What role should technology play as a customer care Differentiator? Increasing customer expectations require a strategic vision.

Today's consumers have seen a technological explosion that is changing how they view the buying experience and beyond. What once required a trip to a bricks-and-mortar store to see available merchandise can now be accomplished by pressing a few buttons on a computer or even a cell phone, providing immediate gratification through the power to buy anything, anywhere. Customers are becoming familiar with instant satisfaction and are anticipating the same fulfillment in their customer service experience, even switching brands if the experience doesn't meet expectations. This is especially true of customers in the under-40 age groups. As globalization brings increased competition and brand loyalty takes a sharp decline, companies must improve the customer service experience if they are to survive.

Customer Care Excellence Through Technology And Corporate Vision

According to consumer research firm J. D. Power & Associates, customers' expectations are changing at such a fast pace that companies can't respond quickly enough. A company once seen as a leader in customer care may today be perceived as a poor service provider, not because the service or the customer experience has changed, but because customers' expectations have changed.

Meanwhile, businesses are not evolving processes and technology to keep up with growing consumer needs. Much of the technology deployed today has been implemented based on attitudes of the 1990s, when companies valued cost savings and the efficiency and productivity of call handling. Companies today are responding to customers' increased expectations by shifting the focus from a cost center mentality to a profit center mentality, seeking to increase brand loyalty by providing exceptional service and sales while retaining productivity and efficiency.

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Amcat believes that the answer lies in the partnership of technology and a company's unique customer service vision. Amcat is a leader in contact center solutions that help companies communicate more effectively with customers. The company believes that the right technology can improve customer care and support the customer care process while reducing handling costs.

Companies must look at the issues within their call centers and create a clear vision of superior customer service. "Every company has different needs and customer care requirements," says Mike Rohleder, Amcat CEO. "We think it's important to identify what customer service means to your organization, and then find the right technology to provide the optimal customer experience, enabling you to conduct profitable interactions. Companies like Amcat can help you with this process and then provide technologies that enable your vision."

A Vision Of Service That Extends Beyond The Contact Center

For many companies, a vision of customer care excellence means being able to answer customer questions quickly and easily, even if the resource resides outside the contact center. As companies open new offices or go global, fast access to resources, people and data becomes challenging, opening the door for customer dissatisfaction.

To meet the growing knowledge and data needs, companies must leverage the resources of the entire organization. The call center is no longer the alpha and omega of customer service. No single employee can know everything, so companies must find ways to bring down the data and people silos and provide the resources needed to take care of customers.

The right technology plays an important role. New IP contact technologies provide extensibility and flexibility so customer care services can be leveraged wherever they reside in an organization or enterprise.

Customer Expectations Grow Beyond IVR 

Take the case of UroMed, a U.S. provider of healthcare products that differentiates itself in the industry by providing highly personal customer service. To meet rising customer expectations, UroMed decided to rethink its customer interaction processes. Research from the University of Akron showed that 93 percent of people prefer to speak to a live operator and dislike the IVR experience. UroMed agreed and was looking for a way to provide customers with an exceptional experience where all calls are answered by a live person and then easily routed to the right resource regardless of location. UroMed turned to Amcat for answers.

Amcat recommended implementing its soft IP-PBX technology. This technology would support UroMed's vision for personalized customer service enterprisewide. Its scalability would allow UroMed to provide extensive customer contact and call handling features.

Jim Weatherford, UroMed president, tells the company's story. "Amcat helped us realize that a traditional PBX or customer contact system wasn't enough. They showed us how soft IP-PBX technology could provide us with powerful customer contact functions in addition to the flexibility and value we needed." Weatherford adds, "The soft IP-PBX is now the linchpin of our customer contact operations. It extends customer service to all of our employees and leverages the resources of our extensive employee knowledge base. By empowering our employees to meet the increasing demands of our customers, we will continue to outperform in our industry."

Rohleder says companies need to respond to the phenomenon of shifting customer expectations by changing their focus, looking at the customer not necessarily as a sales target, but instead as a person who is valued and an important company asset. In today's fast-moving consumer market, a loyal customer is an asset to be managed well. Companies need to find ways to provide the customer with the experience he or she is seeking.

Happy Customers Equal A Happier Bottom Line

There is a distinct connection between good customer service and bottom line profits, and companies are recognizing this. Many are putting efforts toward creating a better, more interactive experience with customers and prospects. This doesn't happen randomly. It's the sign of a company that knows its vision for customer care and pursues that vision with passion.

Rohleder says the center of the universe in call center excellence is to identify the processes and procedures that will provide the most profitable interactions with customers. The next step is to provide the technologies to support that vision. Amcat's vision, he says, is to help companies discover their visions and provide the right technologies to turn those visions into realities.

For more information about Amcat, visit www.amcat.com.