While this constant thirst for knowledge can be wearing, a child’s inquisitive nature and single-minded focus on accessing more information is a necessary cornerstone of their development.
Incongruous to this example is the way ‘traditional’ call centres interact with consumers. Generally, the focus here is on meeting the consumer’s requirements in as efficient and cost-effective manner as possible.
Call centres long ago became mostly commoditised. And even though they tend, in this multi-channel age, to be one of the only means of human contact between brand and consumer, most stick to the preconceived formula for servicing a ‘transactional interaction’.
But beyond the obvious missed opportunities presented by making this human contact with customers, the sentiment of a child’s ‘why?’ has the potential to change completely the way we enact a dialogue with consumers over the phone.
For example, a customer calling up their bank to find out their current account balance will most likely be serviced by an automated interface, enabling them to extract the information they want while the bank itself invests as little human time as possible servicing the call.
Of course, if the automated response is tailored correctly to fulfil the customer’s requirements and preference as well as reflecting the customer’s value to the organisation, such an approach is more than justified.
However, what if a human operator answered, and in an interested, polite tone, asked the customer why they wanted to know their balance? Perhaps some customers would have the same reaction as they get when faced with an inquisitive five-year-old, but in my experience, most would be more willing to impart their reason.
Are they checking their balance to make sure they’ve got enough funds to make a big, luxury purchase? Or are they seeing if they’ve enough to buy the essentials from a discount supermarket?
Each customer’s motivations for finding out their balance can tell a dramatically different story, and by enabling call handlers to act on and record this information, it can be harnessed to enrich and personalise further contact with the individual.
In the short-term, the interaction the customer' experiences can be greatly improved, not least because the call handler is taking an active interest in them. But at this early stage, indiscriminately trying to turn the call into a cross-selling opportunity may do more harm than good.
The customer’s motivation in finding out their balance may well be a cry for help at the same time as being a trigger to offer other products and services. And regardless of the customer’s personal situation, in the context of forging a long-term relationship, the option of using this insight, either immediately or further along the line, in an intelligent and relevant way is likely to be much more valuable.
Brands are beginning to realise how the value of the voice channel has been grossly underestimated, and with improvements in data management it’s now possible for skilled call handlers to input and recall more personal and anecdotal information provided by consumers that can be used by information systems as well as read by other agents later.
But it’s important to see beyond the opportunity for data capture to how voice communication can be enriched by a personal approach.
If even a simple ‘why?’ has the ability to unlock insight perhaps we’ve only scratched the surface of dialogue’s full potential.
Chris Hancock is managing director of Gasbox