National Customer Service Week

At Portico we’re really excited about the future of customer service, it’s come a long way over the last decade and modern technologies are helping to evolve and enhance customer experience beyond all expectations.The changing landscape of service means that attitudes are shifting too, placing higher demands on the experiences they have and how they receive it. Implementing new technology has the capability to empower our people by giving them the tools to guide them in helping customers have memorable experiences. The happiness of the customer is key, that’s why it’s important to stay up to date and offer proactive solutions to increase customer satisfaction.   Here are 5 ways that technology is changing the customer service experiences of today:    It's all too common for employees to be using a combination of complicated workplace systems to reach a single objective, this may work functionally for data operations but unfortunately not when it comes to delivering great customer service. The latest technology is improving and simplifying the operating systems that our people are using in front of house environments. Intelligent workspaces can improve the complete customer experience, from speeding up the query and interaction time – to deliver a more personal and efficient service. _________________________   Engaging and interacting with customers on a more personal level is the ideal objective for any front-facing organisation. With the use of latest technology, it’s never been easier to have so much customer data at our fingertips. Whether it’s keeping track of previous interactions or personalising an experience based on their data, modern and intelligent software can create trusted solutions for customers’ individual needs and deliver a memorable journey that complements the traditional face-to-face interactions. _________________________   Artificial Intelligence is already on the horizon of the customer service landscape but it’s sure to become smarter and more efficient in collaboration with human agents.  From deeper and more personal customer insights with intelligent analytics to 24/7 responsive customer care and support – AI is a vital element to the future of creating customer service experiences. _________________________   The customers of today are always searching for convenient and effective methods of communication - with the technology shift towards social and mobile, the channels of customer service communication have burst. This has created an omnichannel demand for consistent customer support across a variety of platforms. _________________________   Facial recognition technology is shaking up the industry. It can provide customer service environments with enhanced knowledge – recognising people of interest for customer agents to provide a more efficient and personalised service. The tech can also provide deeper insights that are real-time, from monitoring facial expressions for service engagement to assessing security threats.   With all these advances, it is safe to say that we can only expect more changes in the future.   Companies who keep abreast of all these changes and are willing and able to adapt to them have a better chance of success and we love sharing this with our clients. We all know that customer service can ultimately become the difference between losing market share, holding or gaining it, and as research from The Institute of Customer Service shows the overall satisfaction score in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) is gradually decreasing, year on year.   We’re really excited about these new technologies, but with any advancements come challenges - that's why we apply a systematic approach at Portico, managing the standards of our services and ensuring that we're efficiently meeting expectations at client locations - using the latest technologies, we can enhance experiences and offer customers something they didn’t expect. Our dedicated operations team develop a bespoke service framework for each client contract, evolving our service strategy, innovation and customer engagement to provide the best possible representation of the client's brand.   Every Autumn, we’re pleased and proud to support National Customer Service Week (NCSW) – an annual event led by The Institute of Customer Service 'to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the UK economy'. The dedicated week took place on Monday 7th October, through to Friday 11th and was a great opportunity for us to celebrate our customer service achievements and keep up to date with all the latest advancements. During National Customer Service Week, each day at Portico we had a customer service related theme to aid positive discussion and thought leadership.  

At Portico, it's our culture to challenge the norm, implement best practice, promote change and innovate. With the use of technology and systems – our people explore operational efficiency, monitor trends and promote positive change, whilst retaining the human touch, all of which are filtered back into the customer experience and often deliver commercial savings.

Take a look back at our Instagram Stories to find out what our People got up to last week for #NCSW at Portico, and if you're not already following us, then find us at Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.