Departmental silos will stop a customer service initiative dead in its tracks. Silos also throw wrenches into daily service delivery goals when the contact center is unaware of projects and activities in other areas of the company, or cannot get other functions to respond to requests in a timely manner.
Knowledge is power, which gives center leaders the ability to change this dynamic. Ready access to customer data provides you with the opportunity to provide valuable insights to help other functions improve their performance.
ASK HOW YOU CAN HELP
Contact center leaders who have forged solid interdepartmental partnerships typically have one thing in common—they view other internal functions as their customers. It’s important to be proactive when cultivating your relationships with internal customers. Make an effort to visit each department to talk about what the contact center does. Do they have any projects coming up that your center might be able to help with? Find out what their goals and pain points are, and ask how you can help to solve those issues.
SHARE CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
Sharing customer data and feedback with internal groups will make the contact center more relevant to the rest of the organization. Push out customer insights in the boardroom, via dashboards, newsletters, intranet, email and in company meetings. Don’t just report metrics—understand the “why” behind customer behavior and what it means for your business. Polish your story-telling skills so that you can translate customer data into engaging narratives that matter to the audience you’re targeting—whether that’s the CEO, department leaders or frontline teams.
“Package the customer information in a strategic and organized way that connects back to the business,” says customer experience expert Jeanne Bliss. “Consider sending a monthly customer revenue memo that draws insights from the customer database—the trending of customer issues, who’s calling and why. Be sure to translate the data into compelling nuggets of information.”
Practical pointer: When sharing reports with internal departments, don’t just report solely on the complaints—offer ideas on how to improve the processes that are at the root cause of the complaints and describe any projects dedicated to resolving those issues.
