Modern tools in customer relations (part 2)

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Modern tools
in customer relations (part 2)How to do it well?
Łukasz Szymański, E-marketing specialist, Ideo Sp. z o.o. | Innovative customer information management in Energetyka | 31.05.2012

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o Introduction
o What do Internet users like
o A few important designing principles
o Different tools...
o ...but the same process
Presentation plan

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Progressive globalization processes and the development of information technologies mean
that more and more companies are choosing to use IT tools to communicate with their
customers.
This not only speeds up the delivery of business processes and customer service, but also
reduces the costs involved. As a result, it contributes to the increase of profits generated by
the company.

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More and more people have Internet access. We are accustomed to the wide availability of
the Internet, mobile devices, easier contacts with other people / companies.
We can easily say that we even demand this type of contact.
We do not talk about it, but... we are sad when someone "is not there"...

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Some prefer the Customer Service Office, which they can visit, other telephone contact.
Another person can be satisfied with an online customer service, or even with a chat with the
consultant.
In order not to be blamed by customers for bias (or worse) - we should
give everyone an equal chance and meet their expectations.

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But who knows what they
want?
A few words about habits...

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Communication
We are not in the information era... We are in the age of entertainment
The Internet affects not only the form of a content presentation and the content itself but also
its quality. Even in the case of a more ambitious content, authors use entertainment elements
to have a chance to break through.

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As ancients used to say: learn from your mistakes.
The most important thing, however, is to learn from others…
As much as possible, analyze your competition’s strategy in the context of your topic.
See what they are doing, how they are doing it and what are the results?
If someone is doing something well - it's worth repeating (but not plagiarizing ...)
If someone is doing something wrong - you already know how to avoid it
Draw conclusions

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Draw conclusions
2 BILLION
PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET
MORE THAN
1 BILLION PEOPLE
USE SOCIAL NETWORKS
5 BILLION
ENTRIES ON FACEBOOK
PER WEEK
200 MILLION
BLOGS

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Draw conclusions
36% OF
SOCIAL NETWORKS USERS
WRITE ABOUT BRANDS

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It's all about their
emotions…

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As you know, 1 unsatisfied customer can do more harm
than 10 satisfied ones.
If one is very unhappy,
it will be even more productive...
| 31.05.2012

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Monitor the situation

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If your friends have ever been saying things about you
behind your back...
...you probably would like to know what they were saying
On the Internet, the issue is much easier. If the content about us is available publicly, media
monitoring tools will find it.
You can react appropriately if someone writes about you and later draw conclusions from
what they said.
Draw conclusions – monitor the
situation

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Draw conclusions – monit the situation

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There are also more advanced ones - paid tools.
It's not about tools, but how you
use them
situation

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CUSTOMER
SERVICE
situation

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Tracking key phrases for your business can help you find
clients across the network.
Draw conclusions – monit the situation
SALES
SUPPORT

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What will you do when someone visits
you?

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Straight to the goal?

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Website’s usability is a feature that helps you effectively achieve your goals.
What does usability measure?
● Task execution speed
● Speed of learning
● Number of errors
● Satisfaction
What is it utility?

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Some facts – www.kupujemyoczami.pl
Łukasz Szymański, Specjalista ds. e-marketingu, Ideo Sp. z o.o. | Innowacyjne zarządzanie informacją o Kliencie w Energetyce | 31.05.2012

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Audience ignores ads
(and everything that resembles them)

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But they love numbers

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… and videos and product animations

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They don’t like reading
(unless they are interested in something)

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They don’t like to be left with nothing

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They would like to buy something, but they do not always know how…

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They like being kept up to date

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They prefer simple forms

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… and simple, intuitive content layouts

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They also like clear messages

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There are some
important rulesThings one should be paying attention to while designing.

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● Providing the state of system’s operation (e.g. confirmation of actions)
● User control (well-marked exits, option to repeat and undo actions, complications while
doing irreversible operations)
● Errors warning
● Helping users to recognize, diagnose and deal with errors (well-marked forms)
● Adaptation of the system to the real world - taking into account the language, culture of
the recipient
● Coherence with standards, adjustment to the category
There are some rule-clues

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● Testing your business website using different browsers and in different conditions
● Placing important information at the top of the screen
● Providing information in a clear and precise way
● Everything should be flexible and efficient (keyboard shortcuts, toolbars, menus)
● Everything should be made aesthetically and economically (e.g. little graphics)
● Provide help and documentation (e.g. alphabetical order, possibility to sort thematic help)

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● Dividing information into smaller parts (e.g. dividing a longer form into several steps)
● Avoiding unnecessary special effects, animation, news
● Limiting the time of system’s loading
● Immediate reaction of the system to the user’s actions
● Accumulating all slow processes if system delays cannot be eliminated - allows the user
to do other things at that time

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● Limiting the use of colors in tables
● Using a textual GUI content that is more user-friendly
● Using the same graphical symbols in similar situations (semantic information)
● Avoiding drawings that resemble ads
● Performing functional tests on the competition’s GUI

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● Avoiding excessive highlighting
● If the content of the website is graphic, it should also be able to display text information
(the browser cannot always display graphics)
● Using default fonts
● Optimizing image sizes
● Avoiding bright colors
● Avoiding frames on web pages

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● Avoiding pop-up windows
● Titles of web pages should represent a general theme of the website
● Providing information about one’s position on the website
● Fixed navigation areas are the top and left sides of the website (animation + different
parts of the website = "navigation noise")
● Avoiding unnecessary navigational elements
● Using additional navigation elements - three different navigation elements: links, site plan
and search engine

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● Using search option on each web page, but they should not be used to search the entire
network
● Providing navigation on each page of the presentation to users who entered one of its
pages
● Using links that are easy to understand
● Using URLs that are easy to understand

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There’s no accounting
for tastes…
But the aim is always the same

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A very common tool informing internet users about basic facts is FAQ. It provides answers to
the most frequently asked questions.
In more advanced versions, it allows you to search the question and answer database and
report your own problem / a question to resolve. Often it is the first interface of the system
that handles reports.
How can it be done?

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A more advanced system is called a Virtual Advisor. It is equipped with mechanisms of
artificial intelligence. This tool simulates a conversation with another person by analyzing
the questions asked and matching answers to them from the extensive knowledge base.
Depending on your preference, this system can be combined with an animation simulating
the conversation with the user.
How can it be done?

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LiveChat is an indirect tool between a regular chat and a telephone contact with a
company consultant. It allows a conversation with a consultant in the form of a
chat, it supports inquiries queue, it allows you to leave a message asking for a contact. It
also provides a printout of the conversation history.
In a more advanced version, it connects to virtual advisor mechanisms and tracks user’s
behaviour on the website, deciding when it is best to start the conversation.
How can it be done?

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The online Customer Service system will allow you to access general information about your
offers and services, but also (after logging in) will give you access to your billing history and
other personalized data.
Such a system can be combined with a virtual consultant, liveChat, etc. to provide maximum
amount of information to the clients and maximize their satisfaction with the service.
How can it be done?

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Call Center – everyone knows what it is and what it serves. Thanks to this type of
system we are able to learn practically everything and perform operations on our client
account.
How can it be done?

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Information kiosks can be divided into two categories:
● A kiosk with a person that works there
● Computer interactive information kiosks with an installed customer service
system
How can it be done?

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Whatever method we choose – we must remember one thing:
● One standard
● One level of service
● One set of knowledge and information
● Access to the same tools
How can it be done?

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We want to serve customers in the best possible way.
We want to make their life easier, so we design new solutions. We want customers to be happy to
use it, because that is why we implement it.
Who do we often ask for the opinion?
•We know very well how something should work
•Traders will gladly tell you how to do it, because they have the best contact with customers
•CEO of course knows best
Ok – we can do it!

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This tool is intended for customers.
It should solve their problems
Only then they will be happy to use it.
We only operate this system / tool and if everything goes well, we will also benefit from it. Why do
we need the best system, if no one wants to use it?
Do not forget about something?

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Very often when implementing an intranet system, the resistance among employees appears.
They are afraid they will not be able to handle it, that it is time absorbing, and that it will have too
much control over them…
Reasons for NOT using such a system can be as many potential users.
In our company we have a duty to organize trainings.
Unfortunately, we have no influence on customers - that is why the first impression is so
important.
Internally it is easier

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First impression
What to do to make sure a user says “WOW"

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What are the main goals of our project?
● Answering the questions
● Informing and transmitting messages
● Dealing with customer inquiries and complaints
● Sell more products / services
● Or maybe all of the above?
Why are we doing this?

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Analysis of customer expectations and requirements includes
also an analysis of the units and processes that occur in the company. The point is for the
implemented solution to effectively integrate into the existing structure, without having to
modify it and changing the responsibilities of employees.

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Analysis of final users expectations.
It is not easy, because users do not expect us to create a system for them - they know that we will.
Sometimes we forget about it. You should explore their preferences, the ways they use our help,
the way they execute things, and their sources of information.
The need for testing at every stage of creation is important because:
● Users do not always know what they want,
● Their requirements and preferences change on a regular basis
What do they want?

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Analysis of current communication channels.
What are they? what can we do with them?
The analysis of expectations we can find out what users are missing (customers).
Maybe some things are so obvious to us that we have not thought of them at all, however,
they might determine customer satisfaction from using a new communication channel.

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Business analysis
In this process we create a model of "how the business works?". The result comes in
a form of the models of business processes. They must, however, be very general and
include the division between employees' competencies and their specific tasks.
It is good to precede this step (or complement it) with the analysis and the model of a
corporate architecture.

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In order for the implementation to be optimalized, it is worth to prepare a functional
design. It will display how everything will work, what will the real benefits of the tool be,
what problems will arise and what can be improved at this stage.
If a customer and the IT company will know in advance what to do, it will then save time and
money for future amendments and changes.

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The functional design includes use case model
Use cases, system services for users, are intentional user interactions with the system. Their
feature should be completeness, because the use case is the implementation of a specific
business purpose by the user. Properly designed, such a model allows you to map activities
from the process model directly to use cases.
Each case that can be a candidate for use case should be described by a scenario of its
implementation describing how we plan to implement this service. This is a so-called user-
system dialog. The use case model is also a definition of the scope of a development project
(we do this and only that).

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After the mock-up (at the last stage of its formation) it is worth to conduct a
usability test with users. We want to avoid situations in which the designed
system will be too complicated for them, instead of improving the level of service ...
Usability test

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Test drive
Regardless of how well designed is our system, no matter how much we care about our
customers or the needs of the department that will operate the system - it is worth doing the
"test drive".
Such tests can be combined with the promotion of the system. For instance, the competition
in which customers can become testers. The winner will be given an access to test the
system, comment and influence its final shape, but also will get some gadgets, gifts,
discounts on services?
Usability test

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Later, after the system was implemented, you should also allow customers
to comment, leave suggestions, ideas, in exchange for gadgets / discounts.
The more friendly the system will be for users, the more we will benefit from its
implementation.
Usability test

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Łukasz Szymański
E-marketing specialist
tel: +48 17 860 21 86 wew. 173
gsm: +48 500 067 606
e-mail: l.szymanski@ideo.pl
www.ideoagency.com
What can we do for you?

Modern tools in customer relations (part 2)

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