Listen to Podcast Here’s the deal, customer service gets a bad rap, but the truth is that when done well, solving customers’ needs is awesome, and when you can actually give them a good experience and make their day, that’s just icing on the cake.
Reaching that outcome takes work, though, and the market for how
customer service outsourcing is conducted has been changing over the last few years.
Companies such as Alorica are emerging in this industry thanks to its ability to adapt to the changing landscape of our world and deliver a service that takes some of the hard work out of the customer service process.
“The market for customer service outsourcing is changing dramatically. What has been a fairly well-established model — where we could operate call centers on behalf of our clients and manage that customer experience more effectively — is getting disrupted. And a big part of that is the way that technology is supporting more personalization, new channels for customers to engage with brands, and thinking through how to bring together a value proposition that takes a massive distributed labor force and enables them with technology that then delivers an outcome, utilizing proven processes and techniques.” Those are the words of
Colson Hillier, the CMO of
Alorica and
on this episode of Marketing Trends, he discusses the radical shift in how large scale customer service departments — such as call centers — are being forced to alter their format and where Alorica comes into play. Plus, Colson details how
personalization efforts continue to put the customer experience at the forefront of every decision.
Main Takeaways:
- The Good ‘Ole Days:The market for customer service outsourcing is changing significantly. The well-established model of operating call centers on behalf of clients has been disrupted due to new personalization methods and how
consumers can easily interact and engage with brands at a quicker pace.
- Bring the Value: The overall value proposition that brands are bringing to their clients is no longer rooted in products, but rather the overall experience and how the customer is able to utilize the service.
- The Big Chair: The role of the CMO is no longer about nit-picking products and campaigns, but rather a broader scope of responsibility and not just thinking about the overall product portfolio, but rather product development,
marketing, and how the company tells the overall story of the organization.
Key Quotes:
“I’ve always been at the forefront of trying to think about what are the products or services that we should be building in order to meet an opportunity or solve a customer pain point. As a CMO, it’s a broader scope of responsibility and thinking about not just our product portfolio and product development and product marketing, but also the way that we operate and tell that story through our organization.”
“The market for customer service outsourcing is changing dramatically. What has been a fairly, well-established model where we could operate call centers on behalf of our clients and manage that customer experience more effectively is getting disrupted. And a big part of that is the way that technology is supporting more personalization, new channels for customers to engage with brands, and thinking through how to bring together a value proposition that takes a massive distributed labor force and enables them with technology that then delivers an outcome, utilizing proven processes and techniques.”
“More and more the overall value proposition that brands are bringing to their clients is rooted in how customers feel about that experience and the ability to utilize service as a differentiator is increasingly important.”
“The customer thinks about things holistically and oftentimes, where you build your brand loyalty and your apostles within your customer base, is when things don’t go right. You can take an experience that didn’t go down a green path and make it something that a customer says, ‘Wow, They understood my issue and they did what was necessary to resolve it.’ You’re looking at a more holistic view of the customer rooted in lifetime value, and there’s more and more of an appreciation for the service and post-purchase experience that a customer has.”
“Over the past year, we’ve had to completely rethink every way that we service and deliver what is essentially the same value proposition in an entirely different operating model. And that’s Alorica Anywhere. So the idea is that no longer is your workforce a constraint and no longer is our technology constrained.”
“The ability to combine technologies like cloud, CRM, and personalization, all of that comes together in order to allow us to execute and deliver that service experience from any place on earth.”
Bio: With more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale transformations in complex industries — including data services, ad tech, and fintech — Colson serves as Alorica’s Chief Marketing Officer. As CMO,
Colson leads strategic planning, product development, and execution of our global marketing and communication initiatives. Named a “Rising Star of Wireless” in 2013 (Fierce Wireless), Colson has extensive experience driving brand awareness
and generating demand for products and services. With his track record of transforming technology into profitable business operations, Colson focuses on solidifying Alorica’s reputation as the leading provider of global, omnichannel customer solutions.
Prior to joining Alorica, Colson spent most of his career in various senior leadership roles at Verizon Wireless, focusing on new product development, big data analytics, and digital marketing. Most recently, he served as VP of Emerging Platforms;
he has also served as the company’s VP for Merger Integration and VP for Precision Market Insights. Colson holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary, and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Richmond.
This article and podcast originally appeared on Marketing Trends:
http://bit.ly/3sOsEG9
