1. Do you find that mobile customers have different requirements than land-line phone customers?
The reality is that itis less a matter of having different requirements and more the expectations mobile customers have in terms of what is available to them. Because more and more customersare now equipped with smartphones, there is a greater expectation as to the type of information available directly to them as well as the desire to accessit when and how they want. Smartphones are rich devices that come with more advanced capabilities than land-line phones. Therefore, in addition to billing and service inquiries, mobile phone users need device management capabilities as part of their customer service experience. Recently, Android has been under heat because of battery management issues, which isn’t a typical problem for landlines. Users demand help managing these capabilities. If this powerful device is in their hand, they should be able to have fast, powerful service that integrates capabilities such as type, touch and talk, as well as features such as geo-location services to find store locations nearest to them for in-person help.

 

2. What changes have you seen in how companies are responding to mobile customers?
We have to look at this from two perspectives – what end users are demanding of the businesses they work with, and what these companies are doing to deliver on those expectations From anend user perspective, users are demanding more direct customer access to information previously handled only by employees of a company such as a store or customer service representative. While some of this information was available through the company’s website, the explosion in availability of mobile applications across a range of categorieshas increased user expectations around ease of use and accessibility. It is not enough to point customers to the company website. They want information presented to them in a format that is easier to access and consume from a mobile device. At the same time, companies are realizing that the rapid growth and adoption of smartphones presents an excellent opportunity for them to get closer to their customers to: • Understand customer habits and needs in a way not previously possible • Provide a personalized and differentiating service experience that will drive retention and loyalty • Tailor their offerings to the needs of the individual and as a result drive increased revenue.

 

3. How do you see advertisers marketing to the mobile user?
There have been various attempts to leverage mobile devices and applications for advertising purposes. While the idea of mobile advertising is attractive to advertisers and mobile providers alike, this must be approached carefully. Most consumers do not want to be inundated with irrelevant advertisements as they use an application. Where application-based advertising is offered, it needs to be directly related to that application and relevant to the likely interests of the user. For example, a Cable service provider may advertise from their application video on demand or special programming packages – particularly those that have already been identified to be of high interest to a subscriber. To offer more generic advertisements could result in anger by the end user or even having them abandon use of the application. 

4. In your experience, are mobile users more interested in self-service or are they interested to speak with a live customer service representative?
What we have observed is that there is a greater acceptance and interest by most consumers in having direct access to information. In part this is due to the widespread availability of information from all sorts of sources as smartphone subscribers not only have internet access, but most have multiple applications loaded on their device – many of which deliver information to them on a regular basis. Another contributing factor is the demographics of smart phone users who tend to be a bit younger than their non-mobile or feature phone counterparts, and more comfortable with technology. This being said, it is critical to integrate into a mobile customer service application the ability to directly connect to a live agent. Finally, users don’t want to have to start the transaction from the beginning but instead expect to pick up from where they left off with the agent seeing what has transpired and any relevant information to speed the process to completion.

5. How do you see companies adapting to the mobile customer?
It all starts with being where your customers are and that means providing a smartphone application. The next step is to understand what your customers want in way of information or capabilities. Only in this way will users keep coming back to the application on a regular basis.

 

The smartphone is different from anything else we have seen before as it is a new medium. It converges the internet, voice and rich interactions onto a single “always-connected” device. So this is not about making your website look good on a mobile phone. It is about taking advantage of the unique attributes and capabilities of these smart devices and all of theirrichness to enhance your relationship with each customer.

 

6. What changes do you anticipate customer service organizations making to accommodate the mobile user?
There are a number of changes that are beginning to take place:

1. Opening up access to information so that end users can directly access information about their account, pay or dispute a bill, and even troubleshoot and resolve problems that previously required direct involvement by the agent.
2. Provide access to a range of “how to’s” and best practice information so that the user can maximize the value of the product and services, i.e. battery life management issues.
3. Embrace the concept of the blended interaction. No matter how much we would like to think that self-service will eliminate the need to ever talk to an agent, that is simply not the case. If and when such an interaction is needed, it must be seamlessly provided (no more hiding behind the IVR or burying the customer care number on the website).
4. Deep integration with back end systems – Not only are consumers demanding direct access to more and more information, the customer service representative must have visibility into customer activity prior to the interaction, view usage and payment history, and the ability to resolve problems directly.

7. What are the most popular applications on mobile phones?
While it is true that the most popular consumer mobile applications are in the areas of games and social media, the real question is around what applications help businesses improve the relationship with their customers, and for consumers that help them maximize the value and convenience of that service. For businesses, the focus must be around maximizing the value they provide to their customers while at the same time improving the brand. In this way businesses are able to present tailored offers to their customers to increase revenue. Before this is possible it is critical that the mobile applications deliver added value to the customer so that they want to use it on a regular basis. At SpeechCycle, we offer a mobile platform and set of applications, SmartCare Mobile, that focus on the specific needs of service providers to deliver services to their customers. SmartCare Mobile is designed to help service providersleveragethe smartphone to enhance their company brand, deliver exceptional customer care, and ultimately drive increased revenues

 

8. How does mobile affect a contact center’s staffing requirements?
The near ubiquitous use of mobile devices and rapid explosion in smartphone sales has a number of effects – thegreatest of which is the shift in power to the end user. Gone are the days when a company can control access to information. We are now in the time of what Yankee Group calls the Anywhere Consumer. As a consumer, I want access to information anywhere, anytime. When a customer does call the contact center for assistance, they most likely have already tried to resolve the problem on their own. As a result, contact centers must be integrated with all other channels including the web and the mobile device itself. They must also have strong integration with back office systems including billing, ordering and customer care in order to pick up from where the customer left off to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. Over time we see a rapid reduction in the size of most contact centers as users increasingly gain access to information and resolve issues on their own. In this new world the CSR must be better trained with more powerful tools for diagnostics and troubleshooting, and insight into sales policies and promotions.