In the words of Clean Bandit, “I’ve been hearing symphonies, before all I heard was silence”. A symphony is a long, elaborate musical composition performed by an orchestra and, here, Roxanne Abercrombie of business automation specialist, Parker Software, explains how customer service can resemble a symphony. However, it takes practise, consistency and coordination to get it right.

Businesses may have a few customer service agents, or they may have a large team, either way, all customers must receive the same consistent message from whichever staff member they are put through to when getting in touch. It is down to the customer service manager to set the messaging standards, and monitor customer service interactions for quality and outcomes.

Live chat software, such as Parker Software’s WhosOn, is tool that harmonises the customer service symphony — you could think of it as auto-tune. Pre-programmed, automated responses allow agents to send set answers to frequently asked questions, increasing consistency and efficiency.  Additionally, real-time translation technology ensures consistent service across the globe.

The Conductor

The manager is like the conductor, with the performance depending on their guidance and monitoring. They have to coordinate the timing of the performance, ensuring that live chat lives up to it name, being ‘live’ rather than delayed. Luckily, agents are able to attend to more than one chat conversation at once to ensure this is possible. Managers can also implement post-chat surveys to ascertain customer satisfaction.

Chat operators who convert the most enquiries to sales should be celebrated as the star of the performance, and those who aren’t performing as well can receive support as needed.

Equally, the audience can be monitored by the manager, with live updates on customer happiness available using sentiment analysis.

Sound Check

When it comes to refining the performance, the experience can be tailored to the audience’s preferences, with inbuilt customer relationship management (CRM) system integration.  Returning customers have their chat logs saved on file so they can be greeted like old friends, rather than strangers. This knowledge provides operators with a powerful tool, informing them of any previous issues before the customer has chance to mention them.

This is particularly useful given the often high turnover of staff in customer service or call centre teams. With this in mind, it is also important to train agents fully before they start to use these live chat features. You wouldn’t place an untrained artist on the stage of a symphony orchestra, and the same applies to the customer service performance. They need to learn how to make full use of features, rather than just using it as a basic messaging system.

Live chat makes everyone want to be part of the symphony. The operators enjoy the efficiency and usability of the live chat interface, the managers appreciate the availability of insights and data, and the customers enjoy the performance. Messaging is consistent across the entire team, meaning everyone is on key.

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Customer Experience