Business

How telecom tech can build better customer service

Many businesses are making sure their websites are mobile-ready, adding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to their external communications
Many businesses are making sure their websites are mobile-ready, adding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to their external communications Many businesses are making sure their websites are mobile-ready, adding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to their external communications

THE pressure is on.

Speed is everything, and keeping your customers happy, servicing their needs well and winning new orders remain the key goals for most companies in Northern Ireland.

Nobody wants a dissatisfied customer.

On this, not much has changed. However, the environment in which businesses can succeed and excel in this area most definitely is – and while customers are driving the change, some companies are still thinking about what they should do next.

The simple fact is – your consumers are online. With among the highest number of internet households in the world, approaching 90 percent, and more than three quarters of people accessing the internet on their mobile phones, there’s no doubt where, when and how they get their information and how they want to communicate.

Though businesses are adapting to changing consumer requirements – making sure their websites are mobile-ready, adding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to their external communications – how many are really adapting the right technology to make sure they convert that contact so it adds to their bottom line?

Some are. But tech-savvy customers with the world at their fingertips and an almost limitless choice of suppliers still want more – and they’ll rate businesses not just on their ‘friendliness’, but also on speed and responsiveness.

For many sales-driven businesses, getting this wrong can mean poor reviews which are widely shared and, ultimately, if the situation isn’t addressed, falling sales and a more worrying reputational issue.

So what can you do? Quite simply, remember again that your customers come first. Be as responsive as you can with the resources you have.

You could also deploy a range of new software systems already available which can be integrated into a modern, telecommunications system.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, for example, are advancing fast – spreadsheets, lists of names and numbers relating to old orders or ‘loyal’ customers are already thing of the past.

Social CRM systems are in, and they can be adapted easily so that you can benefit from a transformational shift in the way that you interact with customers – in a way in which they now demand.

CRM platforms now support social media alongside traditional channels so customers can interact with businesses over their preferred channel – phone, text, chat, email or social media – which means not only better customer service but greater insights into their behaviour using the data gathered.

They are designed to allow your customers to shift easily between your communication channels, you can see the benefits it can bring. One of the best features is that every interaction can be tracked and managed in as much detail as required.

What many businesses don’t realise is that modern telecommunications and IT services are now inextricably linked and that strong, safe and secure networks and systems are flexible to immediate needs and cyber threat-ready.

Backed up by Cloud and providing all the data capacity a business needs to capitalise on the exciting, innovative software available to power business and meet customer needs, there really is no excuse in 2019 not to explore the solutions available which can help you deliver the ultimate business objective – putting your customer first.