6 steps to customer engagement

7/28/2019 6 Steps to Customer Engagement

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SOCAPInte r natio n a l n

Winter 201 1 vo l. 16 nO

Focusing on Customer Satisfaction and Retent

Six Steps to EffectiveCustomer Engagement

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SOCAP International 625 N.Washington Street,Suite 304 Alexandria,VA 22314

PLUS ...Best practices for social media10 tips to build customerloyaltyLeveraging the power ofsmartphones


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Smart IVR systems take thetraditional phone call and flipit on its head, using mobiletechnology to make newofferings and to give smartphoneusers instant access to themobile content they desire.

Leveraging thePower of Smartphonesand Smart IVRs

Y ur customers are changing the way they engagewith your brand. Driven by advances in smartphonetechnology, accessibility and content, consumers havebecome hooked on the mobile experience. Nielsonreports that in the past year, the U .S. smart phone audience has grown 53 percent to 78.5 million subscribers; halfof allnew phones activated in the United States are smartphones, up from34 percent in the previous year.

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In addition to the adoption of smartphone technology,mobile users continue to embrace text messaging, with66 percent of mobile phone users sending and receivingtext messages (SMS). The number of voice minutes usedby mobile callers has remained stable, while texting has"exploded,"2 with a projection that 8 trillion text messages will be generated by the end of 2011.3

Furthermore, consumers are growing more attachedto their mobile phones. In a study conducted by Yahoo!,42 percent of mobile users agreed that they would calltheir phone , "my co-pilot," saying that without a mobiledevice, " I felt a sense of sadness. It made me feel disconnected and somewhat ou t of control," and, "I just feltnaked in a weird sort of way." One subject went so faras to say, "I t is like the cellphone/ mobile Internet has become completely integrated into m y life at this point."4

Therein lies the truth: For many, their mobile de -vice is a vital appendage. It is no t a new technology justbeginning to break the surface of consumer interest.Going mobile is a shift that has already occurred-and israpidly growing. The number of cellphone-only homesin the United States has doubled since 2007 from 13percent to 26.6 percent, according to the CDC. 5

Mobile consumers are mobile, and they demand mobile offerings. They represent a new type of consumer,with positive and negative implications for customerengagement. In fact, companies realize there are prosand cons to many of the characteristics that define themobile user. For example, they seek interactive content.They are highly engaged and engagable, often overmultiple screens and mediums, bu t they interact onlywith brands able to deliver this content. Moreover, manymobile users are avid multitaskers, distracted and on thego, making them less available via traditional means ofcommunication, like email or phone calls.Uniting Real-World With Mobile

Th e hyperconnected mobile user is "plugged in" during all waking hours, increasing the ability of consumeraffairs to reach consumers. Mobile users readily consume, bite-sized pieces of information delivered via SMS, smartphone apps, social media and more . Customers who havegone mobile are receptive to many new points of contact.Brands, then, should view mobile as an opportunity toreach out to customers in new ways. By using servicesthat unite real-world experiences with virtual, mobiletechnologies, businesses can develop and nurture an audience of mobile consumers. Popular ways to achieve thisgoal include:

Q R codes: Although quick response codes are justnow gathering steam in the United States, they havebeen popular overseas for some time . These variationson the common barcode are designed to be scanned bymobile phones. They can initiate a phone call , link to a

website, add contact information to a user's phone andmuch more. Often seen on storefronts, business cardsand print ads, the intrigue of a QR code will encouragescanning, and the scanner's attention will shift from thereal world to the mobile, virtual world.

Daily deals: A number of daily deal couponing services have grown in popularity. These sites give new andexisting customers something that many want in a downeconomy: a great price on a product or service they needor want. Forty-four percent of online consumers use orsearch daily deal websites . O f subscribers to these services, 60 percent receive and review emails from morethan one local deal site daily.6Daily deal services combine websites, email, text messages and smartphone appsto deliver coupons.

Growing mobile usageand technology allowsthe telephone, morespecifically the IVRsystem, to functionas a multimediacontact zone.Geopositioning: A spin on a traditional social-mediasite, geopositioning services, like FourSquare and Face

book Places, rely on the idea that people will want totell their virtual friends where they are in real life. Usersare encouraged to "check in" at their favorite places tosee who else is around and earn points that can get themanything from a coupon to a virtual mayorship. Gettingreal-life visitors to check in gives businesses exposureover many social-media platforms, including Facebookand Twitter, and rewards consumers wh o participate inthe game.Twitter: What does Twitter have to do with real-lifecommunications? For a brand: everything. Twitter usersrelay up-to-the-minute information about their real-lifeexperiences. Deliver great service, an d your customermight tweet about it . Keep someone on hold for toolong or have an unresolved complaint and your customer will definitely let the twitterverse know. Twitter is afast-paced, short message site for microcommunicationsthat was initially designed to be used with text messagesand is still frequently accessed from mobile phones. The

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IMPACT OF MOBILE OFFER FOR l-BOO-PREPARE

Coupons

Contests

Growing this mobiledatabase allows abrand to continueto provide mobilecontent to users.good news is that many tools exist that enable brands tokeep track of their buzz.Create a Multimedia Contact Zone

Although customer use of Internet and mobile services continues to grow, the traditional telephone remains

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the easiest an d most effective way to addressconsumer concerns and encourage customersto express their voices. I t also remains one ofthe most expensive means of communicationfor businesses. Fortunately, growing mobileusage and technology allows the telephone,more specifically, the interactive voice respons(IVR) system, to function as a multimedia contact zone.

An intelligent IVR system can be a business'sanswer to smart, mobile technology. Thesesystems take the traditional phone call and flipit on its head, using mobile technology to makeofferings that were not previously available andgiving smartphone users instant access to themobile content they readily consume. The options provided by these systems are endless, bu tbusinesses often provide: Self-service menu (check order status) Customer service surveys (rate your rep and

experience) Coupons (incentives to buy) Contests (enter to win a prize) App downloads (access links) Callback appointments (scheduling andconfirmation) Maps and directions (enhanced cust omer

service)As with traditional IV R systems, callers indicate their interest by pressing a number. If, forexample, a caller is looking for directions, thefirst prompt might say, "For nearest location,press 1." With a smart device, the caller mightop t to have directions sent directly to their mo-

bile phone including a link to a map. If the caller is usinga mobile phone, they will no t have to add any additionalinformation to receive the content. If the caller is using alandline, they will be prompted to enter a mobile number. Following transmission of the map is another textmessage, asking the caller to opt in to a mobile database.Growing this mobile database allows a brand to continueto provide mobile content to users.

Intelligent IVR systems are good for consumers andcompanies; they provide convenience and brand awareness. They deliver requested mobile content that is usefuand relevant to the end-user. They can reduce and eveneliminate time spent on hold waiting for a representativeThis technology suits an on-the-go lifestyle by ins tantlydelivering information and allowing the consumer toschedule a call back from a representative. For representatives, this means better preparedness for calls, andallocating more time for discussion. Representatives canidentify callers from their database before the call back,giving them information before initiating customer con


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tact. A business benefits by cutting down on the numberof callers seeking representatives, reducing hold time andmore efficiently answering calls.These factors reduce costs and optimize return on investment. Furthermore, the business can develop a more effective customer service strategy tailored to a mobile databaseof customers ready for contact, whether it is for feedback via.surveys or marketing initiatives like couponing.

According to Gregg Hamerschlag, chairman andCEO of Primary Wave Media, "Intelligent numbers areabout customer relationship management, which is oftenoverlooked by a lot of companies. As mobile technologycontinues to be adopted, it's becoming more importantfor businesses to use that same technology to engagewith customers."

Mobile technologyallows for theunification of thesmall-screened mobiledevice with the threedimensional world.Case Study

Th e impact of this technology can be seen in the brand1-800-PREPARE. This "etailer" of emergency preparedness kits and supplies uses its IV R system to offer coupons,encourage participation in contests and grow its mobiledatabase. 1-800-PREPARE's data shows the impact ofmobile offers. (See chart on opposite page)

Coupons: In thi.s data, we see similar numbers forcoupon usage for callers using mobile phones and landlines. Th e data for landline callers reflects their actionsafter entering a mobile num:ber. About 4 percent of allcallers asked for a coupon, while 7 percent of those callersfollowed through and used it. Regardless of coupon use,many users replied "yes" when they were asked to joina mobile database. Callers using mobile phones were 12percent more likely to join the mobile database after asking for a coupon.

Contests: More users joined the company's contest thanthose who asked to receive coupons: 7.02 percent of mobilecallers and 5.65 percent oflandline callers (6.12 percent ofall callers) joined. Of these, about half replied "yes" whenasked to join a mobile database, with mobile users 25 per-

ce.nt more likely to add their number to the list.Database Growth: Overall, 1-800-PREPARE was

able to convert 4.7 percent of callers into database members. Of all callers, those originally calling from a mobilephone were 12 to 15 percent more likely to opt into a mobile database, depending on the offer requested; 42 percentof users who requested a coupon code, whether they calledfrom a mobile phone or landline, opted into the database,while 49.7 percent of callers who joined the contest alsojoined the mobile database.

Smart IVR systems offer an opportunity to more effectively engage a customer service representative andcreate a more interactive, efficient and overall productive experience for callers. Consumers frequently adoptservices that use mobile phones to unite the so-called realworld with virtual applications. From daily deals to Q Rcodes, mobile technology allows for the unification of thesmall-screened mobile device with the three dimensionalworld. Customers receive content that ranges from appsto maps. The smart IV R system represents a marriageof technologies in which the whole is greater than thesum of the parts. Those who embrace it will benefit fromtheir ability to improve fulfillment of customer needs andexpectations. CRMnotes1. Nielsenwire,June 30,2011 , http:/ /blog.neilsen.com.nielsenwire /

online_mobile/ in-us-smartphones-now-majority-of-new-cellphone-purchases.

2. Nielsenwire,January 2011 , http: //blog.nielsen.com / nielsenwire/wp-content/ uploadsI2011101 / nielsen-media-fact-sheet-jan-11.pdf.

3. Portico Research,January 2011 , http : / /www.porticoresearch.com /MMF11-15 .html.4. Yahoo, Mobile Modes and How to Connect with Mobile Con

sumers: Part 2. 2011:5 .5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National H ealth

Statistics Report "Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates fromNational Health Interview Survey," January 2007 - June 2010,April 20,2011: 39: 1.

6. Lauren lndvik, Mashable, "Daily Deals: Beloved by Consumers,Les s So by Merchants " [infographic], October 25, 2011. http:/ /mashable.coml2011 / 10/ 31 1daily-de als-infographic-3/ .

Andy Begnoche is director of operations atHOLDCOM on audio marketing companythat special(zes in brand reinforcementand improving the customer experiencethrough professional voice recording andaudio production. He was responsible forthe development and launch of a selfservice online branded e-commerce portal, and has spentthe lost two years heading up HOLDCOM's social-media initia

tives. He recently organized a social-media networkingworkshop, which meets monthly to explore social-mediaapplications for business.

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