There is much talking about Customer Experience.
Regardless of whether you are a renowned CEO, work in a small business or have read any of our articles, surely you have heard about the importance of providing a good customer experience to ensure business success.
But, what would be, in practice, the so famous CX? And what to do to become a reference in the subject, having in mind that the world is increasingly digital and the consumers are even more demanding and multi-connected?
Debuting the series of interviews “Talking with experts”, we invited the responsible for DNK Infotelecom’s customer service sector, Tânia Futiwaki, to talk about the theme.
During the interview, Tânia has shared her experience about what Customer Experience is, in addition to sharing good practices and tips so CEOs can become a reference in the subject.
“Companies need to understand that CX is a continuous improvement. Always”. Tania insists to highlight.
Read below the complete interview with Tânia Futiwaki:
DNK: What is Customer Experience (CX)?
Tânia Futiwaki – Customer experience involves everything related with the service experiences that a customer has, had or will have at all service channels provided by a company. This includes: electronic service (URA) – both voice and digital – WhatsApp and other messages applications, virtual agents with or without Artificial Intelligence, social media (Facebook, Instagram) applications for smartphones and tablets, websites, portals and even physical stores.
In simpler words: CX means understanding and evaluating all contact that a customer makes with a company and improve this experience in order to satisfy him, that means, that he “gets what he wants” quickly and simply, but with maximum efficiency and safety, and also in an innovative way, offering modern products and services in line with his needs.
DNK: In your vision, as an expert in the area, why should a company invest in CX?
Tânia Futiwaki: Being really direct, the main reason is the simple fact that the customer is the main income of a company. Serving the customer properly, making him loyal and offering new products and services consolidates the company’s business and opens doors to new sales and more customers.
DNK: In an increasingly digital world, how to provide positive experiences to the new era consumer?
Tânia Futiwaki: As a CX expert, i have some fundamental actions, like: investing on intelligent technologies, like Artificial Intelligence, URA and ChatBot; enable service on the various digital channels (WhatsApp, email, etc) and, above all, maintain multichannel – after all, all these channels must be connected. The customer sees the company and not the service channels in a different way.
DNK: Speaking of multichannel, how can Omnichannel help improve the digital consumer experience?
Tânia Futiwaki: As I mentioned above, the Omnichannel is the key to attract the digital consumer. Normally, the new era consumer accesses all the company’s media, compares prices and always wants the answer to any problem or question as quickly as possible.
The Omnichannel meets this “customer requirement”, since it allows the information sharing among different channels and allows the company to anticipate the consumer’s needs.
DNK: About investing in smart solutions: What would be the advantages – for both companies and consumers – of adopting tools focused on CX?
Tânia Futiwaki: To begin, adopting these tools shows that the company is worried about their customers, making them feel welcomed, respected and heard. Investing in CX only brings advantages.
From the consumer’s view, he only has to win, because nowadays, digital channels are the most sought-after ones. The great majority has a smartphone and looks to solve all problems through it. Digital applications, services via WhatsApp and portals are increasingly used and sought after by consumers. So, as a company starts to invest in these solutions and the more up-to-date and efficient they are, the more positive the consumer experience will be.
From the company’s view, investing in CX-focused solutions guarantees, at least, updates in front of the market, as well as power of competition in front of its competitors.
DNK: Thank you for sharing your opinion. You have mentioned before the need to properly serve the customer for business success. Going back to this subject and establishing a relationship with Customer Experience, what would be the importance of customer service for a good CX strategy?
Tânia Futiwaki: The service and its implications are the focal point of all CX. Having a pleasant, simple and efficient experience/service satisfies both customers and company. Good service generates a wave of likes, a wave of disclosure, whether on social media or “word of mouth”, which consolidate a company’s CX strategy.
DNK: What would be the difference between Customer Experience (CX) and Customer Success (CS) inside a company’s strategy?
Tânia Futiwaki: The CX contemplates the entire customer journey/experience, from start to finish, across all contact channels, whether they are a loyal customer or a prospect.
CS is about the effectiveness of the contact (buying, selling and solving the problem), that is, the post-sale, so everything that was promised during the customer’s purchasing journey is fulfilled.
DNK: Here at DNK we always look to motivate our employees. From the cleaning sector to the top management sector, everyone is treated with equality, admiration and respect. In your expert point of view, how can a motivated team contribute to CX strategy success?
Tânia Futiwaki: This is an excellent question. First, I would like to congratulate DNK for adopting this attitude of engaging and motivating its employees. I am proud to be part of a company that is worried about the well being of the whole team.
Going back to the question, throughout my experience I have observed – and it is already proven by researchers – that a motivated team generates relevant insights for the company. These insights can be used to optimize operations and create innovative solutions that can better serve the customer, that is, the company that motivates its employees takes the lead simply because employees are motivated to work, once they know their importance, their role in the business success.
A well performed work, done with good will, will certainly please the consumer and, most likely, make them loyal, in addition to generating news business’s opportunities and more customers. If the consumer is happy, the company is happy too.
DNK: In many answers, you talked about customer loyalty. Which CX strategies a company can use to attract and retain customers?
Tânia Futiwaki: Debureaucratize processes: always keep a simple journey, but clear and efficient; the information should be understood by the customer and not left any doubt; use a simple language, easy to understand and with practice content; enable self-services so that the customer can obtain the desired information – the easier the customer journey, the better their experience; expand customer options, offers alternative journeys and service channels; re-evaluate journeys frequently; evaluate the use and effectiveness of self-services, among others.
It is also fundamental to hear the customers and their pains, and find new solutions or improve the already existent ones. Companies need to understand that CX is a continuous improvement. Always.
DNK: Which tips would you give for a company to become a CX reference?
Tânia Futiwaki: Basically, hearing your customers and their pains. From there, elaborating strategies to meet these needs, as well as improving the service in the different channels. The experience has to be fluid, “pleasant”, but effective.
Of course, these points must be in line with the company’s guidelines.
DNK: Which KPIs should I analyze to know if the CX strategies of my business are effective?
Tânia Futiwaki: We can use satisfaction surveys since always, whose questions can be directed to the various channels.
We can also raise KPIs in relation to the journey made available to the customer. For example, if a particular informational message was effective or not, if a self-service is being used. In these cases, we should evaluate volumetry and effectiveness.
Anyway, marking and evaluating customer’s journey geneares many relevant KPIs for the analysis of the adopted strategy.
DNK: Finally, how do you think DNK’s solutions can help companies to improve the customer experience during the customer service?
Tânia Futiwaki: DNK offers a CX consultancy service, independent of the URA platform used, where the entire analysis of the customer’s current situation is carried out and, from there, proposals for improvements are made based on technical inputs and guidelines of each company.
Besides that, DNK also offers many products and solutions that can aggregate in improvement of customer service. Some examples are: Call Back, Announcements Module, Recall Module and Black List.
