Consumers Want Multi Channel Customer Care

How Can Customer Service Better Serve You?" was the subject of a recent Twitter survey conducted by Nuance, the leading provider of speech and customer interaction solutions for businesses and consumers around the world.

The survey found that consumers are frequently in contact with customer care - both proactively and reactively. 70 percent of consumers reported that they have contacted customer care up to six times within the past six months, and an additional 19 percent reported they have contacted customer care seven times or more.

In terms of customer care proactively contacting consumers, 53 percent of respondents reported being contacted one to three times within the past 6 months, while another 17 percent reported being contacted at least four or more times within the same period.

The methods by which consumers have been contacted are wide ranging. Email and SMS/Text Message topped the list of formats via which customer service proactively contacted consumers at 42 percent and 35 percent respectively, while 33 percent reported being contacted on the phone via a live agent, and another 30 percent said that they were contacted via automated call.

When asked about their preferred methods for receiving customer service support, there was a fairly even split between: speaking with a live agent via mobile phone and/or landline phone, speaking over chat or IM, using a website, and sending an email.

"The preferred communications of survey respondents who contacted customer care span an array of methods. This further underscores the need for companies to increase the value of every customer contact by integrating their inbound and outbound communications across multiple channels," said Christy Murfitt, Senior Manager, Solutions Marketing, Nuance Communications.

"By combining inbound/outbound communications, with a solution such as Nuance's Complete Care, companies can engage customers with smarter, automated conversations that solve more problems with fewer calls, ultimately delivering a better customer experience while reducing operational costs."

What are consumers' feelings on customer care proactively contacting them? 86 percent of consumers surveyed said that they like receiving proactive notifications from companies. Of this group, 70 percent said that their liking of the proactive notification was dependent on the content of the notification.

In fact, a previous Twitter survey conducted by Nuance found the top four instances for which consumers wanted to receive a proactive notification included: to alert them of a power outage or restoration, to alert them of servicing in their neighborhood and/or appointment, consumer usage tips such as peak savers on when it was less expensive to conduct certain actions, and reminders regarding bill due dates and/or late payments.

About Nuance

Nuance Communications is the leading provider of speech and customer interaction solutions for businesses and consumers around the
world. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications and professional services. Info: www.nuance.com. Nuance's Christy Murfitt will be discussing Nuance's new Complete Care solution for contact centers during a live webcast on Thursday, April 21 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific/2:00 p.m. Eastern. Register here.

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