This past March, Troy Cross, Ozmo’s Head of Business Development, took the international stage at the BASe Technical and USP Summit in Mainz, Germany. He had the exciting opportunity to discuss the importance of customer experience to drive long-term value and differentiation alongside broadband industry leaders.
We know the fear of missing out can be real, but no worries, we’ve summarized Troy’s key points on the value of elevating customer experience. Let’s dive in.
The growing broadband market
The global broadband market, valued at around $119 billion in 2002, is estimated to reach $457 billion in the next few years. This growth is driven by increased demand for high speeds, innovations in technology and government subsidies for broadband proliferation. The explosion of services running on consumers' home networks further emphasizes the importance of robust support systems.
Enhancing the customer experience
Customer experience is a buzzword often thrown around in the tech world, but its definition and importance can sometimes be elusive. At Ozmo, the customer experience refers to everything a customer sees and feels while interacting with a company's network. This spans the speed and latency of the network, the ease of setup and configuration, the usability of services and the support they receive when issues arise.
The network is the foundation for the connected experience, presenting opportunities and responsibilities. While innovation in speed, latency and reliability is crucial, it's equally important not to neglect the critical moments of customer service.
Support the customer journey
With the adoption of connected services comes complexity in supporting customers. Innovation is only valuable if users can take advantage of it without stumbling through setup or troubleshooting. Key decisions about Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), cloud-hosted services and AI integration must always consider the end-user's experience.
The telecom market's growth has created a multitude of challenges for broadband providers. Supporting the customer journey effectively involves managing remote or hybrid agents, equipping customers for DIY installations and keeping up with the proliferation of connected devices.
Embrace the expert role
Companies face a critical decision: to embrace the role of the community expert or to limit support strictly to network issues. Offering expert advice and providing white glove, comprehensive support can differentiate a company from its competitors. This approach not only reduces churn but also opens up opportunities for upselling services in entertainment, security and smart home sectors.
Recommendations for elevating customer experience
- Focus on critical moments: Ensure a smooth initial setup for a reliable network foundation.
- Seamless onboarding: Help customers onboard to value-added services like security and entertainment.
- Proactive education: Continuously educate customers on maximizing the value of their network and services.
- Consistent support: Provide consistent support across all channels throughout the product and service lifecycle.
Leverage AI and self-serve solutions
AI is revolutionizing customer support, particularly through chatbots that understand complex natural language. However, caution is needed as large language models can still provide inaccurate answers.
Broadband providers should create comprehensive self-serve experiences to guide customers through common issues. Once in place, AI chatbots can be used to understand customer queries accurately and direct them to reliable self-serve solutions.
Establishing a reliable source of answers and integrating AI effectively can enhance customer support while reducing costs.
The bottom line
Competing solely on speed and price is not sustainable. Emphasizing customer experience creates differentiated value, driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Aligning organizational priorities to support this approach is crucial.
In conclusion, the work broadband providers have done to innovate in speed and reliability must be complemented by a strong focus on customer service. Embrace the challenge, strive to be better than competitors and ensure customers have a seamless, supportive experience with your network.
Interested in learning more about how enhancing customer support effectiveness can drive sales growth? Our new guide explains how to empower agents with the right tools to turn tech support interactions into a potential sales opportunity. Download your free copy today!
