Just think of all the people that tried to reach out to their credit card companies after the recent Target breach.  Then Neiman Marcus, then (add name here).  Well it happens every day, all the time and when you want to reach a company, there’s no doubt that when you’re on hold, entering and re-entering information, that can be extremely frustrating.  Breaking research from a survey conducted by [24]7, the intuitive customer experience company indicates that when it comes to interacting with a credit card provider, people still begin their customer service interactions with a phone call, despite the efforts by companies to direct customers to self-serve on the web.  The findings from the survey demonstrate a significance of what is known in the industry as the connected consumer experience and how important it is to integrate technology across all channels.

The study focused specifically on the credit card business, and it’s not hard to see that customers in that space regularly and sometimes constantly interact with their accounts and the company through voice, web and apps.  Today, those points of interaction are increasing with smartphones, tablets and other new devices.  Customers have expectations around these experiences that create challenges for the solutions they have in place so the report illustrates how for the customer service industry, credit card providers have to rethink their phone channel solutions in order to keep customer loyalty, increase customer satisfaction and raise the bar on their overall experience.

In a briefing led by [24]7 Chief Marketing Officer  Kathy Juve, the company shared some highlights from the survey that added real depth in this world of customer experience technology.

• After beginning an interaction via a phone call, 30 percent make a second phone call and 25 percent of respondents move on to using a website as the next preferred channel of engagement with a credit card provider
• 82 percent of respondents use at least three channels when interacting with a credit card provider
• 88 percent leverage at least two devices when engaging with a credit card providers’ customer service

You can see in this first channel of interaction graphic from the report that 50 percent of customers start their interactions with a company on the phone.

The company put together this video that gives some examples of customer frustration when it comes to these experiences:

The takeaway is that the customer journey is one that is multi-faceted.  95 percent of customers use two channels in their interactions with the company.  82 percent overall use three channels, 50 percent are using four channels and 40 percent are using a fifth channel.  Typically by the fourth channel, the customer has given up as they try to weave their way through to find the information that they are looking for.  The channels can be in the form of chat, website, emails, social, phone calls and smartphones.  The 50 percent number for that first line of interaction continues to loom large.  The study shows how important that still is today and it indicates that first line Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems need to be incorporated into the modern customer experience.  This persists despite the continued growth in smartphones, a section of the market that is increasingly racing towards saturation.

“Credit card providers should not be offering yesterday’s IVR to today’s connected customer. Customers want a smart IVR that is conversational, uses natural language and connects seamlessly to other channels and devices,” said P.V. Kannan, co-founder and CEO of [24]7. “When a customer continues their interaction on the web, they expect the context of their previous phone call to be maintained. Our [24]7 Speech solution enables that seamless omnichannel experience that meets the high expectations of today’s customers.”

The [24]7 answer to this is a smart IVR that pays attention to the customer satisfaction feel to these interactions and it is done through advanced predictive technologies that integrate into online, voice and mobile channels.  It has features like transitioning from IVR to chat, natural language capabilities and more so that the customer experiences a personal and active engagement with the company.  Checkout the [24]7 Speech product: http://www.247-inc.com/products/247-Speech

photo credit: gcoldironjr2003 via photopin cc