Delivering an omni-channel tenant engagement approach results in a better experience for both tenants and the agents serving them. It also results in a better bottom line for the business. Thankfully, advances in customer-centric technology make achieving these goals not only possible, but also easy and cost-effective.
Five key omni-channel strategies:
- Ensure your platform is truly omni-channel. Tenants will choose an engagement method that works best for them, wherever they are and whatever they’re doing.
- Offer a personalised experience. In most cases, you won’t need to know every detail about the tenant; instead, provide a feeling of recognition by being able to recall their past interactions, and offer them the right options at the right moment.
- Resolve issues on the first contact. The notion of the ‘customer journey’ is one of the biggest customer engagement buzzwords, but one needs to be careful not to confuse the journey concept with a tolerance of excessive interactions; the goal should always be to resolve an issue on the first contact.
- Reduce customer effort. Speed of resolution is still a paramount concern for both tenants and housing providers. When agents require customers to repeat information following transfers, or lack data about the tenant’s past interactions, this negatively impacts the customer experience and drives customer dissatisfaction and attrition.
- Evolve with the times. To continue to be effective, businesses must evolve accordingly, supporting new channels with the same commitment to a seamless, personalised, and proactive experience that is offered in existing channels.
Although dazzling experiences might be welcome, they are not what is required or expected. Customers, first and foremost, want care that is consistent and easy. They want to be recognised, understood, and provided with the proper resolution. Delivering this kind of experience may not be extravagant, but it greatly increases customer satisfaction.
Improved customer experience:
Achieving a better customer experience is attainable; you can easily create a desirable and effective customer experience by implementing a platform that is omni-channel for both customers and agents. When constructing your CX platform, don’t forget to account for your service agents – they need a consistent view for customers, across all channels and across time.
Integrate more than engagement platforms
All related applications and databases should be integrated and accessible from a single agent’s workspace. Agents will then have the data when they need it, the business will benefit from maximising the value of existing investments, and management will be equipped to satisfy the interests of both tenants and housing providers.
Know them when you route them
Your omni-channel strategy must approach interactions not as standalone exchanges but as moments in a continuous relationship. To accomplish this, your customer experience platform must provide agents with context and a history of previous interactions, ensuring that they can immediately pick up from the previous touch point.
Accommodate evolution & growth
Tenant demands will change, and new contact channels will emerge. A truly customer-centric organisation has the capability to adapt as the marketplace changes. It can quickly accommodate changes in tenant expectations, and readily incorporate new channels. Ensure your platform is able to scale, evolve and adapt easily to change, and that you have the management tools needed to provide consistent service.
Measure & manage your KPIs
A fully-integrated customer experience platform provides immediate access to actionable performance statistics. Management should be able to easily determine customer effort, agent success and channel usage. Why are tenants calling, and what’s driving repeat calls from them? Which agents are the most effective, and on which channels? The ability to measure KPIs, including first contact resolution (FCR), and customer effort score (CES), across all channels is key to succeeding with the evolution of the contact centre.
Continuous engagement
Continuous engagement is what drives results, and there are many benefits to providing productive, meaningful engagements with your customers. A single agent workspace is the key to great engagements. When agents can easily view all necessary information, they are freed up to engage with that individual and provide a level of personalisation that is too often absent.
Robert McDougall is president & CEO of Upstream Works Software.
