forrester's best practices framework for customer service

© 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited1 © 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Forrester's Best Practice Framework for Customer Service

Kate Leggett, Senior Analyst

October, 2011


Ninety percent of customer service decision-makers tell Forrester that a good service experience is critical to their company’s success. Sixty-three percent think the importance of the customer service experience has risen.

© 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited3

Three questions comprise Forrester’s Customer Experience Index

Source: January 11, 2011, “The Customer Experience Index, 2011” Forrester report


Few companies deliver an outstanding customer experience


There is a wide variability between high and low performers


The difference between high and low performance can be worth billions of dollars

Source: November 19, 2010, “The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2010” Forrester report


The customer service leader must balance the needs of his customers with the needs of his business

Compliance

Cost

Customer satisfaction

Revenue

Regulatory compliance

Cost

Customer Business


Negative opinions can spread rapidly through social media


The customer service leader must balance the needs of his customers with the needs of his business

Compliance

Cost

Customer satisfaction

Revenue

Compliance

Cost

Customer Business


But what is it that customers want?

Source: August 2, 2011, “Turbocharge Customer Service Processes With Social Technologies” Forrester report


What are companies doing to deliver better service?


One solution is to move customer service to less expensive communication channels

Source: December 18, 2009, “It’s Time To Give Virtual Agents Another Look” Forrester report


Another solution is to focus on communication channels that customers want to use

Source: May 10, 2010, “How To Create A Social Customer Service Strategy” Forrester report


Issue 1: Knowledge is everywhere

Email


Issue 2: Companies are offering more customer touchpoints than ever before


Issue 3: Multichannel integration remains low on the priority list for most companies

Source: May 14, 2010, “Contact Center Purchase Plans 2010” Forrester report


Issue 4: The volume of social inquiries and comments is overwhelming


What is the No. 1 pitfall that you have experienced while customer service?

Lack of executive sponsorship

Functionality gaps in the customer service solution

Lack of technical knowledge about the solution

Poor governance and project management capabilities

Poorly defined business processes

Inability to integrate smoothly with other solutions

Lack of metrics

Difficulty in achieving necessary changes in organizational culture


Start with your strategy

Ask yourself: “What is your strategy to deliver consistent customer service across all the communication channels you use to interact with your customers? How does your strategy incorporate the voice of the customer?”


How mature are your business processes?

Customer service business process management

focuses on agent and customer functions, including

case management, multichannel communications, and

field service.

How well do you do in supporting the right business

processes to keep your customer service customer-

centric?


Ask yourself the following questions

What is your channel strategy?

Do you deliver a consistent experience across the different communication

channels that you support

How well do you process cases?


Do you have a consistent knowledge strategy across all touchpoints?


How mature are your phone, chat, email, and social channels?


Leverage technology wisely

Source: May 26, 2011, “Forrester’s Best Practices Framework For Customer Service” Forrester report


How well do you manage your people?

The most overlooked category of business is managing your people.

Are you paying attention to . . .Your culture? Your leadership practices?Your collaboration methods?Your training programs?Your performance measures and approaches?


Offering excellent customer service is good for business


Case Study

© 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Thank you

Kate Leggett+1 650.269.8658

[email protected]

Twitter: @kateleggett

www.forrester.com


Self-Assessment

Take the online assessment to see how your organization compares against

Forrester’s best practices: www.moxiesoft.com/assessment

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forrester's best practices framework for customer service

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