But many customer interactions are improved by combing human interaction and digital tools. For example, the NPS for opening a checking or savings account is 53 when completed successfully in digital channels, but just 39 when done through a contact center with human assistance. NPS Prism research has found that in general people prefer that everyday interactions with their financial services providers be digital. (The book goes deeper into Discover’s formula for success as well as those of NPS leader in other industries.) During research for my book Winning on Purpose, we found Discover’s total shareholder return from 2011 through 2020 led its industry and was 85% greater than that of the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, a proxy for the broader stock market. The dividends can be seen it its stock performance. When customers interact with Discover, their needs are met at the first contact 74% of the time. The digital alternative has to be so delightful that agents would use it themselves and recommend it not only to customers, but to friends and family too.īecause many transactions don’t require human intervention, Discover can ensure that the ones that do are handled by skilled agents who are well-trained to handle complex customer problems. Agents aren’t instructed to push customers to digital, but when an agent recognizes that customers would be happier with a digital alternative, the agent naturally lets them know about it so they could try it out next time. Rather, the reason for this high rate of digital adoption is that these tools were developed for interactions in which customers prefer digital-and the Discover solutions are outstanding. Discover doesn’t hide the phone number for its agents in fact, that number is broadly advertised across its web pages. Customers aren’t forced to use digital options. For its credit cards, more than half of initial interactions across episodes were digital in 2022, according to NPS Prism benchmarking. It offers round-the clock access to local agents, charges no annual fee for credit cards, and has regularly raised the digital intensity of the customer experience. Ask yourself, ‘Is this something that’s just reducing costs and being painful for customers, or it is really making it easier for them and delighting them?’ ”īy putting customer delight at the center of both digital and human customer service, NPS leaders like US credit card issuer Discover Financial Services boost customer satisfaction across the board.ĭiscover systematically puts customers’ interests first. Jenny advised that “every time you design a self-service model, make sure you are doing it for the customer, not to the customer. I recently posted clips from a conversation with my daughter Jenny Reichheld, regional CX adviser at Qualtrics. Well-designed systems can get the most out of man and machine, tapping inexpensive, convenient, and fast digital solutions when those are called for, while reserving human interaction for times when an emotional bond is critical. As companies digitalize experiences that once were all-human, they must find a way to stay connected with customers. In complex or emotional interactions, there’s no effective substitute for human kindness and judgment. During the pandemic, as call volumes spiked, they became critical to keeping up.īut while human interaction is expensive, a customer-service system that permits employees to show small acts of compassion at the right moment has long been something that sets Net Promoter Score (NPS) leaders apart. Now it’s taken on a new urgency as call centers become the launching pad for artificial intelligence ( AI) in the workplace.ĭigital self-service models of customer interaction were already helping companies keep up with call center volume and save money long before anyone had heard of ChatGPT. It’s a question customer-centered executives have been asking themselves for years. What’s the proper balance between digital technology and the human touch in customer service today?
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