Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
In two short years, the FIFA World Cup soccer games will descend on Rio de Janeiro, drawing thousands of attendees—tourists as well as Brazilian natives. And just two years after that, Brazil will play host to the 2016 Summer Olympics, putting it at the center of the world’s attention for several weeks, and generating what promises to be historic crowds – many if not most of whom will be smartphone users.
Will Brazilian service providers ready to provide world-class customer support for these users, who will doubtless be relying on their smart mobile devices to keep them connected to the games and to each other. And, how can they provide quality customer service without requiring all their customers who need assistance to dial into their call centers?
Amdocs recently conducted a consumer survey to explore how changing smartphone behaviors influence the needs and wants for customer support. The study found that, globally, 75% of respondents would rather use an online self service tool than call a representative for help. Also, as evidence to the widespread use of smartphone apps, 67% would use a mobile self service tool on their smartphones in place of calling a support center.
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According to the conventional wisdom, these alternate forms of support sometimes provide inaccurate or incomplete advice, which keeps customers dialing in to traditional call centers. However, over 90% of participants in the survey expressed that they would prefer to use a single all-inclusive online database to answer their device questions if – and it’s a big if — it were designed to meet all their needs.
What did survey respondents in Central and Latin America say about self-care options? It’s a mixed picture, but an interesting one:
- Consumers in CALA were the least satisfied (17%) with the response to their inquiries on service providers’ social media channels as compared to 27% global average; however,
- Consumers in Brazil have the least problem with their devices at 15%, compared to a global average of 26% in the first year of purchase
So clearly there’s some work to be done, although Brazilian consumers report fewer problems with their mobile devices than the global average.
Back to the global survey results: another key conclusion was that customers expect their service provider to proactively flag a service or device issue. Almost all customers contributing to the survey, 96% to be exact said they expect their service providers to quickly notify them about the problem and the actions being taken to resolve it, or provide the immediate solution to their impending issue. Additionally, since most of these users are already tuned in to their smartphone, notifications in form of email, text message, or social media alerts are preferred. By taking aggressive action to cater to these requests, service providers will save themselves call center costs and save their customers from troubleshooting headaches.
The message is clear: the connected world has caused a dramatic shift in the way we communicate. This change in attitude should also apply to how we are offering customer support to customers. Call centers will always be useful for isolated instances or the need for deep technical support, but utilizing mobile tools will give service providers a cost-effective way to meet demands and save consumers’ time, thus strengthening the ever-important customer loyalty.
Service providers across Brazil and elsewhere across the region should consider how they can offload the coming wave of call center traffic by turning to self-care alternatives that can still provide a high-quality customer experience while keeping costs under control.
