Centralpoint is using Mobile Service Cloud to be available for their customers - there where their customers want to reach them.
We interviewed Marcel Joosten, eCommerce Manager at Centralpoint about their Customer Service.
Marcel Joosten is responsible for all eCommerce activities within the Benelux within Centralpoint. Besides that, he is also responsible for the Marketing Automation department.
Watch the video to discover his ideas about Customer Service and read the interview below.
Centralpoint is the largest brand-independent IT supplier in the Benelux: a specialist in IT solutions for large and small organizations.
For every IT challenge, Centralpoint offers a solution. They say 'Centralpoint. Get IT done.' for a reason. Their mission is to provide the best technology to realize ambitions. Centralpoint helps organizations of all sizes, with success.
With around 20.000 people visiting the website every day, managing Customer Service is an important topic for Centralpoint.
"We want to be there where the customer wants us to be available. You need to get in touch with your customers."
"Customer service is a container message. What is what within customer service?
What does a customer expect of customer service? That’s what we need to deliver.
What you need to know is that Centralpoint is supplying only to the B2B market. For each segment, customer service is different. For a big customer, with its own account team, you want to be available 24/7, as he is very important. But within SMB there are a lot of one-time customers. It’s online, it’s pure play. There we have a lot of digital stuff we use to get in touch with the customers."
"The biggest challenge is that the customer is a human being. When shopping at Centralpoint, it's a B2B customer. But in his daily life, he's also shopping his shoes online, as a B2C customer.
Customer demands are increasing. They expect the same level of customer service as in B2C.
Think about return policies, but also availability.
If a customer wants to get in touch with us, we need to have the right system. The right telephone system, online chat application, but we also have WhatsApp in place. It's not only for friends, it's a service channel.
But how do you implement that in your omnichannel strategy?"
"There is only one truth about the customer. When the customer chats, calls, sends a WhatsApp message or Twitter DM, the profile of the customer comes up, and we see the complete window. So it doesn’t matter if you talk to me or to someone else, you always have the same truth."
What's the biggest transformation you went through, compared to 5 years ago?
"We've been through a lot of change. We have been acquired and have acquired some other companies - we’re building a strong position in Europe. But the biggest change is the market changing rapidly, also in tooling.
Five years ago I wanted to start with online chat. We did an RFP; we talked to all the big chat programs there were in the world. And, it struck me that it was not only very expensive, but it was also a black box. You get something in, you get something out. But what was happening in there, you had no control over it. Then I came across Robin, which is now Mobile Service Cloud.
They said: come with us. We are open. We scale, with you. We have a full API connection. We can build what you want, together. With a focus on the customer. So we started working together. In the last 5 years, the whole situation about building API connections has changed. Our own back office is completely new: we are now using AWS, we’re in the cloud, we can scale up, we are API built. Every connection we need to make, we do it through an API connection. That is really the big change.
And of course, the customer has changed. The demand from the customer is unbelievable. Where a truly B2B customer was really old school, it is now like a B2C consumer. That’s the big change. We adopted that very fast. That gave us a competitive advantage in the market. That’s why we are growing so rapidly."
"The contact center is not just for customers, it’s also for lead generation, it’s for being there when a customer has a question when it’s not yet a customer.
On most eCommerce websites, you cannot get any information. At Centralpoint, we help you. We don’t want to talk about customer care, we talk about a pre-sales department. If you have a question about a product, we can help you.
We don't hide the contact page, it's prominent on our homepage – you can call us, you can chat with us, we encourage customer interaction. You can contact us on WhatsApp, Twitter DM, Facebook Messenger. It’s there. Call us."
"We want to help the customer anytime - in his pre-sales, during his traject when he is buying, but also in his after-sales.
We are now changing and adding channels. We push you an e-mail: your package is on its way. Now, we are changing that to WhatsApp. Instant messaging is the future.
I think the IM channel for B2B is really going to be a full conversational channel, back-and-forth – two ways street.
In our chat application, we have machine learning. It enables Predefined Responses. The next step is a chatbot. But not the typical chatbot: a really intelligent chatbot. That’s the next feature we need. "
"The more I try to focus on, is that we really need to understand the customer needs. Asking the right questions."
"We're focussing on the standard KPIs and SLA, such as time to pick up the phone, respond within 30 seconds on the chat. You need to get back with an answer within the hour. We keep track of those KPIs within the dashboard of Mobile Service Cloud.
The more I try to focus on, is that we really need to understand the customer needs. Asking the right questions.
We also measure Customer Satisfaction, with smileys after contact and continuous NPS. It has definitely increased since we started with Mobile Service Cloud. We improve continuously, with the help of our Complaints Department and Chief Happiness Officer."
"Don't hold off Customer Interaction. Conversational Commerce is the future. If you're not into that, you're out of business. Be there. Go with it.
When you start, it's tough. But just start with it. Go to your board, go to your director. This is what we need. You need some investment, but you will get it out, massively.
Start small and go on – learn – see what it does.
Get dedicated people in. Don't say I have ten people, and everyone will do the same thing. That doesn't work. Invest in your team.
To summarize, those are my three main tips: focus, invest, start small. But end big."
Want to improve customer interaction? Try Mobile Service Cloud! The nr. 1 Customer Service Software. Find out more about the solution, or get a free consult from of our experts.
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