Bose manager on weaving empathy into digital CX

Ahead of her session at CCW Asia, Bose’s customer service manager talks to CX Network about the importance of empathetic digital customer experiences in 2020

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CX Network
CX Network
07/29/2020

Image of Bose headphones

Over 13 years of working in customer service with brands such as HP, Carestream, DHL eCommerce, Nespresso and now Bose have taught Anna Wang, customer service manager at  the audio manufacturing giant that, with the right focus, brands can foster valuable relationships with customers that are held together by strong trust levels.

She says: “Maybe because I myself am a truly demanding customer, I strongly believe every customer deserves a seamless and memorable experience to make life much more convenient, enjoyable and valued.”

Digitalization

While Wang acknowledges that in general Asia’s level of digitalization is higher than in other parts of the world, she maintains that the global pandemic has intensified the expectation of fulfilling end-to-end customer needs and delivering customer experience through distant channels alone. She believes this has now reached an unprecedented high.

“People in Asia and especially China had already lived on mobile, and the need of social distancing during Covid-19 even strengthened this virtual lifestyle.”

As a result, Wang maintains that “to provide safe and efficient customer journeys” brands must digitalize the ways they interact with customers. In doing this, contact centers must avoid the common mistake of implementing tech without a customer-centric approach. Rather than letting investment decisions be driven by an infatuation with a shiny new tool to impose upon customers, technology should be integrated because it aligns with customer desires and behaviors.

Humanness in digital experiences

Wang warns that technologies and digitalization should not deliver cold, rigid or indifferent experiences to customers.

“The human elements are actually even more important than before Covid-19. Personal feelings and emotional linkages are something that cannot be neglected during day-to-day operations. Smiles, empathies, recognition and appreciations should be integrated into each touch point and along the whole journey to embrace customers’ joy or anger, surprise or disappointment and engage them wisely.”

Industry commentators have observed that the widespread disruption and stress inflicted by Covid-19 has sparked a hunger for more care, support and relational bonding within communities.

“In this sense, Covid-19 has made people mentally closer than ever, while being more physically distant, which brands should take into account in terms of designing and delivering customer experience,” Wang remarks.

 

Accessibility

If a customer wants to interact with a brand, this must be a simple process.

“Customer care is all about accessibility and personalization,” says Wang. “When I need you, I can easily reach you and you do care.”

This is why it is a risky tactic for contact centers to only implement self-service technologies such as chatbots with the sole purpose of contact avoidance. Wang has noticed some brands deploy this technique by leaving customers very limited choices and making it extremely difficult for them to talk to a “human” when needed.  

She advises: “This undoubtedly could create frustration and harm customer experiences. Any brand that wants to leverage customer experience as an advantage should not fall into this situation.”