Customer Service – A Vital Subset for Brands amid COVID-19 Crisis

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    Customer Service - A Vital Subset for Brands amid COVID-19 Crisis

    The latest data from the Kustomer survey has highlighted the importance of customer service with the surge of the widespread pandemic

    To tackle critical business functionalities even under lockdown conditions, several customer service teams have been operating remotely, even though they may be marginally underprepared. Due to that, they have been facing various challenges with increased customer inquiries, handling complex issues, and the ongoing demand for enhanced efficiencies. Clearly, customer service organizations are managing a vital role during the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. Likewise, managed services companies are striving to function with their limited resources. Their real situation has recently been studied by the SaaS customer service CRM platform, Kustomer that has recently published its latest survey results, reimagining the enterprise customer service.

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    The company has surveyed over 150 customer service professionals spanning a variety of industries. According to the study, nearly 90% of the customer service representatives believe that their job is more important than ever. The respondents also noted that much fewer agents feel equipped for handling massive changes in ticket volume, policies, and customer attitudes. About 79% of the respondents reported the pandemic is adversely affecting their customer service organization, whereas only 1% of organizations said that they faced no change. Besides, sectors like retail, IT, etc. are witnessing a rapid decrease in their business, and healthcare and financial organizations are encountering much more critical problems like never before.

    Today, it is tough for customer service organizations from different industries to have the capability of adapting and responding to surged customer demands. Unsurprisingly, many businesses have failed to provide their employees with the required technology and support for their tasks. Brad Birnbaum, CEO and Co-Founder at Kustomer, is reported to have said in the company’s blog post, “With increasing numbers of businesses closing their storefronts, customer service agents are often the only point of contact consumers have with a company, making them invaluable to brands’ efforts to manage the rising number of customer inquiries and prevent issues before they arise.”

    The principal findings from the Kustomer survey are –

    • The customer service inquiries are increasing: The survey found a 17% rise in inquiries (phone inquiries comprises of 34% surge, an e-mail with 28% surge and web with a 24% increase).
    • Representatives aren’t well-equipped to function remotely: About 39% of surveyed participants reported difficulty while working remotely. Besides, 23% said they are having a lack of tools to operate successfully.
    • Revised policies and complex issues need enhanced efficiencies: Nearly 77% of the respondent reported that they had to learn and understand new policies. Another 64% noted the demand for greater effectiveness, and 57% said they are dealing with more critical issues than usual. Whereas only 50% of respondents feel they have the tools and resources to solve customers’questions.
    • Small customer service teams are asked serve more: Almost 63% of the organizations said that they need to cut costs amid the crisis, and about 46% noted about reducing the staff count.
    • The need for the right technology to solve customer needs: Nearly 56% of companies reported the need for investing in advanced technology, and another 59% noted the urgency to adopt automation to provide efficiency.

    Brad Birnbaum also added, “Today’s climate demands that companies and their customer service teams increase efficiencies with limited resources, leaving many looking for intelligent technology and tools to automate and scale communication with accuracy and empathy.”

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    Clearly, enhanced technology can provide agents with the required tools and insights they need to tackle customer needs and helping brands to develop long-lasting customer relationships.