All businesses strive to deliver great service for your core product and service offerings, but are you let down by a poor customer correspondence experience? Your customer correspondence whether it be a bill, statement, letter, renewal notice, or any other content is a significant opportunity to strengthen your customer relationship through delivering a great CX.
How do you achieve this if you are stuck with core business systems that are inflexible and difficult to change?
What is a great customer correspondence experience?
|
For customers |
For businesses |
| Received in my preferred channel (e.g. email, SMS, mail, customer portal) | Help control my costs |
| Communicate only when information is relevant, valuable and timely to me | Ensuring that the process facilitates automated processing of the call to action |
| Including clear call to actions | Ensuring call centre staff recieve a copy of the communication |
| If communications are not received properly, providing easy steps to correct the situation | Increased performance and efficiency |
| Timely reminders for when I’ve forgotten something important (e.g. payments) | Meet and exceed SLA’s |
The Problem
As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, many service providers in Australia grapple with customer communications based challenges posed by legacy systems which were once state-of-the-art, but are now outdated. This leaves businesses in a precarious situation. Should they invest in a full system overall to better meet present day needs? Will this leave them in a similar situation in 10 years’ time after significant resource investment? This piece explores practical strategies for overcoming the communications limitations of legacy systems that empower businesses to maximise the potential of their existing infrastructure while still operating efficiently in today’s changing digital communication landscape.
The decision to update legacy systems often entails significant risk, costs and time commitments. For most businesses, the prospect of undergoing a complete system overhaul is incredibly daunting and disruptive. It’s essential for organizations to weigh the benefits against the drawbacks before embarking on this endeavour. The journey is not a one-time event but a continuous process of adaptation and evolution. To keep up with the market, businesses must cultivate a culture of agility and flexibility, embracing consistent change as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat to stability.
The Solution
The alternative to updating legacy systems entirely is to partner with specialist communications providers who can provide seamless integration with existing systems, regardless of the system age or compatibility. This allows businesses to leverage state-of-the-art technologies without the need for costly and disruptive system upgrades while outsourcing the continuous cycle of system upgrades to specialists. As mentioned above, the key to overcoming the limitations of legacy systems lies in seamless integration with modern technologies. Finding solution providers who offer compatibility with a diverse range of file formats and programs bridges the gap between legacy infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies. This interoperability enables businesses to leverage the best of both worlds without sacrificing continuity or efficiency.
Another extremely important factor to consider when thinking about legacy systems is the end customer. All effort, whether it be time, financial, technical or other, should always be applied with the goal of enhancing customer experience. Complete system overhauls can cause significant downtime and poor end user experiences in the interim. Choosing solutions that focus on minimizing customer effort and enhancing accessibility should always be front of mind for service providers. The businesses that can transform outdated processes into streamlined, user-friendly interactions without customer interruption will always win. From personalized communication to intuitive interfaces, each decision and innovation should be driven by a deep understanding of the customer journey and experience.
Overcoming the limitations of legacy systems requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. Ultimately, the decision to update or outsource should be guided by strategic considerations. Businesses must assess their current needs, future objectives, and the potential impact of system updates on operations and customer experience. By embracing seamless integration, prioritizing customer-centric experiences, leveraging data-driven insights and fostering a culture of adaptation, businesses can thrive in the face of technological evolution.
If you would like a no cost audit on your current customer communications strategy and capabilities, please fill out the form below.