In today’s marketplace, communications service providers (CSPs) are facing high levels of customer churn, making customer retention and the sale of new products and services essential for survival.  Low customer satisfaction, reflected in customer satisfaction metrics and ongoing negative press, is a critical challenge facing CSPs.

Current discussions on customer satisfaction within the communications industry highlight the importance of omni-channel experience, digital transformation, and mobile enablement. Although these are strategic imperatives, a survey conducted by Cognizant (News - Alert) of 1,400 consumers in the US UK, and Canada, indicated communications consumers may not be ready to fully embrace those capabilities. Outputs of the survey, combined with Cognizant’s extensive experience in the marketplace, highlight a few key themes for CSPs to focus on in 2015 and 2016:
 

Embrace Traditional Customer Service Routes:

Providers should examine the complexity of their service offerings when considering the best route for addressing customer concerns. Although it is widely believed customers prefer digital service over phone, research shows even 18-34 year olds prefer a telephone call over digital support channels. Delivery of a digital experience needs to be a targeted goal for providers, but based on current customer adoption rates, providers cannot ignore or reduce the necessary investments in traditional contact support models.

Never Underestimate the Value of Quality Service: 

Research found that nearly 60 percent of customers are very satisfied with their provider. The factors contributing to that satisfaction include knowledgeable customer service representatives, timely installation and repairs, and easy billing and account management options. Focusing on accomplishing necessary tasks and addressing the stated needs of the customer in a single transaction are essential for improving the quality of service.

Approach Social Media with Caution: 

Although social media has been heralded as a tool for building brand awareness, research reveals that even younger customers don’t regard it as a completely useful source of information, or, rely on it to inform their opinions of service providers. This presents an opportunity for providers to drive engagement by better understanding social media and consumers’ use of it.

What does this mean for Providers?

Customers are going to align with the provider that is able to provide them quick and easy access to complete their task across their preferred channel, including traditional call centers.

Providers need to supplement existing digital transformation and mobile enable strategies with a renewed focus on traditional care channels and process simplification.  
 

Additionally service providers can undertake a thorough assessment of core sales and support processes, which should be reviewed for simplicity and optimization opportunities. Compared to other industries, such as retail, banking and travel and hospitality, the underlying processes in communications for ordering, supporting and billing are more complex. Activities that are complicated or include multiple decision points will increase the tendency for a consumer to speak to a live agent.

The provider that creates a balance between forward thinking, non-traditional sales and support models, and traditional care models will have a greater chance for retaining existing customers and gaining new customers. 

Bryan Powell is a Senior Manager within Cognizant Business Consulting’s Communication and Technology Practice. He has over 12 years of experience partnering and delivering consulting support for key customer experience initiatives, including channel effectiveness, contact center management, customer satisfaction improvements and cross-channel functionality design. Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree in business computing systems from Bradley University.