Big data is crucial for any organization that wants to attract and retain customers. A study by McKinsey Global Institute found that data-driven companies are 400% more likely to retain customers and 2,200% more likely to acquire new ones.
Back in 2011, my colleagues and I first started discussing the evolving standards of customer service in business. Most customer service designs were based on subjective decisions by people working in the field. Fewer experts have emphasized the significance of big data. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that big data is critical to the viability of any customer service strategy.
Freshdesk published an article on the importance of big data in customer service. They detailed a number of the benefits of using data to improve customer satisfaction. According to their analysis, 58% of brands notice a significant improvement in customer retention after turning to data analytics.
This was one of the first articles to delve into this topic. A growing number of design experts are starting to cite the importance of using big data to increase customer satisfaction and retention.
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There are countless ways that big data is helping improve customer service strategies. One example is by improving customer satisfaction by ensuring companies don’t forget about customer appointments. Tools like vcita enable brands to store contact data with a scheduling app. This helps companies reduce the cost of missed appointments and the branding problems they create. vcita has a number of other benefits, including enabling brands to accept up-front payments electronically, send automated confirmations and schedule bookings remotely.
However, many brands don’t listen to experts detailing the rising importance of big data. They will struggle to develop reliable customer service strategies, as their competitors surpass them and attract their customers. The consequences can be fatal to businesses in the hospitality, healthcare and retail sectors, where exceptional customer service is crucial to their bottom line.
How big data is changing the face of customer service
Big data is shaping the customer service profession in numerous ways. Some of the biggest changes are listed below.
Improving Appointment Scheduling
Companies make mistakes. It is inevitable. Unfortunately, some mistakes are costlier than others.
Scheduling errors are a major example. You might accidentally double-book appointments with customers or forget that a customer had an appointment. Of course, there is also the risk that customers may forget about appointments, which leads to lost revenue.
Fortunately, big data can minimize the cost of appointment errors. New scheduling tools use big data to address these types of challenges.
Streamlining customer service inquiries through CRMs
A growing number of customer service representatives are using customer relationship management (CRM) tools to handle customer inquiries. One of the main benefits of these tools is that they can provide prompt responses.
However, big data has introduced other benefits of CRMs. Companies can use big data to get a better understanding of the common issues that customers face. These systems can provide a list of common solutions to these queries, so customer service representatives don’t have to search for answers or come up with custom solutions from scratch.
Chatbots
Chatbots are playing a more important role in customer service than ever. They can answer a number of customer questions without a trained customer service professional needing to step in. These chatbots offer a number of benefits:
- They can provide a consistent standard of customer service
- The customer service team can provide timelier responses to questions
- The company doesn’t have to invest in a larger customer service budget to deal with unexpected setbacks (like a botched line of products or natural disasters that create customer service complaints)
Chatbots are one of the most important developments in customer service. Big data is making them more reliable.
Big data is crucial to customer service optimization
Modern customer service strategies can no longer be dependent on subjective criteria. Traditional customer service decisions were often based on flawed assumptions. Big data is putting those misconceptions to rest. The most successful companies will use data analytics to guide their customer service decisions to gain a competitive edge in a market where customers are setting higher standards for the brands they engage with.