by: John Hamilton, Service Strategies
Just in the past few years we have noticed a trend where companies are consciously limiting or denying customers direct phone access to technical support staff. They are in fact reverting back to a Call Back support model that was pretty standard back in the early 1980’s. If you can recall how bad support was back then, customers were very unhappy with poor response times, causing them to wait hours if not days before getting a call back from a qualified support person. Proactive companies did listen and restructured their support operations to address the response issue by implementing a Direct Connect model. Customer calls were now answered in real time by qualified technical staff rather than call administrators. Seems like we have forgotten lessons from the past and are about to make the same mistakes.
Services Strategies analyzed why companies were making this rather dramatic change and were able to categorize their reasons into three areas:
• Tactics to drive customer to on-line self service.
• Restructuring support teams into specialist groups
• Perceived cost reduction
Let’s review each of these reasons and examine the impact it is likely to have on customer satisfaction, efficiency and cost to deliver service.
Tactics to Drive Customers to On-line Self Service
The internet has been one of the greatest innovations in the last two decades not only as a phenomenal global information resource and a business marketing tool, but also as a service delivery platform that enables customers to help themselves. Many companies have invested in their websites and have created a customer self service portal. Standard features include a knowledgebase with access to libraries of technical information, downloads of the latest software updates, submittal of service requests and forums to discuss product and technical issues. Ideally customers should be able to find help in seconds, rather than minutes or hours when compared to the traditional phone support.
“Build it and they will come” didn’t hold true and many companies were frustrated because customers were slow to accept this new method of service. In an attempt to drive them to the on-line service portal, companies scaled back their inbound telephone service levels or disabled direct connect to technical staff and in some cases eliminated telephone support as the primary option. Early results indicate high levels of customer dissatisfaction with this approach. One of the biggest problems being that the web self service option was not user friendly and a poor substitute for the human interaction customers were used to experiencing with a Direct Connect model.
The companies that were successful in transitioning clients ran many user pilots before going live to ensure that the self service site was intuitive, user friendly and customers were able to find the solutions they required. Another key success factor was that they migrated at the customers pace, providing hand holding support until they were comfortable with the new self service technology. They also provided rich findable content of “known” issues that customers could quickly access and use to solve or advance their issue.
Customers still prefer responsive human interaction from a Direct Connect phone support model, particularly for complex or critical issues. The importance of this is emphasized by the companies that prominently display on their web site “If you have a priority one issues, please call…”
On-line self service definitely has a place in today’s support model. It provides a 24×7 level of convenience and can help reduce unnecessary calls for known issues. Chat is also a nice feature and can be a form of on-line real time service for issues that match the low bandwidth of the channel as well as helping to frame issues when searching for solutions.
A useful extension to your self service offering is to include on-line support communities where customer can interact with each other and in some cases resolve their own issues. These communities required some level of monitoring in the early development stage, however as they evolve and customer see value, they tend to contribute more and take on a self policing role.
Current research does indicate slow growth towards using the on-line channel for submitting service issues, however the phone is still the most dominant channel. The markets you serve and customer environment will generally determine which service channel is most convenient for your customers. If your clients are in an industrial environment such as a factory or machine shop, it’s unlikely they will have easy access to the internet and therefore on-line self help is not a viable option. On the other hand, clients in the Information Technologies business are connected to the web and may prefer to use on-line self help over the phone channel for non critical issues.
Restructuring Support into Specialist Groups
Another key reason why some companies have changed their service model is to re-focus the support operation into specialized teams. This change removes technical staff from handling incoming service calls directly and transitions them into a second tier or backline role. Call administrators now handle all incoming service requests and log them into the designated product queue for call back. The underlying belief is that products have become more complex and by developing deeper levels of specialization, support organizations can better utilize the technical skills to resolve issues sooner and focus on backlog reduction. The fallacy here is that backlog will actually increase because calls previously resolved in real time by generalist technical staff will drop directly into a backline queue, thus inflating backlog. This organizational emphasis on problem resolution often overlooks the importance of responsiveness. Yes, customers want their problems solved quickly, however response is a critical step in the resolution process and the delays created by not connecting customers with qualified support personnel will invariably increase time to resolution. Other inefficiencies such as phone tag are inherent with a Call Back model and will cause frustration and ultimately erode customer satisfaction. Also, the silos formed by the specialists result in cases involving multiple products being bounced around between queues.
Perceived Service Cost Reduction
Service operations are under constant pressure to reduce cost, especially in the current economic climate. We need to be realistic and balance the costs and revenues related with delivering service against customer retention and loyalty.
There is a perception that adopting a Call Back support model will help lower service costs. In fact the opposite is true. Cost will increase because of the inefficiencies of the model. Resolution times are prolonged which increases the average labor time per call and phone tag wastes hours per day as well as increasing telecommunication costs.
Poorly implemented self help websites can also have the opposite effect of “self help” and end up generating unnecessary support calls. On the other hand, a well designed self help portal can help deflect support issues and provide legitimate cost savings. A substantial upfront investment in design, tools and implementation is required over at least a two year period before you can realize measureable benefits and savings. There is of course the ongoing cost of providing frequently updated content and adequately resourcing forums, and chat sessions.
Distancing Support from Customers
Have we lost sight of our true purpose, customer service? Unfortunately some companies are creating barriers that distance the very people that the customer needs to talk too, by making access difficult. The Call Back support model is a typical example of creating a structure that is convenient for the company but not for the customer.
We need to maintain a level of intimacy with our customers to fully understand their business environment and how they are using our products. Consequently we need to close the communication gap between them and our support staff that are specifically trained to help them. The on-line self service options can also play a key role in our service delivery strategy. It can’t replace the intimacy from direct human interaction, however it does provide the opposite “one to many” advantage of allowing customers to solve their own issues. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are still the overriding tenets that shape the vision of world class services organizations, not just operational convenience or cost.
So, is Direct Connect really dead? Or is a hybrid approach which integrates both Direct Connect and on-line eService the optimum model? I would welcome your comments on this topic.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I aso believe that a mixed model is the right answer certainly for F5;
Online support tools are key to push information out into th technical community.In an online world many devlopers prefer this route to resolving their questions, On linesupporttools are particularly useful when language is an issue. Although we cover 10 different languages there isstill a lot of languages left over.
The multiple team arguement is very valid when products are both complex and varied. A datastorage case is very differnt to a networking case. Although there are some engineers who can cover tha range when you and language to the mix it is pretty well impossible to give a good levl of service without a fom of front end load balancing. personally i prefer that interface to be human rather than an insurance model of ‘push 2 for paymentment options” on the telephone.To make this successful the front end needs to be well staffed , have set good expectations set and for severity one cases:
Be able to pass the case directly to the correctly skilled. When you produc is in a mission critical environment this is the only acceptable level of service to enterprises who rely heavily on your product to meet their financial goal. To the point we get asked to sit on conference bridges even when the issue is not with our product.
Can you chrge a premium for this level of service ?Typically yes but competition does come into play.
Great feedback so far, thanks for posting this John.
I believe there is still a need for direct connect support for many areas of customer need. Direct connect complimented with skills based routing systems can provide extreme value. This is clearly a more expensive delivery method and should allow for premium pricing that, with a reasonable attach rate, should allow for funding the delivery. Having direct connect is also an option many customer in mission critical environments still require.
Since this is viewed as a premium support delivery option most customers do not balk at paying for it. Offering direct connect is also a great vehicle for SaaS companies to create a fee based offering and increment their installed base revenues.
Randy, It appears that you believe there is great value in offering a Direct Connect option, especially for Premium level customers. Definitely agree that it is essential for being responsive for mission critical applications. SaaS support does lend itself to having a direct connect chat option built into the product.
Thanks for your comments
John
John,
Another point I would like to make about Direct Connect. We found that it was less efficient because it tied individuals to the phone rather then allowing them to do what they needed to do to get issues in their backlog addressed. Since we had people on the phone in shifts, and the phone was answered by whoever was on shift, it did not allow for swarming. By this I mean, when the phone rang, the person on shift answered it, whether they were the best one to take it or not.
By sending everyone through the web first, they have a 70% chance they will find their answer within seconds. For the 30% where they do not find their answer, a simple mouse click escalates it to the same team that used to answer the phones. Except now the entire team sees the Service request come in and the agent with the best fit can pick it from the queue. This avoids the many instances where the case first went to someone else and then eventually got re-assigned to the right person.
Of course this only works if the response back to the 30% is fast. We track our response rates and try to keep them below a 10 minute average. We have received many compliments from our customers about the fast response to their web submitted question.
As you say in one of your responses, the proof is in the customer opinions. We gather and review them often to ensure we are still driving a high level of satisfaction.
Tom,
You make some very interesting points. The key is to provide responsive service regardless of whether the primary channel is phone or web. In your case, Mentor did an excellent job transitioning clients to the web (SupportNet) channel, whilst maintaining high response rates.
Appreciate your comments
John
A few years we insitutted a tier support model, in advertently our client felt that they could no longer talk to a support specialist. Our client satisfaction suffered and we noted an increase in the total amount of time we were having to spend on each support case. Since we are a healthcare software manafacturer with very complex cases, going back to more direct support has actually decreased our total cost for support and allowed us to close cases quicker with higher client satisfaction.
Jesus,
Thanks for sharing your actual experience. It does appear that the Direct Connect model did enable you to increase customer satisfaction at a lower operating cost.
For us, the self service option done right is a legitimate and complementary support channel: meaningful to clients because it solves – and beneficial to us because it saves on direct connect costs (and thus, preserves/improves service levels as a result). However, at the end of the day, the rewards we reap from the conversation – the two-way, meaningful exchanges of every day, with our prospects and base, is what continues to contribute to our accelerating growth and our standing.
Geoff,
Agree, those client conversations are very important. Besides being an integral part of the support process, they provide meaningful feedback on how customers are using your product.
I believe that to satisfy every customer you must be willing to provide a variety of access methods that meet the needs of all customers.
A few decades ago when the web was getting its start, phones were in every home. Land lines no less. The phone is a well-entrenched communication tool that is deeply rooted in our culture. Now the web has come along. In the prior decade, I recall the day I gained internet access on a 1200 baud modem. It was a pretty big deal. Today, it is just an extension of my everyday life, much like the phone was 20 years ago.
As these two communication tools have evolved our acceptance of them has evolved also with each of us moving at our own pace. Our acceptance of these tools in our daily lives is very much governed by factors of age, interest in exploring new technologies, acceptance of change, accessibility and other socio-economic factors.
This is not different for our customs. Sometimes I think we tend to view our customers collectively as a stereotypical amalgamation easily serviced with one methodology, when in fact they are an array of distinct individuals with varying preferences and skills. For this reason, the holistic support model that provides the most direct path to high customer satisfaction is defined as the one that offers the variety necessary to meet our customers varying preferences.
At the end of the day, if your customers are able to receive service from your organization in a manner that they prefer and that satisfies them deeply, your market share will continue to expand and financial success will come. If you adhere to the methodology of one size fits all then you will lose customer satisfaction on the “grading curve”.
Terri,
You make some great points. Clients want choice and we need to provide a variety support channels to meet their preferences.
I am a huge proponent of self serve as part of a comprehensive multi-channel support strategy targeted as specific customer segments within your business model. We are looking at building up our self serve channel and over the next several years will invest heavily in the area of improved knowledge bases integrated with our case tracking tools. That said, we will also balance that investment with augmented telephony solutions to help our customers that prefer to use the phone to get us more efficiently and effectively.
As you mention, our solutions are becoming increasingly complex and we see having conversations with our customers as a key aspect of our customer intimacy strategies. The value of the rich dialog that take place while resolving day to day issues should not be over looked. The trick is having tools to capture and analyze the information in those calls to inform customer driven innovation or areas that can be moved to self serve channels.
We will be investing in ways for our customers to converse with us for a long time as we never want to loose that personal touch. To take this even further, I expect for certain strategic accounts or in certain instances we might even consider video support calls down the road if that technology becomes more seamless. Again, if it improves our ability to extend our reach and augment our customer relationship we will explore the investment.
Steve,
A multi channel support strategy that can be customized to specific customer segments is the ultimate model. Like the fact that you incorporate customer intimacy as a key component of your strategy.
I agree that highly responsive, high-touch, support remains crucial to customer success, especially with complex software products such as those offered by Mentor Graphics. However, we have found that self-help can be successfully integrated into such a model.
For many years Mentor Graphics had a successful Direct Connect model. As our web site became more capable of resolving issues we found that customers continued to seek help using the method they were most familiar with: the telephone. As noted in John’s article, “Build it and they will come” did not work, and many customers thus failed to realize the benefits of 24/7 access to our extensive knowledge base of known issues.
Our solution to this challenge was to begin positioning our SupportNet web site as a different (and better) way to access the same Mentor Graphics support professionals our customers had grown accustomed to working with. We also realized we needed to make the telephone “less easy” in order to motivate our customers to use this new access method, and so we eliminated Direct Connect. At the same time we promised our customers that if they did not find their answer on SupportNet we would call them back immediately, and we delivered on that promise.
Throughout this transition our incident surveys have continued to indicate excellent levels of customer satisfaction. I believe the keys to our success were 1) having a world class self-help web site in place prior to the transition, and 2) preserving a responsive, high-touch support organization ready to engage directly with customers whenever self-help is insufficient. Rather than creating barriers I believe our web support strategy has broadened our means of helping customers become more fully successful with our products.
Andy,
Mentor did a great job of migrating clients to your self service option. The additional handholding helped make the transition relatively painless for customers so that they were willing to let go of the Direct Connect telephone access. The survey results are final indicator of success.
John,
We have found maintaing both self service and direct connect options has been a good answer for us. With all the pressure on the value of maintenance pricing and what I get for my support dollar it is easy to support the fees when you can point to trained and certified people our customers know by name. they understand that talent cost money! Great topic!
Dave,
Liked your point about “talent cost money”. Seems like your customers appreciate direct access into qualified support staff and are willing to pay for it.