Why customer experience starts with good customer contact!

What is customer contact?

Customer contact is any direct contact moment between a supplier and a customer. This can be at any stage of being a customer or not. Contacts with potential customers or even ex-customers also fall under the heading of customer contact as far as we are concerned. These contacts may be initiated by the (potential/ex) customer or by the organisation. In any case, the quality of that contact moment largely determines how the customer experiences the service.

What is good customer contact?

Good customer contact has a number of components. There is no single definition of them. After all, customer contact should be a translation and expression of what you want to radiate as an organisation. Good customer contact is therefore above all customer contact that is an extension of what both the customer and the organisation expect from it. If, as an organisation, you want to radiate that you are service-oriented, you make it possible for your customer to contact you in any way and at any time that the customer wants.

Nevertheless, some general criteria can be mentioned when it comes to the overall quality of customer contacts:

1. Quantitative aspects. These aspects are the most tangible and measurable. This concerns, for example, waiting time, the percentage of customer contacts that are fully dealt with in one go, etc. So take stock of what are important quantitative aspects for your customers try to adjust the handling of customer contacts accordingly.

1. Qualitative aspects. These are the aspects that determine the quality of the conversation for the customer. For example, the way he or she is spoken to or the accuracy and completeness of the answer he or she received. Again: Take stock of needs/ wishes of your customer and try to meet these as much as possible. Better still: exceed this. These aspects are more complex. These include the extent to which a contact moment results from a business process that is not aligned with customer needs. Again, as an organisation, you need to look at this from the inside out; engage with your customer and see what you can do better from there.

A good customer contact is a quantitative, qualitative and, above all, valuable contact for both the customer and the organisation.

So why is customer contact important in the customer experience?

Customer loyalty no longer exists, at least not like before when you were just a regular customer at an insurance company, bank or supermarket. Consumers but also business customers are critical, know what they want and, when they don't like it, just as easily use social media to publicly pillory you as a supplier.

Direct contact with customers is strangely still often seen as a necessary evil rather than a marketing channel. Capital is spent on marketing but when a customer contacts himself, it is often suddenly a cost?

Direct customer contact is one of the few moments when there is direct and often 1-on-1 contact with a (potential/ex) customer. Those are the moments when you can make or break that customer's experience.

How then?

Simple: Ask your customer what they expect and set that up... Start with the basics and make sure you bring up the quantitative aspects immediately. At the same time, start improving the qualitative aspects and improve the customer-centricity of business processes. In doing so, it can be useful to use external expertise. We now have over 25 years of experience in optimising customer experience and improving customer service organisations.