To many of us, the online world can seem overwhelming and—at times—relentless. No question, the surge of online business interactions will endure and current research backs this trend. According to Forrester research, e-retail spending will increase by 62% by 2016.
As consumers search for help in the never-ending maze of retail websites and customer support portals, the online customer experience is not always pretty. In fact, frequently customers are frustrated, and 89% of consumers who experience poor service will switch to a competitor’s brand.
In the process of assisting a customer, agents often ask if customers can see what they see online. Far too often the answer is a resounding “no.” Alas, the barriers to effective communication have been set, as well as the likely subsequent irritation.
Wondering how cobrowsing can affect this process? Let’s start by looking at a few typical scenarios.
Do these sound familiar to you?
1. Customer can’t find a form that he needs to fill out and calls into the contact center
In this scenario, the customer support agent tries to help the customer by telling him how to locate and download a form step-by-step. As the customer tries to follow, he may struggle to understand where and what he is supposed to click. However, he continues to try, feeling a little embarrassed at this point to keep interrupting the agent. Making matters worse, he might not feel very computer literate to start with.
The agent says, “You should now see the form and can start the download.”
The customer replies, “No, I still don’t see the form.”
They go through the process again and eventually the customer finds the form, but then the form “disappears” when he starts to download it! This process continues until the customer successfully finishes the download.
The customer is relieved he got what he needed. At the same time, in his mind, it seemed to have taken an awfully long time.
2. Agent tries to help a customer locate a product on the website
The contact center agent directs the customer by having her click on various tabs on different pages within the site. The agent says, “You should be at the right place now. Do you see the product that you were looking for?”
This customer feels she has followed all directions, but failed to make it to the right place, regardless. Unlike the customer in the first scenario, this customer considers herself tech-savvy. She becomes increasing frustrated when they try to navigate together a second and third time since she is still not where the agent says she “should” be.
Finally, the customer loses her patience when asked again if she sees the product. She exclaims, “No, I don’t see what you see!”
The customer service agent tries to reassure her that she must not be at the right place.
Now the customer becomes angry. “Look, I am not an idiot. I don’t see what you see. Stop telling me I should be seeing the product when in fact I don’t. I did everything you said three times, and I know what I see…it is NOT what you see! We have wasted a lot of time here!”
We have all been there, and it is not a good experience for the customer or the agent for that matter.
Possible long-term effects for agents may include the feeling that the majority of the people who call are not at all tech-savvy. Agents may then demonstrate an increasing impatience as they handle similar types of calls, as well as the erosion of their confidence from not being able to help their customers effectively. An agent may even feel that he failed on the call, and wish he had a different job where people weren’t yelling at him.
Read: Happy Contact Center Agents Equal Happy Customers
What’s the real source of these types of issues? Well, according to a recent Glance survey, only 30% of customer service professionals think their company provides sufficient resources for them to effectively do their job. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, there’s this fact: “After a poor customer experience, more than a quarter of consumers posted a negative comment on a social networking site…”
Uh-oh. Now things are going south all too quickly. You don’t want unhappy customers to tell their friends. Your company’s brand will soon feel the pain.
Let’s see what we can do to rectify the situation. Let’s imagine that in the next scenario the customer service agent is supported by cobrowsing.
3. A prospect searches a business website for information
A prospect is searching the a website for information about their products and services. About one minute into his search, a chat box appears asking if he needs help. He clicks yes.
After describing his problem to the agent via chat, it becomes apparent to the agent that the customer requires further assistance. The customer is prompted to click a button to open a cobrowse session. Voila! The prospect and agent are looking at the same web page as seen from the customer’s vantage point.
Now that they are in a cobrowse session, the agent—with confidence and ease—guides the customer to where he needs to go.
“Do you see the information you need?” the agent inquires as he highlights in red the area which interests the customer.
“Yes, great, thanks,” says the customer gleefully.
The customer is happy since he found what he needed quickly and easily. The agent feels good too since he knows he helped resolve the customer’s issue. The agent’s manager is pleased because the call was handled quickly since no time was spent simply describing where the customer should go, and hoping he was able to get there. Moreover, the manager knows there won’t be a need for this customer to call back with the same question since it has clearly been resolved. You can even include the company’s bottom line in this happy moment because with this small investment in technology, the company is saving money as well as time.
Read: The Shocking ROI of Improving Customer Service
Seeing is believing
We are all shooting for our customers and agents to feel as satisfied as this last agent and customer! Don’t let a breakdown in communication ruin the customer’s experience or the agent’s morale and confidence. Equip your contact center agents with the resources they need to offer a positive customer experience when interacting with your company online.
Do so, and the next time your customer service agent asks if the customer sees what he sees, the answer will always be a definite “Yes!”
Ready to learn more about how cobrowsing can benefit your contact center? Download the free Aberdeen research paper: Cobrowsing: Guide Customers to Grown Your Own Success.
Want to find out how Glance can improve customer engagement and increase sales for your company?
Sign up for your personalized Glance demo today!
About Glance Networks
Glance helps enterprise organizations create the ultimate customer experience with smart, omni-channel visual engagement solutions based around integrated cobrowse, screen share, and one-way agent video. We are one of the world’s simplest, most reliable and secure platforms that enable companies to see, show and share anything online, creating a frictionless path to great experiences in sales, support and customer service. The result is improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, increased revenue growth and operational savings. From financial services and healthcare to retail and travel and leisure, even the most advanced technology and SaaS organizations – we transform the customer experience for today’s business. Learn More »
