How mobile affects customer services


As customers become more sophisticated users of devices, organisations need to be able to offer smart, connected interactions that link customer information and unique, mobile-optimised data. When they get this right, organisations can offer personalised interactions and improve the overall customer experience.According to Ovum, by 2016 over half of inbound customer service calls will be made from mobile devices.  The increasing use of smart and mobile devices means that more sophisticated and interactive customer service experiences are inevitable.  In other words - we all need to rethink our customer services strategies.Customers are increasingly demanding ‘online attention', turning to social media to vent their dissatisfaction and concerns.  Brandwatch, which produces an annual customer services index, has explored the ways in which leading brands are using social media to deal with this increased demand for attention from customers.   John Lewis scores highly amongst the retailers studied.  It was quicker to respond to customers tweets than other retailers (with a median time of only 16 minutes) and was also the most prolific tweeter.  It also responded to almost a third of Facebook posts.  64% of social media mentions of John Lewis were positive ones - a massive 47% above the average.(Libraries, it seems, can learn from the retail sector. At Internet Librarian International this year, Liz McGettigan of The City of Edinburgh's Library and Information Service will describe how their new strategic model for library services borrows heavily from the retail sector.)Social media opens up new customer conversations.  Many of us blast out exasperated tweets when we feel let down.  But an instant and genuine response can quickly turn around our negative opinions. It's great to talk - but it's even better when someone listens to us - and acts accordingly.