The Conference Coach™

Often companies are so busy executing their sales, marketing and operational plans that they neglect to stand back and look at what the customer experience with the company is like. The customer experience involves everything from buying the product to learning how to use it to paying their invoice to resolving issues. Understanding that experience and constantly improving it keeps your customer connected to your company, even in the face of competition.

My job at Copper Conferencing is to look for ways to improve the customer experience Here are some winning strategies we use to connect the customer to Copper and make them feel valued.

Strategy #1: Go back to the basics and be human
We look at our customer service personnel as “Conference Coaches.” Our team has industry experts that can assist with any question or remove any obstacle to help customers with their situation. No one likes calling into an endless web of numbers – press 1 for this and 2 for that and then listen for the next set of options. Most customers are thinking “just get me to a human that can understand what I am asking!” We have brought our Customer Care philosophy back to the basics – people like to be assisted by people – not machines. You are guaranteed to have your questions answered by the end of you call. Now that is refreshingly human!

Strategy #2: Make-over your materials
Copper Conferencing completely revamped the website and product materials to make them user friendly. We took a step back and got rid of all of the wordy documents containing hot industry terms and fillers. Customers want to be able to easily access information without having to use a decoder. In order to gain perspective on your customer-facing materials, ask a colleague in another industry to review and provide feedback. Your website and materials could be the first impression you give to prospective customers or investors. Is it worth their time and is it leaving them with the desired impression?

Strategy #3: Provide the human experience but still keep up with the times
Although Copper Conferencing has gone back to the basics of customer care by providing knowledgeable human interaction, we understand the benefits of keeping up with the times. We know that our customers are busy professionals that might not have time to or would rather not call and speak with a Conference Coach about account maintenance, invoices, etc. For these customers, we have built the ultimate in customer self care – our Connect To Copper customer portal. Customers can login to view their account, manage moderators, view their usage and reports, view invoices and make payments online. Adoption of this portal has been incredible and continues to rise. Connect To Copper enables the customers to quickly achieve their goal of gathering information and also leaves more time for our Conference Coaches to advise customers on application rather than administrative issues.

Strategy #4: Make training easy and accessible
We realize that everyone learns at a different pace and only when their schedules allow. Copper developed a Learning Center that offers materials on all of our services including user guides and video training modules. We pioneered the One Minute Skill Builder to teach our customers how to use specific features of our web services in 60 seconds or less! Evaluate the accessibility of your training and materials – do they accommodate your customers’ hectic schedules? Are they always accessible so customers can learn at their pace, not yours?

Copper Conferencing has deployed several winning strategies that keep our customers in contact with us. We have developed multiple interfaces so the customers can interact and get the answers that they need. According to The Journal of Service Research, “…each service interface is designed to leverage its unique capabilities and guide customers to other service interfaces whenever that interface better enhances the overall customer experience.” Copper Conferencing will continue to focus on the customer experience as our customers are truly valued.

For additional information about Copper Conferencing please visit www.copperconferencing.com.

About Conference Coach Kathleen
Kathleen Thompson is the Director of Customer Care for Copper Conferencing. Kathleen joined Copper Conferencing in November 2007. Kathleen is responsible for increasing customer retention and sales, managing the Account Management and Customer Service teams, and ensuring that it is easy for customers to do business with Copper Conferencing. Kathleen has over 10 years of customer service experience and has worked as a Guest Service Manager at Target, a Regional Account Manager at Raindance Communications and an Advocate/Case Manager at Cherokee Family Violence Center.

Kathleen holds a Bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University located in Kennesaw, Georgia. Kathleen is active in her community as an American Cancer Society, local children’s shelter and Humane Society volunteer.

Reference:
Lia Patrício, Raymond P. Fisk, and João Falcão e Cunha
Designing Multi-Interface Service Experiences: The Service Experience Blueprint
Journal of Service Research, May 2008; 10: 318 – 334.