In an era where stays ahead the ones who offer not only quality, but also a memorable experience to the customer, it becomes increasingly important for leaders, CEOs and entrepreneurs at the forefront of companies to be in line with the latest trends in the Customer Experience and Service Experience sectors.
To talk about the importance of innovation and the technologies guiding the CX, the CEO of DNK Infotelecom, Antimo Gentile, was the guest on the 5th episode of the 3rd season of the Customer Committee PodCast, promoted by the Portal Customer in partnership with Nexcore Tecnologia and the Customer Centric Consulting.
Acting for 43 years in the Informatics and Telecommunications fields, Gentile graduated in Business Administration, with strong acting in the Commercial and Operations fields. Founding partner of DNK, he worked as Commercial Manager for 12 years in a company leader in Electronic Service Solutions, until in 2007 he founded DNK, taking advantage of all the experience acquired, continuing to serve customers conquered with modern and disruptive solutions, always with a focus on Contact Centers.
During the podcast, presented by Euriale Voidela, Editor-in-Chief of Portal Customer and CEO of Customer Centric Consulting, the expert in front of DNK shared his vision about the importance of investing in new CX-focused technologies to improve customer service.
“I worked for 12 years in a Brazilian company that was sold to an American company, it was when I decided to open DNK, the company where I preside”, Gentile introduces himself.
When questioned about the Call Center and customer service fields, DNK’s CEO says that despite being pleasant, the field demands some challenges, becoming fundamental the company putting itself at the customers’ shoes to better understand their needs.
“I have been in the contact center field for 27 years and it is an area that I really like. It is really pleasant, but it is really important in this area to actually put yourself in the customer’s shoes. I like to do it, so we are doing this for 15 years with DNK, and it is enjoyable, I can say it is pleasant “, he guarantees.
Abou the challenges of enterprising, Euriale calls attention to the importance of technology and asks Gentile’s opinion, especially regarding the customer experience.
“Nowadays the customer is much more demanding and we have become even more demanding during the pandemic. Time management, facilities management, how do you think technology and customer experience converge?” asks the presenter.
“The part of being an entrepreneur in Brazil is very difficult. Many times, the country itself doesn´t give the proper value to national companies. If you take, for example, the bank transaction field, Brazil is a world reference. So, we have nice examples that I think help a lot with the credibility part”, reflects Gentile.
“About technology, it really helps a lot. If well applied, it is something that really helps the final customer. Evidently, as I said, if well applied, because today, what we feel a lot is that the level of demand from customers is intense”, continues the CEO of DNK.
According to the expert, as companies provide the customer with contact possibilities at different levels, today’s customer can then be talking to their companies through numerous channels, and it is necessary to guarantee the quality of service in all of these.
“Today’s customer can be talking with your company through N channels. He talks by email, by WhatsApp, by phone, by a website… So, you have a series of open doors that you need to take care of. If people come by this door, you actually need to be evaluating these doors so you can be able to give a timely response to these pains that the client has when he calls you. Not always pains, many times he is calling to acquire a product or something like that. But anyway, you have to be looking at it all as a whole. So, I think that technology really helps and brings a lot of work – in the good sense”, he concludes.
“During the interview, Antimo and Euriale also reflected on the taboos of investing in customer experience. Both lamented the fact that many companies still think that investing in the customer and technology for such to be considered a cost. “We really come across companies that still have this mindset.
But, I imagine the following – and we know very well what that is – the cost of conquering a new customer is several times bigger than the maintenance of a satisfied customer, and this satisfied customer is a generator of positive opinions. I understand that there exists a great search inside companies to conquer new customers. But first, we should look to our actual customers. They are the ones that wil make a positive propagation of your brand”, explains Gentile.
The entrepreneur also highlights the consultancy work, conducted by DNK, and calls attention to the importance of companies to conduct data analysis to identify bottlenecks that can be disrupting the customer experience – and consequently, the image that this customer has about a brand.
“We do advisory work inside companies, analyzing data and we realized, for example, that if a determined customer called four times to a service center in a single day, it is most likely that he’s not calling four times to buy something. He is certainly calling about a problem that he is unsuccessfully trying to solve. So, I think this part of CX is really important to make an analysis – even for new customers that arrive to have a positive experience of your brand”, he guarantees.
“During the podcast, the customer’s waiting time was another subject mentioned. Both Gentile and Euriale agreed in affirming that today’s customer doesn’t want to be hours waiting to be served and, in this context, smart technologies like a service URA, can optimize the waiting time of this customer.
“I always say to DNK’s team: put yourselves in the customer’s shoes, cause you’re also customers. You also depend on contact centers to solve problems, doubts, questions…”, he says.
DNK’s founder also shares a tip for companies that wish to better know their customers and highlights that humans and machines should work in harmony.
“I think the best way for you to produce a good work is putting yourself on the other side – the customer’s side. Not only looking at technology. You want to know a service? Go sit next to an attendant – she knows everything about her customer. Once a month, at least, a company’s director should sit and service its customers for a whole day to feel their pain inside his own company. With this, you bring an enormous valorization to these people. If you sit with these people, you will look for solutions to many things. We need to value the service staff more. The technology itself has been helping in this part of looking for more complex solutions, but we can not forget human service either.
Gentile also talks about the importance of consultancy processes and of companies having a team focusing only in this function:
“When we are making a consultative analysis process to our customers, I am used to saying to them: No one knows your operation better than you. The great problem is that teams are set up to carry out this data analysis, but in the first problem that occurs in the operation, they take the people who are from these teams for other activities and demobilize them”, he explains.
“Advisory teams need to be effectively engaged with the advisory process. Companies have the data, but the difficulty is in effectively putting these teams together and following through with them.” concludes Gentile.
Another subject mentioned was the customer’s voice and the importance of knowing how to listen to it.
“If the customer used a high tone of voice and a few meaningful words, then I would have a crisis situation. At the moment, technology can alert a supervisor to monitor that call, that is, that operator will already be welcomed and think: but what is happening with that customer?”, reflects Euriale.
“In addition to the voice itself, if you think this is a process that is not mature yet, you can use data transcription. The technology already exists, you make the transcription of that audio and you’ll actually have incredible attention points there. This maturity, I think Brazil is speedily winning every day, and this is exciting, cause in the end, we are the ones who win, because we are also users of those services”, says Gentile.
On the occasion, the smart technologies’ constant training was also put on the agenda, once that, today, many customers avoid human contact.
“Let’s not fight with technology. A URA, for example, is stupid and must be well trained to become intelligent. So, let’s look at the customer and think how technology can be improved, guides DNK’s CEO.
“I also understand not wanting to talk with a human being. But sometimes, it is important to talk with a person, because he is also there. If you have assertive communication by voice, you can dedicate human service teams to making offers, improving service…you make that channel not only for complainants, but also for solutions and products offering.
Antimo also explains that, although many customers avoid human contact, the option of talking with an attendant should remain in the URAs.
“It is horrible for a customer to need to talk to an attendant and not have this option. If he needs to talk with a human attendant, it is because he couldn’t solve his problem through other channels. The company can see by the customer’s ID, for example, his age, his consumption’s habits and offer an URA language more compatible with that customer profile. But, if the person wants to talk with the company, we need to respect this desire”, he alerts.
Gentile ends by saying that companies can and should use data provided by technologies to provide actions and offers focused on retaining the customer.
“If I notice that my customer consumes many coffees from a determined place, for example, why not offer him a free coffee at that, simply because he’s an old customer? We can use the data that technology solutions bring to a customer, without bothering him and valuing him at the same time”, says the specialist.
“When companies imagine continuous improvement work, it is necessary to have a constant worry with the maintenance of the happy customer. We should treat people with respect, and inside the word respect has an assertive and cordial service”, he concludes.
The whole podcast is available for free in the Youtube and Spotify platforms.
