Customer Service Doesn’t Cost … It Pays

Necessity is the mother of invention. In 2003, Marton Anka, the founder of LogMeIn, now GoTo, spent three hours a day in Budapest crossing a bridge between Buda and Pest, the two halves of Hungary’s capital. He hated the “downtime,” so he invented remote access to a server so he could log in from anywhere—hence, the name of the company, LogMeIn.

Over time, the company expanded its offerings, had a few mergers and acquisitions and ultimately became GoTo, a company that makes IT management, support and business communications easy. Many of you reading this article may be familiar with GoTo Webinar and GoTo Meeting. These communication products (and others) have developed into a company focused on customer communication tools, phone systems, contact center platforms and engagement tools such as web chat, SMS communications, social media and more.

That’s the backdrop of my Amazing Business Radio interview with Joseph Walsh, vice president of product marketing at GoTo. We focused on several important concepts for CX leaders to consider as customer service continues to evolve and become one of the most powerful growth engines that fosters repeat business and customer loyalty. Below are the main points, followed by my comments:

• The entire company must work in tandem with the customer support department. The old term silo came to mind. Many companies still have departments that operate almost autonomously, in silos, without regard to the other departments. Imagine the power a customer support agent working with a customer would have if they could easily reach out to someone in product development, accounting or sales in real time to get answers to their customer’s questions. Walsh says, “You need fast access to subject matter experts in other parts of the company.” This eliminates having to call the customer back and cuts down on the time it takes to answer customers' questions and resolve their issues.
• There are four stages of contact centers. Walsh talked about the four stages/lifecycle of a typical contact center. For an organization to understand where it is today, it must see where it fits into the different stages of contact centers, which are:

1. Initiate Conversations: This is the traditional contact center. It’s where most companies start to build and expand their customer support department. They prepare to field multiple calls, answer emails, etc., often using basic/standard phone systems and computers to get started. People are trained with scripts, and while a good start, it’s still basic at best.
2. Collaboration: This goes back to Walsh’s first point about collaborating with experts and departments throughout the company. On the customer’s first (and hopefully only) call, the agent can reach out to the appropriate people to get the right answers and convey that information to the customer for a much better experience.
3. Digital Transformation: Walsh used the word omnichannel to describe how different communication channels work together seamlessly. A customer may start with a social media post to ask for help. At some point, they may be texting. That’s followed up with a phone conversation. But what makes this special is that it is a progressive conversation using these different communication platforms versus multiple interactions in which the customer must start over and repeat the story or problem at every interaction. Walsh says, “At this stage, the people and companies are beginning to master the craft of customer experience.”
4. Automate and accelerate: This is where the modern contact center has evolved. Most of the first three stages of the lifecycle merge with modern technology and allow customers to employ self-service, work out problems and answer questions on their own. Automated processes and AI create a better experience by reducing and/or eliminating mundane, repetitive tasks. Customers and employees are happy.

• Customer service becomes a growth opportunity. It surprises me that some business leaders still view customer service as a cost center. The new way of looking at CX is that it is a revenue generator that retains customers and grows business. Walsh said, “The more evolved, digitally powered contact center is a growth center for achieving higher customer service scores that drive repeat customers and give the customer such a happy experience that they’re not concerned about price.” This powerful statement can be backed up with data proving customer service doesn’t cost. It pays!

In a competitive marketplace, companies must prioritize exceptional customer experiences to thrive. By embracing collaboration, digital transformation and automation, companies and brands can turn customer service from a cost center into a growth engine. As Walsh emphasized, a digitally evolved contact center does more than simply improve service. It also drives loyalty, revenue and growth.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author.?Learn more about Shep's virtual?training programs and follow #ShepHyken for more customer service and experience insights.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com.

Check out Shep's latest research in his Achieving Customer Amazement Study, Sponsored by RingCentral.