Digital Customer Service is the new standard for creating a 5-star customer experience
As much as technology has improved our lives, for many people customer service experiences remain unnecessarily frustrating. But the advent of Digital Customer Service (DCS) promises to make these interactions seamless and effortless by creating experiences that occur entirely on a customer's own screen, even in situations where it is preferable to speak to an agent.
Digital Customer Service: Transforming Customer Experience for an On-Screen World traces the evolution of customer service - as well as the evolution of customer expectations and the underlying psychology that drives customer behavior - from the days of the first call centers in the 1980s all the way to today's digital world.
Written for Customer Service and Customer Experience leaders as well as C-suite executives (CEOs, CFOs, CIOs), Digital Customer Service helps business leaders balance three critical priorities:
- Creating an excellent experience for customers that increases customer loyalty and profitability
- Driving down the cost of Customer Service/Support interactions, while increasing revenue through Sales interactions
- Moving quickly toward the goal of "digital transformation"
We have discovered - in our research and our first-hand experience - that when companies commit to achieving true Digital Customer Service, they can make significant progress toward all three of these goals at once. Digital Customer Service provides the roadmap for how your company can get there. And when you do, who wins? EVERYONE.
Table of Contents
About the Authors xi
Foreword by Corrie Carrigan xiii
Preface: Now It’s Our Turn xvii
Section One The Problem with Customer Service and the Digital Opportunity
Chapter 1 The Win-Win-Win-Win 3
Customer Service at an Inflection Point 4
The Difference Between “digital customer service” and DCS 6
Two Very Different Experiences 8
Win #1: The Benefits of DCS for Companies 13
Win #2: The Benefits of DCS for Customers 17
Win #3: The Benefits of DCS for Agents 19
Win #4: The Benefits of DCS for Service Executives and Leaders 21
Customers Have Transformed; So Should Your Company 23
Key Takeaways: Chapter 1 25
Chapter 2 The Peaks and Valleys of Customer Service 27
It Wasn’t Always This Way 28
How Did Customer Service Become Such an Easy “Punching Bag?” 33
Customers Are Wired for Negative Reactions 34
Companies Are Wired for Efficiency 37
Cost Eats Quality for Lunch 39
Evolution of Customer Service: The “Quality Valley” 42
Key Takeaways: Chapter 2 44
Chapter 3 Digital Self-Service Changed Things Forever 45
The Citi Never Sleeps 46
From Migration to Expectation to Demand 48
Never Going Back Again 51
Evolution of Customer Service: The Digital Self-Service Explosion 55
Why the “Bolt-On” Approach Doesn’t Cut It Anymore 55
Social Media: Salt in the Wound 58
Evolution of Customer Service: The “Expectation Valley” 62
Key Takeaways: Chapter 3 63
Section Two DCS Terminology Overview
Chapter 4 The Three OnScreen Pillars of DCS 67
Climbing Out of the Valley of Expectations 68
Evolution of Customer Service: The Inflection Point 69
DCS Defined 72
OnScreen Communication 74
OnScreen Collaboration 78
OnScreen Automation 81
OnScreen Collaboration: Getting on the Same Page 83
Digital-Also vs. Digital-Only vs. Digital-First 89
How to Build a Business Case for DCS 92
Added Bonus: DCS is More Secure 97
Key Takeaways: Chapter 4 100
Section Three Dcs Transformation Overview
Chapter 5 The Process - A Step-By-Step Guide 103
Put It on the Screen 104
“Cooking Up” the Ideal Digital Service Strategy 105
Step 1: Get the Right Ingredients 106
The “Secret Ingredient”: OnScreen Voice 116
Step 2: Learn Which Dishes People Like Best 120
Digital Self-Service Inventory (2x2) 121
Step 3: Serve Your Best Dishes Consistently 129
Journeys Based on the “Process” not the “Person” 130
Earning Your Michelin Stars 136
Key Takeaways: Chapter 5 138
Chapter 6 The People - Empowering Agents, Leaders, and (Even) Bots 139
From Call Center to Contact Center to “Collaboration” Center 140
The Agents: Rise of the Superagent 142
The Leaders: Retaining and Attracting the Best People 148
The Bots: Humans and Machines Working as a Team 156
“Confidence Equity” Works Both Ways - For Customers and Agents 168
Key Takeaways: Chapter 6 173
Chapter 7 The Positioning - How DCS Future-Proofs Your Company 175
Time to Move to the Center of the Universe 176
Internally: It’s a 6 × 3 and A-to-Z World 178
Externally: CX Is the Last Frontier for Differentiation 187
Key Takeaways: Chapter 7 195
Epilogue: To Infinity and Beyond 197
Digital Customer Service FAQs 201
Notes 209
Index 213
