We live in an on-demand world. One of the most transformative aspects of the web is self-service; customers seek information and want answers 24×7, and at a speed many times greater than traditional phone support. While web support may be the preferred communication tool for many people, even the digital millennials want the experience to be authentic, easy, and people-centered. So how do you automate your customer service to handle online utility service requests, and still keep it engaging and a pleasant experience?
The solution is a combination of design and functionality. Implementing customer engagement software that focuses on the following three areas will help optimize customer experience:
- UX (User Experience): You may have built a great online customer service process on paper – well thought out, sure to help customers and reduce your support time. However, when you take that process to the web, you need to build an easy-to-use, intuitive, attractive front-end UX design. Web pages need user friendly, easy to understand and easy to take action on. Trust is built on good design, and trust is the starting point for any consumer using an online support system.
- Utility Customer Forms: The forms themselves are an important part of the user experience, but apart from visual design, forms need to collect the right information to initiate the support process. Extra questions might help with your service analytics but they might prevent someone from completing the process. And ensure that information about privacy is readily available on the page.
- Workflows: Your speed at processing a customer request or question depends on getting the form information to the right person in your organization. This is best accomplished with workflows, a back-end digital process that immediately routes form data automatically to designated departments or individuals. Workflow can also be designed to trigger automatic responses and confirmation notifications back to customers. Workflows are initiated from form submissions but also from other changes in data or events. When designing workflows think about the frequency of emails and the content – does it set the right tone and set response expectations?
Apollo Smart Forms and Workflow software fits seamlessly with our Capricorn Customer Portal and helps utility providers automate customer interaction. Apollo can also be implemented and integrated with other portal solutions and back-end systems.
Apollo Smart forms provide customers with tools to connect with their utility provider 24/7/365 and quickly receive a response. Typical applications include – outage reporting, move-out notifications, pre-authorized payments and much more, enabling your utility to collect, process and respond to customer correspondence quickly and efficiently. White labeled, forms can be completely customized to match your organization’s branding, and are design with UX in mind to look great on mobile or any desktop device. Apollo Smart forms are user oriented and friendly, allowing for a smooth user experience, a faster response rate and overall increased customer satisfaction.
Apollo Workflow is the “behind the scenes” engine that links customer data, messages, emails, and other content to create automatic and real-time digital communications.
A Complete Forms and Workflow Solution Just For Utility Companies:
- Offers customers an easy-to-understand, intuitive method to quickly and conveniently provide important information
- Easily integrates Smart forms into new or existing workflow processes
- Immediately routes customer information through the proper channels, eliminating misplaced information
- Reduce customer wait times, and ensure service tasks are dealt with in a more efficient manner
Apollo Smart Forms and Workflow provides your utility with tools and information to create engaging online customer services that achieve a high level of customer satisfaction, and deliver positive ROI results! Consumers today actively seek out online communication channels with service providers and expect an experience that is an improvement on traditional customer service. To meet this challenge, focus on UX, Forms, and Workflows that deliver exceptional customer service.
Find out more about Apollo Smart Forms and Workflow by requesting a Demo, and see firsthand our award winning customer service software for Utilities!
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About SilverBlaze: Our Capricorn customer portal solution and Apollo workflow help public, private, and municipal utility providers, throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, improve customer satisfaction and deliver positive ROI results.
