Operators Should Embrace Channel-less Customer Experience

It’s often said that the only constant to expect is change. Without question, this is the case for the telecom industry, which is undergoing massive changes wrought by digital transformation and the development of 5G networks. And, while customer experience in telecom industry organizations has always taken high priority, the ways in which operators are communicating with customers is undergoing significant – and much needed – convert into channel-less communication.

For the most part, operators understand the need for omnichannel communications with customers, wherein customer experience is consistent across every channel, be it traditional phone calls, email, text, an app, social media or physically at a brick and mortar location. Yet, the omnichannel approach can create silos that don’t allow information to travel freely to all of the people and applications that need it. So operators are having to learn how to improve customer experience in telecom networks.

A channel-less customer experience approach for “in the moment” interactions

To address this issue, operators should develop a channel-less approach that ensures consistent and fluid customer experience with no breaks, regardless of the customer journey. In doing so, operators acknowledge and account for the fact that customers don’t care about the number of channels available. Indeed, customers want to buy the way they buy, have their questions answered, problems solved and comments acknowledged without regard to the channels they utilize to do so. This understanding is the first step on the route to improving customer experience in telecom organizations.

A channel-less customer journey telecom approach can also be thought of as “channel blending”. Instead of switching between channels, customers follow a journey through which the channels are melded together into a seamless experience, enabling consistent interaction irrespective of the channel. This kind of approach requires operators to fundamentally shift their approach to customer experience.

For instance, a channel-less approach focuses on serving customers in the moment vs. a blanket approach for customer interaction. This requires operators to focus on building customer experience that shifts seamlessly between the phone, app, website – basically anywhere – in real time, as opposed to creating a customer service plan that tries to incorporate every possible customer inquiry in advance.

Moving to “in the moment” customer interactions creates billions of pieces of data that must be gathered, analyzed, utilized and – ultimately – monetized. For this, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and big data analytics are needed to support the customer journey and ensure personalized, targeted interaction across every customer service touch point.

Channel-less communication: AI and human knowledge drive customer service excellence

Channel-less customer service should also blend human input and AI to enhance customer experiences, personalizing them on the basis of their previous interactions, regardless of whether they’re communicating via social media, chat, email, text or over the phone.

Additionally, operators can leverage the data collected during customer engagement to conduct pattern analysis. Understanding the reasons behind particular or common problems enables faster responses to those issues and gives operators the ability to identify areas in which design or instruction changes are needed to lessen or eliminate the issue.

A channel-less customer service strategy also requires the operator to integrate a customer-centric culture throughout its organization. In this way, the customer becomes the heart of the organization, ensuring outstanding experience pre-sale and post-sale, while also driving repeat business, increasing customer loyalty and boosting profits.

Comarch’s Digital Sales and Customer Care system gives operators the ability to guide subscribers through highly customized customer journeys. It covers the complete customer lifecycle – from pre-purchase browsing, through to a channel-less shopping and checkout process and customer onboarding – for superior customer experience and increased revenues.