured customer experience in the network, providing an even better means to apply AI and machine learning to predict detractors in the network. If this is done successfully, there are endless possibilities to use that data in customer service, business intelligence, and other areas.
Achieving effective CSP Customer Service engagement
To achieve the above, the first step is, of course, to get the customers to engage. This can only be achieved by providing good quality responses and recommendations to the customer. The customer needs to feel that the message from the CSP is transparent and consistent, no matter what channel is selected, and that can only be achieved by having a common platform that serves all channels with similar types of responses and recommendations. This tool should:
Empower customers and customer service agents with fast and accurate information and recommendations.
Have the ability to provide a consolidated view of the customer experience—from the network and service experience to customer equipment performance.
Provide information about known issues and alarms in the network that may affect the individual customer - and this information should be correlated with the measured customer experience.
Support different channels of accessing the customer experience data and recommendations, providing a consistent message through all channels.
If executed correctly, the platform will not only provide hidden gems but also a more efficient customer service, encouraging customers to use digital channels, shortening resolution times, and decreasing the need for escalations. At the same time, customers will be better served, and customer satisfaction will increase.
The Future of CSP Customer Service: automation and intelligence
Customers, now and going forward, will expect smooth and efficient customer service from their CSPs. Automation is the only viable way forward to accomplish this, serving both the customer base and providing underutilized intelligence necessary for future success