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Despite the advances that have been made to customer experience management, such as the improved joining of customer service and real-time analytics, there has not been a vast improvement in customer experience. Most mobile operators cannot effectively use or analyze the data that they have about their subscribers to make CEM personal to them. The reason for this is due to CEM still being siloed and failing to reach the consumer and device level. It is the complex and segmented nature of CEM which is preventing it from being a holistic experience for subscribers.
CEM starts with gathering data from the processes, systems and tools that are used to track and oversee every interaction a customer has with an organization. This data must then be analyzed in a cohesive manner throughout the customer lifecycle. A critical avenue of data-gathering must be the device. However, many carriers today don’t even consider the customer’s interaction with their device and depend on service traffic to determine experience. When there is no service, no data is gathered. This constitutes a significant gap when gathering insight into the customers’ experience – but there is a way to bridge this gap to achieve the goal of holistic CEM.
How mobile operators measure CEM
CEM is measured in two ways: the experience that customer service representatives provide or through monitoring the network, services and coverage subscribers receive. Both are important aspects of CEM but operators are failing to effectively utilize and combine the data that the two avenues provide. As a result, CEM fails to be personalized to individual subscribers.
Each subscriber is unique in how they use their mobile devices and the majority of subscribers don’t understand why they might not be getting a consistent experience. When a call is dropped or they stop receiving data, subscribers don’t know if the issue lies within their devices or if it’s a network problem. If mobile operators fail to effectively deal with these issues through customer service representatives and network monitoring doesn’t pick up the problem, the result is frustrated consumers which can ultimately lead to churn for mobile operators.
Mobile operators use a vast amount of technology and systems to monitor the customer experience on their network and while these tools have a vital role in improving customer service due to their siloed nature, they cannot provide the big picture for CEM at the device level.
Very little data can be collected when users are roaming whether due to international travel or simply by leaving the coverage area of their primary service provider and into another. When subscribers roam unknowingly, they may still try to access services and expect the same experience. At this time, the subscriber’s not aware that the issue doesn’t lie with their provider and the provider doesn’t know that the subscriber is having a poor experience. If a user contacts a customer service representative during this time, the representative will have no information about the issue, the subscribers’ location or even the fact that they were on another provider’s network. No quick-fix can be given by the service provider because of this lack of insight and the subscriber is left … disconnected.
How CEM can reach the device level
If devices were equipped with a simple application which collects critical data, this data can be communicated with the service provider who can integrate the information with their own network insights to create knowledge to enhance customer experience. The application can provide verification of proper device setup, signal strength, connectivity and remediation for different problems. If the device cannot determine the root cause and remedy the issue, the application can provide valuable information to the subscriber and to the service provider to help with the diagnosis and troubleshooting of the problem. The application will identify critical items such as the current cell site, signal strength, service provider (including when roaming), network connectivity, and other information that a typical subscriber would have no idea how to access. The solution would need to be completely transparent regarding the exact information the application will gather in order to placate any concerns over privacy. If the application has the capability to be activated or deactivated by the subscriber, the knowledge of the control they have over the solution would sit far better with them than a “silent” system working in the background without their knowledge or consent.
CEM is all about the consumer
By having accurate, real-time information about the subscriber, service providers are able to piece together the data from existing silos to get a holistic view of the subscriber and their situation. Having a big picture view of the subscriber based on the data gathered on the device level enables service providers to resolve problems on-the-spot rather than spend time gathering information about the problem by asking subscribers all types of technical questions, most of which they probably won’t know how to answer. The personalized connection that service providers could have with their customers as a result of a simple application would create better resolutions for their issues and greatly improve CEM.
