Return to graphical view

   

Join Us Linked In Twitter

Multi-channel development

09 May 2012
SMS for customer service
It is easy to overlook the untapped power of the simple SMS text message for customer service. Used in the right way, SMS can be an important ally.
08 May 2012
Coping with unstructured demand on customer service
The proliferation of multi-channel software and hardware has meant it is no longer possible for organisation to dictate how customers get in touch.
19 April 2012
3 reasons to use self-help video for customer service
Many customer contact centres are now looking to build an effective social media strategy. But while Twitter and Facebook spring to mind as obvious social media channels, self-help videos are often not considered as part of the mix. However, using a visual help guide can have a huge impact on call volumes, as Ginette Lytton explains.
22 March 2012
Successful B2B social media: quality not quantity
They say you’re a serious player if you have 500+ LinkedIn contacts and Twitter followers. Maybe. But surely it’s more important how you engage with your online contacts than how many you have? Michael Gray investigates the effectiveness of truly engaging with your online audience by putting his theories to the test.
21 March 2012
6 tips to manage a multi-channel customer service crisis
The contact centre is often at the heart of the action when there is a customer service crisis. And the challenge of keeping customers informed is now compounded by the many channels that they can use to demand a response and the speed at which bad news travels. Together these factors make addressing a crisis much more complex and fraught with difficulty than in the past. Dee Roche offers 6 tips to manage a multi-channel customer service crisis.
20 March 2012
Web self-service boosts the effectiveness of the contact centre
We’re all familiar with the virtual self-help assistants that we see on customer facing websites. On the surface they’re a more personalised, engaging way to help customers with routine questions and aim to offset a certain volume of incoming enquiries to the contact centre. However to see them purely as a call deflection mechanism is missing a trick, says Davin Yap .
16 February 2012
What does social customer service mean?
Less than 20% of what is now called ‘social customer service’ is actually run by customer service departments. ‘Social’ topics such as ‘peer to peer customer support’, ‘social media monitoring’ and ‘triage management’ are yet to be widely understood processes and competencies within call centre communities around the world. Instead these are issues that marketing teams have been driving for the last few years. Martin Hill Wilson questions whether marketing is the right function to take operational control of customer service issues when they arrive via a social channel.
15 February 2012
Can web chat revolutionise the customer experience?
Since the broadband roll out back in 2003, the evolution of technology has continued to enhance online two-way communication, leading many sectors to reach out to customers in different ways. There are countless commentators who have claimed that web chat and video will revolutionise the customer experience. But are we ready for it, asks James Eyre , and where could it be used most effectively?
09 February 2012
Don't be a twit: Twitter for customer service
Brands find themselves under great scrutiny for customer service through the instantaneous and unregulated nature of social media, in particular Twitter. How can organisations cope with an increasing onslaught of customer contact through the publicly visible social media channels? Heidi Coles , discusses how to strike the balance when it comes to managing social media, corporate reputation and customer satisfaction.
17 January 2012
Providing the optimum customer experience in 2012
As customers continue to abandon the hustle and bustle of the High Street in favour of a peaceful online experience, it is becoming increasingly important to develop an astute customer experience. Kurt Bager explores the benefits of web chat as a resolution for customer care providers to supply F2F (face-to-face) customer service, keep customers on their sites and get them clicking the ‘buy now’ button.
10 January 2012
Email customer service: the forgotten channel?
As a channel, email accounts for over 10% of all customer contacts. So why do many customer contact operators pay so little attention to it asks Michael Gray.
05 January 2012
Inbound marketing for contact centres
As direct marketing ‘opt-out’ and ‘do-not-call’ restrictions grow, smart organisations are aiming to capitalise on inbound marketing opportunities that lie within the contact centre. Neil Skilling explains how each customer interaction can be leveraged as a chance to better understand customers and drive up-sell opportunities.
24 November 2011
Improve customer service by freeing the agent desktop
Susannah Richardson argues that the key to effective customer service is making life easier for agents by liberating them from the tyranny of complex databases . The agent desktop, she insists, can make the difference between happy customers and customers who are kept waiting on the line.
03 November 2011
What is social media? Making sense of social media for businesses
Social media has become a mainstream communications tool for consumers. The results of Convergys’ 2011 UK Customer Scorecard Research found that 57 per cent of UK consumers have Facebook or Twitter accounts, if not their own blog, and 42 per cent of UK consumers have a smartphone with a data plan.
01 November 2011
Online customer service: live chat support
With the news that more companies are now adopting web chat as an effective way of communicating with customers, Emily Millar examines the benefits of this tool and the things to consider when implementing an online chat facility. Important considerations include remembering that web chat involves quite a different skill set to handling calls, and keeping your communications true to both the channel and the brand.
28 October 2011
Social media content: top writing tips
The growth of social media means that more and more customer service agents are now monitoring and replying to customer queries via these channels. But the skills needed to write an email and those needed to write a tweet can be quite different. So what makes for good social media writing? Neil Martin offers his five top tips…
19 October 2011
The role of telephony in the digital age
Stuart Gray examines how the telephone channel works in targeting new customers and retaining them by building good relationships and brand loyalty – and asks how telephony can fit into a modern multi-channel strategy . In an age where the deployment of mass digital marketing campaigns continues to evolve, does telephony still have a role to play?
26 May 2011
Waking up to the social media challenge
Growing numbers of customers are turning to the internet and social media to vent their frustrations with products or services. There is a perception that customer service departments are difficult to reach and often ill-equipped to deal with enquiries.

Chris Hall tells why it is vital for business to simultaneously address their knowledge strategy to make their investments successful.
07 April 2011
Making social media part of the contact centre
Over the last couple of years social media has taken off as a remarkable phenomenon, and one which reaches broadly into society. Dave Paulding tells why social media is too important to ignore.
21 February 2011
Dealing with a nation of complainers
A bombshell report following a survey of UK call centres from analyst firm ContactBabel revealed a seismic shift in peoples attitudes to brands and customer service. Jim Kent investigates.
16 February 2011
How can the cloud improve service?
Jonathan Grant explores how companies should be looking to utilise the cloud to enhance their customer service offerings. Plus, how Wokingham Borough Council has dramatically improved its customer satisfaction levels by adopting cloud based technology.
14 February 2011
Ten steps to effective cross-channel marketing
Simon Robinson offers his ten steps to getting the most out of a cross-channel marketing campaign by fully integrating systems, effective use of data, and comprehensive measurement and performance.
14 February 2011
The end of the phone-centric contact centre¨
Call centres as we know them will soon be extinct, prophesises James Tanner. With a new generation of tech-savvy mobile customers coming through, companies will have to adapt to changing expectations or face serious consequences.
14 February 2011
How to form a social media strategy
We continually hear that Twitter, Facebook, etc is essential for effective communication with customers. In this article, Interactive Intelligence's Dave Paulding examines what adopting a social media strategy could mean for your business.
17 January 2011
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
You are attentive to your customers needs and have always been quick to introduce the lines of communication they want to use to engage with you. The good news is you are doing the right thing. But Craig Pumfrey says how you integrate these channels into your business determines if you are doing things right.
08 January 2011
How to segment your email audience
Kara Trivunovic discusses how to make the most of email data by segmenting your audience to make each electronic contact as relevant, and successful, as possible.
07 January 2011
Insight on Apple through social media
Paul Weald reports on how social media mining tools came to life at a recent UBM organised workshop, and the insights that these tools can provide on what is being said about a brand across online communities.
06 January 2011
Real-time cross-channel solutions for the front line
The fact that the dialogue between businesses and their customers has undergone a paradigm shift with the advent of social media is not news. Oren Ezra says that companies that don't listen to what their customers are saying about them, stand to lose not only these people, but up to millions more.
08 December 2010
Turning an adversary into an advocate
The multi-channel contact centre is, for many businesses, something of a mixed blessing. But if not well implemented, it can be an expensive and possibly fruitless endeavour, says Carolyn Hall .
16 November 2010
Consolidate to Accumulate
At a time of slower economic growth and reduced customer confidence – when brands are locked in a battle for their customers enduring loyalty – the argument for anything other than a consolidated approach is hard to justify. Mark Brown investigates.
13 October 2010
Ten things you need to know about Facebook
With the release of The Social Network, retelling the story of Facebook, Experian Hitwise looks at just how popular the worlds biggest social networking site really is.
01 September 2010
Do you know how your customers behave online?
Are supermarkets and retail companies missing out by only targetting consumers using their own brands? Jo Malvern thinks so, and she explains the opportunities presented by brands sharing websites to engage a different type of audience.
20 August 2010
Social Media Revolution
Hosted by Siemens Enterprise Communications, this roundtable discussed how social media will change the way in which businesses interact with their customers.
15 August 2010
Crossing over: how to integrate channels
Simon Robinson outlines why cross-channel customer communication is growing in importance, but a lack of integration is preventing effective delivery. Plus, he offers his top ten tips for integrating channels in your customer contact operation.
08 July 2010
The changing face(book) of customer service
The proliferation of blogs, podcasts, video, chatrooms, social networking sites and other online interactive communication is transforming the corporate-customer relationship – so how are companies coping with this? Keith Pearce gives some answers.
26 May 2010
Travel
It was feared that moving transactions to the web would dehumanise holiday bookings. Yet James West discovers that smart providers are using self-service, automation and integrated multi-channel communications to ensure the flight-path to personalised service has been cleared.
26 May 2010
Facebook post cost me my position
Social media is transforming internal communications profoundly. Call centres must keep up says Mark Lewis.
25 May 2010
Multi-channel joy
Over the past ten years, there has been a massive shift in the way brands can communicate with consumers and the legislation that governs this.
10 May 2010
Is it realistic for call centres to reduce NHS costs?
Positive call centre stories are rare, so news that they could help an overworked NHS to drastically reduce cost is to be celebrated. Yet is the proclamation that effective call centres and self-service could reduce GP workloads by 39 per cent realistic? James West asks.
21 April 2010
An integrated interaction
Over the past ten years, there has been a massive shift in the way brands can communicate with consumers and the legislation that governs this. Chris Hancock explains the need for companies becoming more integrated.
23 March 2010
The Marriage of Search and Social Media
There's no doubt many businesses are aware of digital marketings power; particularly in light of increased demand for social media programmes. However, in order to maximise online expenditure, businesses should consider taking a holistic approach, says Chris Speed.
22 March 2010
The Benefits Of Online Customer Closeness
Sarah Askew outlines the value that online techniques can bring in helping client brands develop powerful consumer insights.
19 March 2010
Travelling with the times
Travel customers are a demanding audience. Holidays are a treasured time in anyones annual calendar, and nobody wants the joy of an upcoming trip fettered by worries about high costs, complicated booking procedures or service errors. Maia Honan outlines the importance of a social media strategy.
15 March 2010
The power of you
The potential impact of personalised marketing over the web is enormous, but companies must move quickly to seize the opportunities presented by a truly integrated multi-channel sales and customer services strategy, says Mark Simpson of Maxymiser.
08 March 2010
Maximising revenue and adding value for your customers, all via your website
In the past 10 years, the worldwide web has gone from being foreign and out of reach, to a fundamental part of every business and organisation. Paul Hudson believes that additonal revenue strategies should always be undertaken with the customer in mind.