The strategic relevance of excellent customer service is growing and the requirements have increased massively, especially in recent years. Digitalization is providing new touchpoints for customer service, while at the same time there is increasing competitive pressure to serve these touchpoints to perfection. It is now up to companies to recognize the potential and take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization. The pioneers in this area are very successful and are increasing their sales figures through better customer service.
In customer service, companies and customers pursue the same goal: to find the right answer to a problem. And to do so as quickly as possible. Digitalization is opening up new ways to achieve this goal, such as chat tools, chatbots, automation solutions, video calls, remote services, augmented reality and virtual reality, and online contact centers. Many of these technologies are available to customers around the clock. It is still necessary to provide customers with personal contacts via familiar communication channels, such as e-mail and telephone.
At the same time, customers' expectations are rising. Positive and negative service experiences in the private environment shape expectations of excellent service in the professional environment. Experiences that are particularly good stick; they are communicated. Unfortunately, so do bad experiences. Everything in between is quickly forgotten.
Companies are therefore faced with the challenge of serving all relevant touchpoints and channels as cost-effectively as possible while at the same time offering excellent service on all channels. This improves customer satisfaction and creates long-term customer loyalty.
The service culture of a company consists of three pillars: services, processes, and people.
Excellent service is achieved when all three pillars perform at a high level and mesh well.
Good service is the unconditional desire to satisfy the customer. The benefits offered to the customer through products or services must be relevant to the customer. This approach is a long-term thing. It is not a project with a defined beginning and end. It is an attitude. This attitude must be defined and lived throughout the company. All areas in the company must be aligned with this attitude. Every employee must be inspired by this attitude.
The goal must be to create a perfect balance between digital and personal service. Digitalization offers numerous opportunities here that must be exploited. In the area of mechanical and plant engineering, it is therefore necessary that employees in service and support have a tool at their fingertips with which they can answer customers' inquiries quickly, competently and correctly. They need all relevant information about the machine, plant, device or vehicle at a glance: customer- and model-specific with up-to-date information and direct links between spare parts and technical documentation. This ensures that unplanned processes (e.g. eliminating malfunctions) and planned processes (e.g. maintenance, retrofit) are supported competently and satisfactorily.
