When supermarkets first hit our shores in the Fifties, the new freedom of being able to pick and choose without the barrier of a shop assistant proved a big – and enduring – attraction.
And if you’re keen to thrive when the upturn comes, it’s ’self-service’ that you need to inject into your customer contact and support strategy to out-perform your competitors and win – and retain – more business.
That’s the view of a recent white paper from Peppers & Rogers*, a leading international name in customer-centric business thinking.
By cutting out the need for constant human intervention, companies can make important time and cost savings – and in a period when that’s undoubtedly an urgent, top-of-the-agenda task. Peppers & Rogers believe that introducing high-quality self-service and automated solutions can lead to a 30-50% reduction in email traffic from customers plus a 10-30% drop in phone enquiries – and yet improve the customer experience at the same time.
A refreshed focus on customer service excellence wins on three counts. Your customers suffer fewer problems in dealing with you so your issue management workload drops. There’s less risk of unhappy customers spreading the word to friends, family and other businesses to harm your brand and your reputation. And by supplying your customers with dynamic FAQs and an online forum where they can exchange information with other customers, you give them the support and answers they need virtually rather than actively.
But how can you create and launch your own online self-service solution quickly and cost effectively? And – importantly – with the confidence that you can maintain and enhance your customer service values as you do so?
BT Wholesale’s portfolio of White Label Managed Services (WLMS) incorporates solutions that cater specifically for the increasing desire for self-service. So alongside the opportunity to add fully managed fixed-line voice or broadband services to your current portfolio, you can also include an online portal, created and managed by us but badged with your brand. This effective self-service hub means your customers or your staff can choose and order what they want and get the information they need 24/7. It makes WLMS an ideal way to enter new markets at low cost with a new service or trial a bundled approach but without commercial risk – and without needing to be an e-commerce expert.
It’s a proposition that has attracted BT Wholesale customer O2 UK. They have harnessed WLMS to launch their new all-in-one communications solution for businesses – as you can read in this issue here.
* Source: “Seven ways to out-service the competition: exiting the recession a leader”, white paper from the Peppers & Rogers Group, http://www.peppersandrogersgroup.com/
Want to go to market with new services or bundled offers via a self-service portal? Contact your BT Wholesale account management team to find out what WLMS could do for you.
