Customer Service Reporting – Improve ROI with Analytics
Many areas of business have become data-driven and customer service reporting has become essential for many companies. With fewer customers picking up the phone and replacing these interactions with form submissions, live chats, and emails there are now many data points that create customer (and thus agent) intelligence that did not exist only a couple decades ago. But how can companies make sense of their customer service data and make it actionable to improve their overall bottom line? Read on to find out…
Having the best software in the world to create reports is only as good as the knowledge of the person behind it. Make sure your software provider trains employees (either virtually or in-person) immediately and effectively to maximize your investment. Providers should also grant access to knowledge documentation so employees can learn at their own pace and have something to refer to for simple questions once the initial training is completed. It’s also important to enable employees to ask questions to onboarding professionals after the training – it’s not an inconvenience, it is the onboarding team’s job to help make you successful in using their software and as a customer they want you to succeed. The more knowledgeable you are about the software the better reports you can create, and the more actionable information your company will have to make profitable business decisions.
Customer service software can be used not only to track the amount of tickets (both total and unresolved) but also to determine how satisfied your customers are with you. The latter in particular can be very granular and can be tracked through B2B software at the customer level, in a specific group or department within a customer, or even to individual employees. For example, a company as a whole may be very happy with your service but one employee within that company may not be. Instead of labeling the entire company as unhappy, it makes more sense to address the employee (or their direct report) on a one-to-one level to figure out a resolution to their concerns. Tracking ticket trends like this helps in discovering the root of problems which, once resolved, improves customer satisfaction and retention.
In short, there are several ways customer service reporting and analysis can be utilized to improve the ROI of a company. Customer support solutions have become more proactive as technology has evolved, and as a result many companies are viewing customer service as a way to not only save customers but increase sales through creating more positive customer experiences. Those who are skeptic about the impact of customer support will have a difficult time disputing direct and relevant data, showing the strong value of customer support when presented to decision makers.
Choose a software with highly customizable reports
Selecting the right software for customer service reporting is important, especially for business to business (B2B) companies. Not every business has the same processes or needs, and it's important to get the information you need as a unique company. Software that is designed for B2B generally has a higher level of customization, allows for more access to necessary information, and can minimize duplication in reports. It’s also important for companies to find software that can help automate reporting so less time is spent manually pulling and compiling data. By automating tasks and decreasing report duplication, companies can save money by spending less time creating and editing reports.
Receive formal training to make the most of analytics
Having the best software in the world to create reports is only as good as the knowledge of the person behind it. Make sure your software provider trains employees (either virtually or in-person) immediately and effectively to maximize your investment. Providers should also grant access to knowledge documentation so employees can learn at their own pace and have something to refer to for simple questions once the initial training is completed. It’s also important to enable employees to ask questions to onboarding professionals after the training – it’s not an inconvenience, it is the onboarding team’s job to help make you successful in using their software and as a customer they want you to succeed. The more knowledgeable you are about the software the better reports you can create, and the more actionable information your company will have to make profitable business decisions.Gain visibility into support agent productivity
Direct visibility into your team's productivity can help reward high-performing agents, evaluate what ticket types employees are strong or weak at, and understand what tickets certain types of employees like to work on (ie: for a specific company or relating to a specific topic). This understanding and recognition boosts employee morale and satisfied employees are generally more productive, meaning you need less staff to handle the same workload. This visibility can also be beneficial for evaluating agents that are underperforming and to logically make the decision to either reassign them or replace them with better agents.Understand which customers are unhappy
Customer service software can be used not only to track the amount of tickets (both total and unresolved) but also to determine how satisfied your customers are with you. The latter in particular can be very granular and can be tracked through B2B software at the customer level, in a specific group or department within a customer, or even to individual employees. For example, a company as a whole may be very happy with your service but one employee within that company may not be. Instead of labeling the entire company as unhappy, it makes more sense to address the employee (or their direct report) on a one-to-one level to figure out a resolution to their concerns. Tracking ticket trends like this helps in discovering the root of problems which, once resolved, improves customer satisfaction and retention. Leverage ways to reduce the number of data points
Don’t be the person who creates the 100 page reports. Utilize self-service options to provide simple answers to customers and offer suggested solutions while they create tickets to try to deflect them. Enabling live chat to solve simpler problems or transition complex chat issues directly to a ticket once the problem is discovered can aid in agents not spending an excessive amount of time in chat if they don't know the answer. This reduces the number of data points as fewer tickets are sent in, thus more accurately displaying only the necessary data to make business decisions.In short, there are several ways customer service reporting and analysis can be utilized to improve the ROI of a company. Customer support solutions have become more proactive as technology has evolved, and as a result many companies are viewing customer service as a way to not only save customers but increase sales through creating more positive customer experiences. Those who are skeptic about the impact of customer support will have a difficult time disputing direct and relevant data, showing the strong value of customer support when presented to decision makers.
