Is this the next big thing in Customer relationships?  What it could mean to businesses and how they can benefit from it?

Firstly what is it?

CEM or Customer Experience Management is targeted at the actual interactions with customers, whether personal, technical or physical.  It aims to address how these interactions can be used to influence customer behaviour.   

Whenever a customer contacts your business it is your ‘moment of truth’.  Their impression of your business can be directly impacted by their interaction with your company. 

This interaction can be in the forms of a phone call, a visit to a shop, an online experience or even when trying to make a complaint.

By using technology in conjunction with a detailed understanding of the customer touch points in a business, two of the key benefits for any business could be derived: -

• An increase in customer loyalty
• An increase in customer purchasing over time

Recent research from America reviewed customer interaction and investigated many touch points that impact on a customer’s experience including:

1. Whenever a customer makes a phone call to a supplier
2. Moving the customer call through the supplier organisation
3. When the customer accesses the supplier website to find more information and possibly purchase items
4. Physical shopping experience and sales contact
5. Feedback methodology and capture

So how would this translate into business improvements: -

1. Ensuring when customers call they talk to the right person for their enquiry, first time every time
2. Training the employees to listen and communicate an understanding of the customer’s needs
3. Creating an online presence that enhances the customer’s experience and makes it easy to find and access information
4. Provide a physical shopping experience that is simple and ensuring accessibility of products and staff to project a positive experience and build a strong relationship with the customer
5. Provide simple and effective ways of allowing customers to offer feedback on service provision

What are the next steps?

Sit down and think about how customers interact with your business, view it as if you are a new customer or mystery shopper.

What are the touch points in your business?  Who manages them, how are they controlled and monitored.

CEM it is a combination of technology, people and environment working together to deliver the best customer experience possible.

At Advance we can provide telephone technology to improve how calls are managed in your business.  We have web enabled CRM software that can provide your staff with information quickly on customers and prospects. 

Our business systems can improve and enhance how information is passed around your organisation.  Your web site can be linked to your business systems speeding up the transfer of orders and customer requests.  Our software can also automate aspects of your business process and enable you to proactively manage both customers and suppliers.

Create the ultimate Customer Experience by bringing together your people and processes along with Advance’s experience.

Call Nik Villios at Advance on               08 8238 6500        to find out more about how Advance can help make a difference to your business.