 "New formula of customer engagement")
Thanks to social media, Indian marketers are finally coming round to the view that the customer is actually the king. A case in point is my friend's predicament during a business trip to Colombo, when she discovered that international roaming was not activated on her phone. A customer care agent urged her to visit the nearest office to pay a hefty deposit. Not one to give up easily, she tweeted her dilemma to the service provider. A quick response followed by a verification call to her number ensured that she was on her phone making and receiving international calls.
For many of us, who have waited weeks to get a customer issue addressed by powerful manufacturers, suppliers and service providers via snail mail, this is a happy turn of events. My friend now swears by the mobile service provider she reluctantly migrated to three months ago.
Few consumers use snail mail today. The voice-based customer engagement tools - landline and mobile phones - may soon be a thing of the past. Consumers owe a special thanks to the powerful "internet of life" that has shifted the balance of power from the conventionally powerful firm to an individual customer in the remotest corner. The board of directors no longer await voluminous market research reports and voice of the customer studies - they can get direct and instant access to the customer feedback through the new media.
The shift to new media means a lot for the $20 billion Indian BPO industry gunning for $50 billion revenue goal by 2020. This could easily be the game changer that the BPO industry was looking for. As the preferred outsourcing location ranks change, competing offshore destinations are now on a level playing field with no extra weightage for accent and spoken language skills.
Now consider Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp with its formidable 450 million active users, which has many lessons for CEOs, marketers as well as the business process outsourcing industry. The 50-person company continues to add a million new users a day without any marketing spend. Like the world's greatest brands, it has created a strong emotional connect with consumers. All of WhatsApp's growth has come from happy customers encouraging their friends to try the service.
The fact that WhatsApp's messaging volume is nearing the entire global telecom SMS volume illustrates the power of being relevant to the consumer. It also indicates that advertising may not be the best way to build brands. Significant investment in delivering the brand promise, including efficient service and support, is becoming the key to earning customer loyalty.
In all likelihood, the traditional phone is the fourth channel of choice for consumers today who prefer to chat live for query resolution. That consumers prefer immediate attention and resolution over niceties is indicated by the rapid explosion of users on the social media. For the clients too, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to buy cost effective solutions with better quality. This naturally leads to lower cost per contact, thereby freeing up resources for enhancing service quality.
For organisations keen to communicate with customers effectively, social media and live chat connectivity is not an option, but an absolute necessity - because listening to the voice of the customer has moved from the private to the public network.
For many of us, who have waited weeks to get a customer issue addressed by powerful manufacturers, suppliers and service providers via snail mail, this is a happy turn of events. My friend now swears by the mobile service provider she reluctantly migrated to three months ago.
Few consumers use snail mail today. The voice-based customer engagement tools - landline and mobile phones - may soon be a thing of the past. Consumers owe a special thanks to the powerful "internet of life" that has shifted the balance of power from the conventionally powerful firm to an individual customer in the remotest corner. The board of directors no longer await voluminous market research reports and voice of the customer studies - they can get direct and instant access to the customer feedback through the new media.
The shift to new media means a lot for the $20 billion Indian BPO industry gunning for $50 billion revenue goal by 2020. This could easily be the game changer that the BPO industry was looking for. As the preferred outsourcing location ranks change, competing offshore destinations are now on a level playing field with no extra weightage for accent and spoken language skills.
Now consider Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp with its formidable 450 million active users, which has many lessons for CEOs, marketers as well as the business process outsourcing industry. The 50-person company continues to add a million new users a day without any marketing spend. Like the world's greatest brands, it has created a strong emotional connect with consumers. All of WhatsApp's growth has come from happy customers encouraging their friends to try the service.
The fact that WhatsApp's messaging volume is nearing the entire global telecom SMS volume illustrates the power of being relevant to the consumer. It also indicates that advertising may not be the best way to build brands. Significant investment in delivering the brand promise, including efficient service and support, is becoming the key to earning customer loyalty.
In all likelihood, the traditional phone is the fourth channel of choice for consumers today who prefer to chat live for query resolution. That consumers prefer immediate attention and resolution over niceties is indicated by the rapid explosion of users on the social media. For the clients too, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to buy cost effective solutions with better quality. This naturally leads to lower cost per contact, thereby freeing up resources for enhancing service quality.
For organisations keen to communicate with customers effectively, social media and live chat connectivity is not an option, but an absolute necessity - because listening to the voice of the customer has moved from the private to the public network.
Sanjay Mehta, MD, India operations, Teleperformance