Getting Omni-Channel Right: Customers Want a Better Service

New research has uncovered frustrations with poorly managed and connected customer service channels.

The very concept of omni-channel is putting the customer at the heart of the experience by giving them a consistent and efficient journey across all channels, yet according to new research many companies are not yet getting it right.

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A new survey of over 2,000 US adults by NICE Systems has found that while 95 per cent of respondents feel that there is a sufficient variety of channels they can use to reach out to a company, many are frustrated by the inadequate ways these channels are managed and connected.

"Dissatisfaction arises when organizations cannot deliver a consistent, effortless, and personalized journey across all channels and touch points," Miki Migdal, President of the NICE Enterprise Product Group, explained.

The biggest cause of frustration, for 30 per cent of those surveyed, when dealing with customer service representatives is that agents are often not adequately prepared or lack the skills to resolve the issue at hand.

A close second is the time and effort it takes for issues to get resolved, which 26 per cent of those questioned cited as a big problem when communicating with customer service representatives.

For 16 per cent of respondents the biggest cause of frustration is when the agent does not know their history or preferences, which highlights the importance of ensuring that all the contact channels within your customer strategy are integrated.

After all, in today’s data-fuelled age it’s easier than ever to track your customer’s journey and it can save a lot of time and frustration if your representatives have easy access to all information when communicating with your customers; whether this is in person or over phone, email, chat or though social channels.