By Susan J. Campbell
The number of individuals using smartphones is rapidly growing, creating challenges for service providers aiming to provide good customer care. The devices tend to be more complex to configure and support, which challenges agents without a complete technical insight into all platforms. Agents also tend to lack a complete overview of what could be wrong as the smartphone could be experiencing problems with apps, the operating system or the network.
To meet these challenges, service providers need to provide smart support for their smartphone customers. A recent Alcatel-Lucent white paper, Smart Support for Smartphone Users, explores this challenge and how proper customer management relies on a smart approach to supporting smartphone customers. Simply expanding the contact center to cater to more customers is not enough – the service provider needs a strategic approach.
The typical approach for the service provider contact center is to rely on a combination of network operational data and OSS/BSS data that will support incoming customer calls. Agents have the visibility to see network failures, gain quick access to customer data and support traditional customer support calls. This effective method just isn’t enough when it comes to the smartphone user.
To deliver smartphone support that creates a satisfying experience for the customer, contact center agents need to be able to access end-to-end service views regarding the device, the network and subscriber data so they can see impact. They also need real-time information on network load and detailed usage. Real-time device activities are also essential, along with the ability to modify devices remotely. It is also vital that all this relevant information is available as soon as the caller connects with the contact center to optimize the efficiency of the call and drive proper customer management.
A real-time solution that caters to all of these demands is available from Alcatel-Lucent. The company recently launched its Service View for Mobile application, enabling the service provider contact center to deliver comprehensive smartphone support. The browser-based interface ensures contact center agents can easily and effectively address smartphone support questions and requests without escalating the call.
With the Service View for Mobile smartphone support solution in place, it helps the service provider to avoid contact center overload. Additionally, the platform aims to enable the agent and the contact center to solve additional problems, including smartphone configuration and challenges related to the device. This helps to secure customer satisfaction and reduce the overall cost of smartphone support.
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