If you think about it, your customers put a lot of faith in your brand and the ability of your employees to care for things that matter to them. Whether it’s their financial security, their access to healthcare, or their ability to care for a loved one—they depend on you.
While many customer journeys begin via self-service, the human agent is not disappearing and shouldn’t be ignored. After all, if a customer has reached an agent about an issue they cannot resolve through self-service, that agent needs to earn their confidence quickly.
How the agent responds represents your brand’s promise. How quickly and efficiently they can solve the problem or find the answer will either build or diminish brand loyalty. But to exude the necessary confidence, your agents need to feel empowered to find the best solution for the customer.
Companies that implement best-in-class practices for agent engagement and performance management outperform other companies in terms of customer satisfaction by 70%.[1]
We are all looking for ways to set a higher bar and exceed customer expectations. Empowering your front-line staff, whether outbound or inbound, to deliver the unexpected can surprise and delight your customers and foster brand loyalty. And studies show that making your customers happy is what satisfied agents love most about their jobs. It’s a win-win!
So, let’s talk agent empowerment! Here are five tips to get you started.
Tip 1: Ensure your agents appear educated and credible
Having the right information is key when it comes to enabling and empowering your agents. That means you need to understand customer expectations so you can build a CX strategy to exceed those expectations. Keep in mind those expectations are not a one-size-fits-all situation.
For example, some pet owners are concerned with having the money they will need to care for their pets, while others want the very best options for their pets, no matter the cost. That’s why personalizing the experience and knowing who the customer is will always be key.
Customers value different experiences, and those values can evolve based on the type of inquiry or even as the journey unfolds. For example, a customer might be willing to pay the top price for their pet’s healthcare needs, while following a tight budget when it comes to recreational products like toys.
Technology, like conversational AI, provides agents with customer expectation insights to help agents exceed those desires. AI can also help agents feel more empowered to respond to expectations because they know they can find the information and tools they need.
Contact centers with defined agent engagement and empowerment programs realize superior business results such as a 10% annual improvement in customer retention.[2]
Tip 2: Complement agent skills with AI-driven knowledge
The best way to empower your agents to respond creatively to customer expectations is to give them insight into the complete customer journey. For example, imagine how delighted a pet owner would be if an agent already had detailed information about their pet, enabling them to arrive at a solution faster. If the agent knows what questions to ask and what the pet needs most without the customer having to repeat information, this will quickly build trust.
But it’s important to provide agents with relevant, contextual information. Do not overwhelm them with superfluous information. Instead, enable them with the information they need based on the customer’s current journey and previous experiences as well as the context of the conversation unfolding.
61% of Americans are willing to go through the trouble of switching brands or companies because of just one very bad customer service experience.[3]
This key information is not limited to contact center or CX data. In order to see the end-to-end customer journey, you must blend the data from CRMs and other backend systems—in addition to in-the-moment insights for agents to help them provide the best possible experience.
You can do this with a customer journey analytics solution. Customer journey analytics solutions do a wonderful job of providing this visibility and help bridge together every step of the experience. With the right AI, agents can access a holistic, cross-channel view of the customer experience to help them personalize service.
Invest in proactive, AI-driven agent-assistance tools like real-time interaction guidance to provide in-the-moment insights to agents and helps ensure the best possible experience. Other tools such as knowledge management and automated attendants can also help expand agent skills naturally and keep them happy and informed.
Tip 3: Personalize the customer AND agent experience
Imagine if a cat parent was automatically connected to an agent who also loves cats. There would be an immediate connection through shared experience. The interaction would be more enjoyable for both the customer and the agent.
With CX technology, it is possible to delight customers by connecting them with the best agent to resolve their issues. AI routing expands routing beyond availability and basic skills, using the power of data from all available sources, to improve the interaction between the customer and the agent.
74% of B2C customers and 86% of B2B customers expect customer service to be well informed about them.[4]
It’s also important to adjust the experience as the journey evolves. Interaction analytics can identify where improvements can be made and provide coaching to agents to help them adjust and expand their skill set in real time.
Tip 4: Automate while maintaining the human value
Wouldn’t you be delighted if you contacted a brand about a concerning issue your pet is having and the agent knew everything about your pet, their habits, health issues, and preferences. You wouldn’t have to waste time bringing them up to speed with information you’ve already given them in the past. Instead, the agent can focus on the issue at hand, actively listen, empathize, and quickly provide solutions. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
The secret to creating this ideal interaction is having the right AI tools in place. After all, agents need to feel well-equipped and informed before they can respond to customer needs. An omnichannel customer service platform can help agents deliver natural and focused interactions, which are the best way to reduce customer and agent frustration. It’s also the best way to delight them both.
Employees who receive daily feedback from their manager are 3x more likely to be engaged than those who receive feedback once a year or less.[5]
You can also help agents adjust their approach where needed by leveraging agent-assistance tools to provide guidance in real time. This can help agents show empathy, develop soft skills, and even increase the likelihood of resolving an issue or making a sale.
One of the best ways to delight agents and customers is to leverage desktop attendants and RPA to free agents of mundane tasks and allow them to focus on the customer. RPA also allows agents to easily view a summary of all customer action items on their CRM dashboard so they can actively listen and provide useful product information or suggestions in a personalized, timely manner.
Tip 5: Keep customers and agents coming back for more
When agents know they will be recognized for delivering a delightful customer experience, they are more likely to do so. This is obvious. But just think how pleasant an interaction would be with an agent who is excited to ask about your pet, and truly seems to care about the information you share.
Showing your agents that they are appreciated is a crucial factor in meeting your customer service KPIs. Charlene Li, a Digital Transformation and Disruptive Leadership Expert, says, “People don’t want to get paid more. They want to be recognized. They want to feel like they matter, that they make a difference. And we want people to understand our purpose, our strategy, who we are serving, and their personal role in making that strategy happen.”
Organizations that care about employee well-being have 2X the customer satisfaction as reflected in their net promoter score.[6]
Provide visibility into their performance and give them the tools to help them grow as an employee. These tools can include coaching and interaction analytics. It’s important to pinpoint high-performing agents and recognize them. This helps retain the agent and encourages them to continue exceeding customer expectations.
Motivate agents through incentives, gamification, and friendly competitions based on CSAT and other KPIs. This is a fantastic way to drive engagement and increase productivity and performance.
Learn more about how to use gamification in your contact center with this eBook.
Delivering the expected is no longer enough! Brands need to surprise and delight their customers in order to grow business and revenue and build brand loyalty. Your agents play a crucial role in your ability to successfully reach these KPIs. Empowered agents will go the extra mile for your customers, and they will be happier as well.
Wherever you are in your agent empowerment journey, this eBook provides insights on how you can harness technology to create a more personalized and delightful experience for your customers.
[1] NICE: Agent Engagement & Empowerment 2022: Building Blocks to Boost Agent Retention & Performance (2022)
[2] Aberdeen: State of the Contact Center (2022)
[3] Shep Hyken: The 2021 ACA Report (2021)
[4] Gartner: Future of customer service (2022)
[5] NICE CXone: Customer Experience (CX) Transformation Benchmark (2020)
[6] Gallup: What is Employee Engagement and How Do You Improve It (2020)