It’s no surprise that the Coronavirus pandemic reinvented the way customers and companies relate.
Such revolution, by itself, has been undergoing constant changes as the consumers’ needs evolve and new technologies are implanted in service.
In this scenario, understanding the changes in the service and in the customer’s experience has been a great challenge for a large part of the Brazilian business community.
To discuss the subject, experts gathered on June 21st for another edition of the Modern Consumer Award for Excellence in Customer Services.
Among the main changes were mentioned from the multiplication of relationship channels, with an emphasis on service via WhatsApp, to more digital journeys, with a focus on immersive experience.
The quality of customer service should be taken seriously, according to experts
One of the learnings brought by the award, was the significant decrease in the customer service’s quality, if we compare 2022 with the last 4 years. From 2018 until now, services’ performances decreased from 65% to 52,48%.
Overall average customer service satisfaction. Source: Standard Intelligence Center (CIP).
According to experts, the average wasn´t all bad. According to these professionals, the overall average by segment listed major changes in the top 10, which shows that companies are evolving in customer service. Here, it is worth highlighting that the retail sector occupied the top six positions.
Ântimo Gentile, CEO of DNK Infotelecom, explains the highlights for the segment, in terms of customer service quality.
“The retail segment has been strongly investing in CX since he recognized that the Acquisition Cost, today, only tends to increase. If your business has a high Acquisition Cost, your NPS is not really high. Now, if your NPS is high, the Acquisition Cost is lower and the profit remains. Not to mention that your company gives the image of being trustworthy”, says Gentile.
In the overall score, by channel, all numbers were bigger, with an expressive increase for WhatsApp, chat and Facebook which, in 2021, went from 33.50% to 87.45% this year.
WhatsApp has increased as a customer service channel
According to the survey presented by the Modern Consumer Award, WhatsApp not only was it the channel with the highest growth of improvement, but also the channel with the highest adherence.
In the general average of customer service forms, the messenger is present in 86% of the evaluated companies, ahead of Facebook (75%) and telephone (71%) — the most traditional channel.
Such results can be justified by the fact that WhatsApp is the favorite channel of consumers to contact a company. It is also worth remembering that, in 2021, the use of WhatsApp for business grew by more than 200%.
WhatsApp as a customer service channel. Source:Standard Intelligence Center (CIP)
“WhatsApp passed the telephone and the reason is simple: 154 million people use the app at least 2 times a day. And it works, since it is a lightweight application that consumes little mobile data”, explains Gentile.
DNK´s CEO also explains that, among all competitors, WhatsApp is the digital channel with higher level of quality monitoring inside companies – especially its business version. However, some practices should be adopted so that the digital channel continues to show positive results.
“More than 80% of customers are satisfied with the service via WhatsApp. However, we can´t forget that for the channel to continue to be successful in terms of customer service, it is necessary to consider some factors, such as omnichannel and the need to work on the customer experience”.
Good practices for companies to succeed in service via WhatsApp
1. Work on the Customer Experience
A highlighted point mentioned in the Modern Consumer Award of this year was the evaluation of the customer experience. According to the survey, this continues to be increasingly prosperous and technological due to COVID-19.
“Increasingly, the customer wants to have the feeling that the time he spends on your business is worth it. This depends on the customer service channel that was chosen. People want to make the service meaningful, the time spent. This adds to the experience, as it is what the consumer expects. The experience is the center of the business and it has everything to do with time”, explains Gentile.
2. Be sure to integrate all service channels (omnichannel)
Another important point in the discussion was the understanding that omnichannel in customer service is a trend and that increasing migrates for a more “advanced” service. This advance is understood by the creation and implementation of integrated systems.
DNK´s CEO explains that, however, that we cannot confuse the concepts of multichannel with omnichannel.
It is very common to confuse the concept of omnichannel. And you, as a company, not getting this right is a huge failure with the customer. Omnichannel means to be available all the time for the customer, at any channel, wherever he is served”, he explains.
“If your customer prefers to communicate via WhatsApp, be present in WhatsApp. In this case, it is fundamental to guarantee that your service system is integrated to the messenger API. Not only to him, but also to other digital channels which talk to each other. Omnichannel is not from the company to the customer, it’s from the customer to the company”, he adds.
Multichannel in customer service. Source: Standard Intelligence Center (CIP)
Aligned with the Gentile’ idea that entrepreneurs should not confuse omnichannel, the survey presented in the Modern Consumer Award reveals that 89% of consumers are satisfied with the service via multichannel – that it is not the same as omnichannel, but it is part of the construction of this term. In addition, the same percentage of companies already uses this resource to optimize the customer service.
“In multichannel strategies, there are many communication channels available with messages in progress. But they run in parallel. In omnichannel strategies, all these channels work in an integrated way, with information being passed between them,” explains Gentile.
Advancement of multichannel and towards the rise of systems
In the experts ‘opinion, a really interesting data pointed by the survey is that, in 2019, only 5% of companies used more than one service channel that wasn’t telephone or email.
In 2022, despite the many contact channels available for the customer to contact a company, this percentage had an increase of 33%.
“Along with this increase in the percentage, it is necessary to remember that the answer time has also increased. If these customers are looking for companies in a specific channel, and as the time is something precious, so it’s up to them to rethink the service format”, says Gentile.
According to DNK’s CEO, increasingly, companies realize the importance of the WhatsApp use as a service channel, but, more than this, focus on an experience that needs greater integration of these channels.
“Most times, the customer service process starts in a channel and, when migrating to another, needs to start again. The client no longer has time for this, it is up to companies to adapt with an integrated system and to talk to each other”, he concludes.
DNK is the number one in omnichannel solutions with integration with the WhatsApp API
Aligned with the market needs, DNK offers the best solutions for call centers and contact centers connected with the API of the main applications and social networks, like WhatsApp. For this, the company counts with the use of state-of-the-art technologies and a team of experienced professionals.
In addition to maximum security and safety in customer service, DNK values compliance with the standards required by the General Data Protection Law. To this end, the company provides its partners with tools and platforms with innovative and customizable features, with the option of storing data in the cloud, which considerably reduces the chances of information leakage.
DNK cherishes excellence in customer service, providing their partners with tools and platforms with innovative and customizable functions in order to guarantee a satisfactory and unforgettable Customer Experience.
With DNK’s products and services, customer service is humanized and made through an integrated omnichannel platform, which connects all service channels (WhatsApp, voice, web, chat, among others) with fast customer’s data and
information recovery, in order to provide a complete and satisfactory management of customer journey with differentiated results.
The company is recognized by the market and awarded by its solutions and successful cases. Winner of the “Best Self-service Solution “category, through DNK’s URA, in the XXI Modern Customer Award and champion of the silver trophy at the 2020 Cliente SA Award, in the “Leader in Innovation Strategy” category, in partnership with a customer, DNK understands that a well-served consumer is the secret to successful service.
