Customer Experience
Communication - The Root Cause of All CX Challenges ?
By Carolyne Gathuru
To say that the genesis of practically all service failure or customer complaint situations , is a causal factor that is communication related , can almost be engraved on a tablet as the gospel truth of CX excellence . Mistakes will happen and customer disappointment will inevitably show up , because we are human and to err is human nature . However , as Paulo Coelho the renowned bestselling author avers - ‘ once is a mistake and twice is a choice ’.
It is thus of critical importance for those responsible for customer experience excellence , to put CX mistakes under the microscope and examine underlying issues , rather than swinging into the common reactionary firefighting and symptoms management . A beautiful way to do this would be to dig in to root cause analysis , and especially using the five whys method - a verifiable approach to customer complaint evaluation with the simple repetition of five “ Whys ?” This model often shores up the main cause of CX issues as anchored in some malcommunication situation .
Root cause analysis typically throws up a very common communication breakdown to the customer that happens where organizations invest significant chunks of their brand and marketing budgets in ad placements on numerous channels both traditional and emerging and leave out the important internal customer group . Brand end up making grand celebratory announcements and promises about products and services much to the delight of the external customer and fail to carry along the people that matter the most where communication is concerned - the internal customer .
How often does the scenario play out where glitzy and beautifully prepared ads have a contact center number to be dialed , or email to be contacted for more information , and the internal contact center agents are unaware about the ongoing campaign . They are put to the test and are left to sing the age-old song ‘ let me get back to you ’ if the engagement is on phone , and if on social media portals then the usual turn around time is degraded owing to the need to consult first before immediately replying .
To preempt challenging customer situations and to minimize customer misinformation , brand and product knowledge needs to be percolated at all levels with the objective of having every member of the team from top to bottom highly knowledgeable .
Those at the heart of the organization ’ s external interface forming the first port of a call and main contact with customers , are often sadly de-linked from the communication chain , whereas they need to be carried right through . Detailed and well thought out communication about latest developments , products upgrades or changes , services inclusions or tweaks , customer touchpoint adjustments , and frequently asked questions , needs to land with the frontline staff at the earliest possible .
To preempt challenging customer situations and to minimize customer misinformation , brand and product knowledge needs to be percolated at all levels with the objective of having every member of the team from top to bottom highly knowledgeable . Customers are always hungry for information and the more informed customer of today who has online knowledge whether legit or otherwise , is much more challenging to deal with and calls for confident team members to rise to the occasion .
Customers want to make informed decisions and a highly informed workforce forms a great asset to have . The divide between the ‘ customer facing and noncustomer facing ’ staff needs to be bridged and everyone in the organization needs to be a walking billboard , or a well detailed catalogue , spewing product and service information competently .
Customer complaints emerging from insufficient knowledge and thus insufficient communication , should be cured by making investments into creating internal awareness . This is a high yield investment with immediate
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