Big Data in Customer Service

https://www.fastcodesign.com/1669551/how-companies-like-amazon-use-big-data-to-make-you-love-them

Most of the successful tech companies today leverage big data in order to control every aspect of the user experience. Here, I want to outline everyone’s favorite online retailer that can deliver home goodies to your doorstep with just the click of a button. Amazon has had one of the most successful stocks in the past decade and it’s no surprise seeing how they have built an empire that will be nearly impossible to dethrone. The article at the top of the page describes one user’s experience with Amazon’s customer service, which was incredibly smooth and quick. We have all had a customer service experience that kept us on hold for an hour, just to be shuffled around departments continually. Instead of having this experience, Amazon used aggregated personal data on the writers account to properly assist him quickly. This is an excellent example of how forward-thinking companies set their own standard about how things should be done in an industry rather than striving for a satisfactory job. Amazon is well aware that most consumers are conditioned to expect terrible things from a customer service department, so providing them with a great experience can secure future revenue in itself.

The article also outlines how big data is one of the most talked-about topics in addition to the growing capabilities for relationships between businesses and consumers – there is an obvious link between these two subjects. As a company who is making trends rather than following them, Amazon is finding new ways to use big data to do new things from a business standpoint. Although it is a challenge to collect so much data, then organize it in such a way that a small department like customer service can use to effectively to make a call quick and easy takes true dedication. It’s no secret that the reason so many customer service departments perform so poorly is that they are marginalized within the framework of their respective organization. Even as Amazon has grown tremendously, to a company valued nearly a half a trillion dollars, they still stay fundamentally sound, which is demonstrated here.

In addition, the article outlines three of the writer’s rules for how to properly use personal data of consumers effectively. These rules include giving employees the right tools to use it, letting the customer know that you know and then listen to them, and give the customer a sense of control. Though these may seem like simple pointers, they are three keys to making a smooth transition between amassing large amounts of data and using that data to improve your business. The first step is the most straightforward – so frequently data is collected from every different direction, when in reality it is not ever meaningfully used, which makes it virtually pointless. This step connects the dots and allows your customer service representatives to executive in delivering a quality experience for the customer.

Next, letting the customer know that you know and then listening to them can be helpful in a handful of different ways. It combines efficiency, by letting the customer know that you know what the issue is and that you are able to deal with them (which can in turn save the time of them telling a full story of the issue) with having a human element of then listening to them after letting them know you can help. Even if the consumer is aware that you can help, venting is still a very real aspect of customer service.

Lastly, giving the customer a sense of control goes further with the human element. At this point, it is likely established that a solution is very possible, but the more control a consumer feels, the more positive their experience will be. Overall these three steps mix business effectiveness with connecting on a human level to show how businesses like Amazon are so successful in areas such as customer service.