Think back to the last time you experienced great service. What made it ‘great’? Without a doubt, it will have been the person you spoke to on the end of the phone or online chat. Their ability to fix the issue in a manner that demonstrated they knew why they were fixing it will have made your day.
That person was demonstrating the value of an emotional tie within customer service and how it can yield fantastic results in business.
We live in a world where instant answers are expected, no matter the time of day. This gave birth to the digitisation of customer service and a greater choice of channels through which to obtain help, many of which are based on self-service.
This lack of direct communication with clients can in turn reduce the emotional connection CX agents have with the business. With such infrequent and intangible interactions, how can they enjoy and engage with their job? The good news is that it is entirely possible, and in this post, we’re going to consider why emotion needs to be tied to business results.
Agents need to know what they’re doing and why
Customers need to know that their issues are resolved by people who know what they’re doing and why. Problems should be fixed because CX agents know it is the right thing to do - not because they can.
If agents know the impact their fix has on the results of the business, they’ll start to see the value in what they’re doing and appreciate the role they play in being the face of the company. This will in turn translate into an awesome customer experience whenever direct contact is made.
The customer should always be ‘in the room’
Whenever commercial decisions are made in the boardroom, the customer should always be present. Not literally, of course, but before rubber stamping a new policy, procedure or form of customer service, businesses should consider the customer’s likely response.
Less transactional work for CX teams and varying methods of communication for incoming support queries means that any change to service must offer value for the customer. As soon as that value is sidestepped, diluted or ignored entirely, CX staff will feel the brunt, harming their emotional connection to the business.
KPIs can be simplified
In a recent talk at the Rant & Rave ‘Year of Emotion’ event, Andy Cook, Head of Second Line Service at OVO Energy, described how his team are provided with one KPI - a single number - that tells them how well they’re performing.
This number is the result of complex background calculations that look at Rant & Rave scores, ‘right first time’ data and contacts per day, but the result is a single figure that CX team members know relates to their performance, effectiveness and experience.
A simplified KPI will help teams identify what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. They’ll feel in control and realise the harder they work, the better job they’ll do for customers and the higher that number will be. There is no better way to build an emotional commitment with one’s role.
Engenders commonality of purpose
Successful businesses possess teams who are all working towards common goals. By tying emotion to business results, everyone in the business, from the cleaner to the CEO will know that everything they do makes a difference.
When John F. Kennedy famously asked a NASA janitor what his job role was, the chap’s reply perfectly encapsulated the importance of an emotional connection to your employer. “Well, Mr President,” he said, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
Commonality of purpose helps everyone tie their emotional involvement with the company to tangible business results.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter how great your brand is if you’re not delivering on service. As customers and teams digitise, maintaining a desire to be unique in the world of CX is vital. What you do in business is based on input from those closest to your customers - ensure you keep them emotionally engaged.
If you're looking for best practice tips on emotionally engaging your frontline we suggest reading our recent post on the top 3 ways to emotionally engage the frontline.
