Data Analytics, Workflow Solutions Deliver Better Outcomes

Customer experience is a hot topic in business conversations these days. Call center and contact center operators and solutions providers like to discuss CX. But C-level executives are talking a lot about it too.

The question is: What makes for a great customer experience?

That varies, of course.

But American Customer Satisfaction Index creator Claes Fornell once told me that customer satisfaction maps closely with customer expectation.

That makes sense. Because people tend to have very different expectations in terms of budget brands vs. luxury brands.

To get a better sense of the kind of experiences customers are having, many businesses today employ customer surveys and other voice of the customer initiatives to get direct feedback.

There are a variety of variables that can impact the accuracy of results of such efforts. That can include everything from what questions are asked, how they’re asked, and when they’re asked.

The companies collecting and/or using these results also come at survey results with their own goals and biases. But even the most unsullied survey reviewers tend to extract the easiest possible conclusion from such efforts and move to address it as quickly as possible.

Forward movement is great. But so is truly understanding what’s driving business outcomes and customer experiences and views. So it’s helpful to have the tools and processes in place to automate and operationalize VoC efforts and responses. That way, people and systems can better understand whether, for example, customer satisfaction decreased due to a problem with the product itself, or because of an issue with billing, a confusing website, slow delivery, a customer service agent that needs more training, and/or some other factor.

Systems that can analyze data from a variety of angles – and even visualize that data – can go a long way in helping organizations better understand what’s working and what needs to be optimized at their organizations. And workflow solutions can ensure once concrete conclusions are uncovered, contact centers and other parts of the business can quickly take the right actions to allow for better business results.