I pooled my resources with our data collection partner SSI and translation agency No Problem! to determine how modern consumers experience the relationship between digital and personal. The study was conducted in thirteen countries worldwide. Consumers all over the world share that same basic concern: ‘yes, we’d like to build a great digital relationship but interpersonal, human contact is still extremely important’.

Click below if you’d like to look at the study in detail.

Only a handful of companies can do without

As always, there are exceptions to the general rule. You’d be right in claiming that companies like Amazon.com and Booking.com are hugely successful despite a minimum of human interventions. Google is another case in point but ask yourself this question: ‘How many companies can do today what these leading companies are doing?’. The answer lies in their exceptional DNA. Also, they have an excellent track record when it comes to customer interaction so it’s easy to see why they are exceptions. A company like Coolblue has made a very conscious choice to cultivate human contact. When an online player opens offline stores and records videos of employees recommending the company’s services, this is a well-considered and very intelligent strategy.

A customer still focuses on the basics

Customers really aren’t all that demanding. For instance, 78% think it is very important to list a telephone number on a website homepage. It sounds simple but you’d be surprised at how many homepages don’t include one. Listing that number doesn’t mean customers will start calling every two minutes; it just feels comforting to at least have that option.

The personal touch is key

Never underestimate the impact of REAL people. Human contact is crucial in most customer relationships, even in our digital world. 73% like to have the option of talking to a flesh-and-blood person from time to time even when the digital channels are working perfectly. The simple fact that this possibility exists creates a peace of mind that many people still value.

The personal touch is in the little things. One in two consumers like it when a company addresses them by name. Get to know your customers and personalize the customer experience. 54% like to be recognized across the various channels.

In the mid-80s – and certainly in a provincial town like Maldegem – parents traditionally called in a professional photographer to immortalize their son’s or daughter’s first communion. People would line up to get that perfect picture taken but by the mid-90s, the long queues had dwindled to the odd passer-by. Digital photography completely uprooted the sector. Almost overnight, the introduction of digital cameras improved the quality dramatically and made cameras affordable. The competition in this story didn’t come from a fellow photographer or a low-cost competitor but rather from consumers themselves. All of a sudden, mom or dad or uncle Tony could make their own high-quality pictures. Making your own pictures also added a degree of authenticity and pride. No one was expecting the customer to become a competitor.

Today, the process is repeating itself in the catering industry. A caterer’s biggest competitor is not the catering business that sets up shop nearby but the amateur chef at home. Serving catered food used to bring prestige but today it is a sign of culinary inadequacy. More and more industries are facing stiff competition from their own customers. The travel industry (with AirBnB), the clothes industry (eBay) and the media (YouTube) are just a few examples.

Competing with the consumer’s hobby is extremely difficult. Resistance is not the answer. The travel industry is trying to fight AirBnB in court but even if they are successful in the short term, stopping the consumer is all but impossible in the long run. The proper reflex is looking for ways of creating your own added value in this new world. Maybe you can make things easier for consumers by helping them with their hobby. Or perhaps you could start an alternative business to surf the new trend. When the dam bursts, all you can do is adapt to the new reality dictated by the competitor-consumer.

This article and the accompanying presentation will introduce you to a philosophy that makes it possible for people and organizations to re-invent themselves. The objective is learning how to be relevant and successful in a tumultuous market.

2013 made it clear how fast things are evolving nowadays!

Last year the world reached the tipping point. For the first time in history we spent more time in front of small screens (smartphones and tablets) than large ones (desktop and TV). The next two years will undoubtedly see the breakthrough of wearable devices (smartwatch, Google Glass…) and the ‘internet of things’ (from smart cars to smart toothbrushes). You might say technology will become the consumer’s sixth sense.

2013 also illustrated how uncertain the fate of a company really is. Nokia was sold for $5 billion when a few years earlier it was worth a multiple of that sum. Blackberry also fell by the wayside.

Companies face three new types of competitors

Most companies use competitor analysis to analyze their direct competitors. While such analysis is obviously important, it is no less crucial to take a closer look at three new types of competitors.

• Start-ups: small, sharp players are undermining quite a few of the traditional business models used by established companies. Smaller players are looking for new and efficient ways to enter the market. In spite of their limited initial market it is still crucial to monitor their activities. This is the type of player that revolutionizes the market.
• Major digital players: every company should start from the assumption that organizations like Google, Amazon and Apple may one day become their competitor. These big players have lots of clout, money to burn and a wealth of data and top technology, enabling them to enter any market they choose with a fair degree of creativity.
• Consumers themselves: technology is becoming ever cheaper and better and in many markets this has already resulted in competition by consumers themselves. The introduction of cheap and high-quality digital cameras destroyed the independent photography business. Modern consumers have no use for a photographer anymore; they take their own pictures. The taxi industry is under attack by Uber and the travel industry is struggling with AirBnB. More and more often, companies find themselves competing with their consumers’ hobbies.

There’s only one answer: re-inventing your company

Markets are unpredictable and in a constant state of flux. While a long-term strategy is still indispensable, it may be a good idea to evaluate that strategy every three months. In order not to become obsolete, you need to self-evaluate thoroughly and prepare for the future using a different approach than the one that has proven successful in the past.

Step 1: Re-inventing your business model

If you’re afraid to disrupt or ‘eat’ your own business model then you’ll find your head on a plate someday. As a player in an ever-changing market you must have the courage to let go of what you have and opt for something new, even if that means cannibalizing your own market. A recent example would be the Blockbuster versus Netflix story. Blockbuster was one of the biggest video rental businesses in the world. At one point there was a Blockbuster branch within ten minutes of every American’s home. And then Netflix came onto the scene. They initially offered a subscription for ordering DVDs. The DVDs were shipped via regular mail and the customer simply sent them back afterwards. When Netflix and VOD eventually killed Blockbuster’s business model, they started taking over other companies. Blockbuster wasn’t willing to adjust its existing business model whereas Netflix immediately jumped on the streaming trend. By offering streaming services, the company lost some of its post order customers to its new service. Just a few years later, Netflix abandoned its post order activities altogether to focus completely on streaming. They weren’t afraid to eat their own business model and as a result they didn’t end up on someone else’s plate.

During a recent visit to Stanford, professor Baba Shiv advised his listeners to carry out a ‘pre-mortem’. Companies and people are usually good at performing a post-mortem. Once it’s too late, we analyze the causes of the disaster and determine how it could have been averted. A pre-mortem aims to identify possible future causes of death in advance, thereby enabling a company to take proactive steps to ensure its survival. This is a golden tip for any organization. The key is to plan the pre-mortem while your company is still in top form.

Step 2: Re-inventing the customer relationship

A traditional customer relationship typically consisted of a marketing or sales funnel. Nowadays that relationship is a perpetual loop. Decisions are influenced by a great many sources and channels. The customer remains involved after the purchase and he remains part of the loop.

Companies must realize they only have one customer relationship per consumer. The consumer who visits the site and the one in the store, on Facebook and in front of the TV are one and the same. There’s little sense in implementing both an online and an offline strategy. Your company just needs a customer strategy, period. The Apple account is probably the textbook example of what a single customer relationship should look like. I still can’t get over the fact that a credit card purchase in London or Chicago is enough to be recognized as an Apple customer. They always find my customer data with no trouble at all. A modern customer relationship is primarily based on an attitude of extreme customer centricity. The elaboration of this relationship is often most apparent in the details. A McKinsey study has found that satisfaction in a customer relationship is mainly dictated by details.

Step 3: Re-inventing the company structure

The final step is implementing the new approach, which is pretty difficult within the existing company structure. A touchpoint-based organization makes for a fragmented customer relationship. The trick is to infuse an organization with speed and flexibility. Most of all this requires mental agility. We often think about adopting new structures but these do not work without a mental adjustment. Adam Pisone, co-founder of Yammer, made a strong statement on the subject. He claims that ‘you don’t have to change the structure of a company to become flexible; you just have to stop using the company structure’. Peter Hinssen’s latest book, ‘The Network Always Wins’, examines the use of internal networks. If the market has become a network then your organization has no choice but to also operate as one. ‘It takes a network to serve a network’ is one of the most remarkable quotes in his new book.

There’s also a personal challenge for each and every one of us

It’s not just about re-inventing companies. It is even more important to re-invent ourselves. There’s much talk about the need for change in organizations. Well, when you think about it, this boils down to changing the individuals that work for those organizations. We all know how hard it is to change others but when it comes to ourselves, we are completely in control. This is a story about changing ourselves, about having the courage to stand in front of a mirror and truly ask ourselves on what level we need to up our game so we can still make a relevant contribution to the organization in a few years’ time. The battle between man and machine will intensify in the years to come. As humans we will have to prove our added value. The hard truth is that robots will probably replace humans in many cases. Whereas in the past we would bring in cheap labor from low wage countries, robots may be the solution of the future. If and when that happens, we humans must bring something extra to the table. The answer is not being afraid of re-inventing yourself instead of only looking to others for change.

Satisfied customers may be the beginning of the end

Many companies aim to keep their customers happy. Small companies understand that their only chance to conquer the market lies in offering a fantastic customer service. It’s in their DNA to go the extra mile for their customers. This approach works in many cases. Success leads to a bigger organization, more procedures, less motivated employees and a deteriorating customer-first attitude. Of course, there are exceptions but I’m sure you’re familiar with this vicious cycle. In other words, the end goal should not be to increase market share. The end goal should be to keep the client-first DNA in your organization, even with an increase in market share.

The satisfied customer paradox is the biggest threat for incumbents

More than ever, incumbents are under attack from agile start-ups. It’s becoming increasingly hard to defend themselves against the rate of change those smaller companies bring. In addition, compared to a decade ago, the market is more open to welcoming new players. Too many incumbents settle for an average customer relationship. Their key focus is on managing financial indicators and customer relationship indicators often come second. Making the customer relationship your priority is the only way of averting the danger of a growing market share based on satisfied customers from the past.

Stay small, even if you are big

How to break the satisfied customer paradox? Well, there is only one way to do it: stay small, even if you are getting bigger. Try to organize your company in such a way that employees are willing to keep going the extra mile for your customers. It’s about having a back end that is aware of this approach, it’s about giving your front end staff the freedom to help customers even if this means a short term financial loss and it is also about installing a reward system based on customer satisfaction.

Outsourcing (part of) your customer service to customers is obviously a drastic evolution. By taking this step, you’re really implying that customers have at least the same amount of product knowledge as the manufacturer.

The IT world was the first to make tentative strides in crowd service with organically constructed forums where ICT enthusiasts lend each other a helping hand. Today, the technological sector is still the most fertile ground for crowd service.

To read more about the evolution of customer service, feel free to read my paper ‘From personal, to self to crowd service’.

Giffgaff customer support

Giffgaff is a ‘SIM card only’ telecom player in the UK. The customer service is entirely in the hands of their community members. All members are customers. The more active their support for other customers, the bigger the rewards. There is no safety net and Giffgaff has no call center. In other words, the entire customer service consists of crowd service. In 2010, no fewer than 130,000 queries were posted on their forum and these questions elicited more than 1 million replies. 95% of all questions were answered within the hour. The average response time is three minutes.

Verizon

Telecom player Verizon uses a customer-helps-customer forum in support of their other service channels. The ratio on their forum is 1-9-90. One percent of their users are so-called super users. They spend between 20 to 30 hours a week on the forum helping others. These super users are not rewarded financially; instead they are rewarded with a digital status. They earn recognition instead of money. Nine percent of users frequently answer questions by other users. They don’t spend that much time on the forum but they do answer the questions they have personal experience with. Ninety percent of the community members are readers. They are just trying to find the answer to their queries. Crowd service only works when the super users are actively involved in a community. The presence of that one percent attracts the 90% of readers, which sparks the efficiency surge that companies are counting on.

Barclay Card

Barclay Card is a credit card built around a strong user community. On the one hand, Barclay’s online community helps the company brainstorm about the future of the product while on the other it acts as a crowd service platform. Customers discuss various financial topics and help each other with small operational questions about the credit card. The results are astounding. Customer retention is up 25%. The number of questions and complaints via traditional customer service channels dropped by 50%. Barclay Card puts the total return at 10 million dollars.

And this video contains some facts to show the evolution of crowd service and the openness consumers have towards this trend.

In my paper ‘From personal to self to crowd service’ you can read all details about this evolution:

Companies from various sectors experiment with or make a living from self-service. The three examples below couldn’t be further apart: an offline retailer, a pure online player and a financial giant. Still, all three have integrated self-service into their customer service strategy.

Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness is the world’s fastest-growing fitness chain. In a saturated market, this company still manages to make a difference. They’re open round the clock. An electronic security system provides 24hr access. The company obviously has personal trainers on staff but there is also a self-service solution. Customers can take video lessons 24 hours a day. The personal trainers have recorded instruction videos of a broad range of training sessions. Apart from the self-service option (in an offline retail channel), Anytime Fitness also has a site with nutritional and training advice for the individual customer. This enables customers to continue their health plans at home thanks to their fitness club. This self-service application is free for members but is also available for non-members in return for a monthly fee.

Booking.com

Booking.com is a daughter of Priceline.com, which has ranked among the world’s fastest-growing companies for a number of years now. The company masters the art of offering an excellent self-service with a personal safety net to fall back on if necessary. The entire purchase process is automated and this also goes for the changing of bookings. In case of unexpected changes, Booking.com staff will sometimes call customers. In many cases these are proactive outbound calls to inform customers of changes made to a booking. Incidentally, the self-service process works perfectly on mobile devices. Mobile bookings went from 1 billion in 2012 to 3 billion in 2013. Data integration is obviously available. The different channels are interconnected so the complete customer history stays available

Rabobank: new mortgage system

Rabobank Nederland invests in self-service. As a financial player Rabobank already has lots of experience in this subject area, but in the coming years they want to take it one step further with their new digital mortgage system. Customers who wish to take out a mortgage can now compile their own customer file. Five years ago, no bank could envision customers ever using online banking for anything other than basic transactions. Today, a large percentage of customers are apparently receptive to this self-service approach. Without going into detail, Rabobank was surprised at how many of its customers prefer this approach. The digital service comes with a personal backup system: they can ask an employee of a local branch for assistance.

In the years to come, every company will question its customer processes. Any sensible company will strive to create the ideal combination between efficiency and the perfect customer experience. Players who are only active online, such as Amazon.com and Booking.com, boast a highly efficient customer process. Even though their customers rarely come into contact with actual people they still provide a very satisfactory customer experience. Traditional companies have a history of a personal service burdened with a heavy cost structure.

To avoid overstretching, traditional companies must invest in digitization and in forging a personal (emotional) connection with the customer. Technology is opening up new possibilities in this regard but customers also like personal contact. This combination is shaping the future of customer service: a shift to self-service while still keeping things personal. Also, the service package is expanded by involving the customers themselves in the process. The customer-helps-customer philosophy (crowd service) enables companies to be more efficient and improve their service without losing sight of the human aspect. Fifty-five percent of consumers like the idea of other consumers helping them and 58% are prepared to help others. The customer is ready for crowd service.

This paper was written based on my own research (in collaboration with SSI and translation partner No problem!), desk research and discussions with companies. This paper takes a closer look at new trends and evolutions in the field of customer service.

Download the full paper here:

Trends that will influence the future of customer service

Our society is evolving at breakneck speed and the mass consumer market is being flooded with new technologies. This changes consumer behavior and creates fresh opportunities for companies. At the moment, there are four trends with a major impact on customer service. These four trends emphasize the urgency for companies to place their own customer service under the microscope.

Mobile: Since Q2 2013, American      adults have been spending more time on their mobile phones than watching      TV. Since mid-2013, more than 1.5 billion smartphones      are in use worldwide. The future is mobile. Consumers can contact      companies with their questions anywhere in the world, round the clock. The      next few years will see a continued expansion of mobile applications such      as Google Glass, Apple iWatch, etc. Consumers will no longer automatically      run to their telephones or computers in case of problems or questions.      Instead, their initial reflex will be to grab their mobile. Also, they      will expect the problem to be solved instantly. The future of customer service is mobile.

Unrealistic customer expectations: customers      find every aspect of customer service      important. They want speed, amiability, a solution in a single      interaction, the integration of different service channels … For the      average company, meeting customer expectations has become an all but      impossible proposition. Besides, the traditional approach is too expensive      to be able to meet expectations. The only way of doing so is through      self-service. Self-service is fast, always available and solves the      problem in a single interaction. Seventy percent of customers expect a      self-service solution. In the late nineties, customers hated completing      bank transfers via the computer; not offering this option today is a      competitive disadvantage. The future      of customer service is self-service.

The crowd economy: consumers do business with      each other more and more often. According to The Economist, the crowd economy or sharing economy      as it is also known, currently represents a $ 26 billion industry. MIT expects      significant market growth: in the near future, this economy may be worth      as much as 110 billion dollars. A study by      Jeremiah Owyang shows that consumers would rather      do business with companies from the crowd economy than with the      traditional players in the market. For instance, customer satisfaction      with AirBnB is much higher than with classic hotel chains like Hilton. This      trend is a great customer service opportunity. People like working      together and consumers like to help each other. The future of customer service is a future of working with the      customer.

Cut-throat competition: the economic crisis and      digitization have made for much fiercer competition. The average stay in      the Fortune 500 has dwindled from 65 years (1920-1950) to just fifteen      (2000-2013). In our fast-evolving world, the names of the top players change      more rapidly than before. As a matter of fact, many companies find      themselves competing with a “free” rival. For instance, every newspaper is      damaged by free online content. There are two models for dealing with this      situation: in the first model, customer centricity is fully automated,      thereby minimizing the amount of human contact. In turn, this alleviates      the pressure on margins but the chances of building an emotional rapport      with the customer are small. The second model promotes the combination of      digitization with a human touch. A pure online player like Coolblue is      able to give its company a human face by having employees feature in      YouTube videos. Their offline shops also add another human dimension.      People enjoy human contact, even in an increasingly digitized society. The      second model also increases the likelihood of an emotional bond, which      inspires greater customer loyalty. The      future of customer service is digitization but with a human touch.

Customer service shifts its focus

The focus in customer service will evolve in the years to come. For every company out there, it is important to take the lead in this evolution. Its goal: more satisfied customers at a lower cost. A study by McKinsey has revealed a key difference in efficiency between personal service, self-service and crowd service. If the cost of personal service is 100% then the cost of self-service amounts to 12% and crowd service to 9%, so there’s a huge discrepancy there.

Advantages of self-service and crowd service

Apart from efficiency, self-service and crowd service have additional advantages to offer:

Additional advantages of self-service:

• Available 24/7 and year-round: the      customer has access to customer service on a permanent basis.
• Self-service solutions for mobile devices      are easy to design.
• As self-service is digital, it is easier      for companies to keep records of the interactions than with offline      contact.

Additional advantages of crowd service:

• Crowd service makes it possible to offer a      broader range of services. When consumers ask questions about the product      category, it is often too expensive for organizations to answer those      questions themselves. When the input on non-core questions comes from      other consumers, the cost is very limited.
• Consumers taking part in a crowd service      program feel like they are part of the company. They often become brand      ambassadors and this creates an indirect marketing effect.
• Crowd service is a type of personal      service. Customers communicate with others (other customers). In other words,      this is personal interaction, which builds more of an emotional bond.

Future developments in the field of personal, self and crowd service

The relationship between the different service types will undergo some changes in the years to come. Consumers expect more self-service and are receptive to crowd service. Moreover, both approaches are more efficient than personal service. This means that a shift from personal service to self and crowd service will result in better service at a lower cost.

In the first few years, self-service will gain importance before crowd service does. Many companies have already invested in self-service (e.g. the financial world, travel sector…). For now, investments in crowd service are more modest.

In a second phase, though, crowd service will catch up. The crowd economy will keep growing and this will make the transition to crowd service easier than it is right now.

Of course, personal service won’t disappear altogether but its importance will diminish over time. Personal service will continue to act as a kind of safety net. The need for a personalized solution will continue to exist in those cases where self or crowd service fail to provide the answer. Companies like booking.com, a pure online player, are already focusing on self-service (consumer takes care of bookings and modifications) and crowd service (questions about hotels are answered by other consumers). Nevertheless the company still has a large call center to assist customers personally if self and crowd service are not enough.

The table below gives an indication as to how the focus in customer service may shift in the coming years.

Two key words: integration and mobile

Customer expectations are sky high. The challenge lies in offering an improved customer experience in a cost-efficient way. The evolution from personal to self and crowd service is the way to go. Two ingredients are crucial to the success of this evolution:

1. Data integration
   Even though the focus in customer service is shifting from personal to      digital service, the personal channel still exists. Customer service is      becoming more of a multichannel affair than before. Data centralization is      a priority in the elaboration of the channel strategy. Consumers expect      companies to centralize and keep track of all their interactions. Customers      don’t like to repeat themselves. Organizing the new service channels in      the manner of silos is far from ideal.

1. The conversion to mobile
   Mobile customer service is essential in a mobile world. By 2016, more than      half of all customer service      questions will be submitted via a mobile device. Organizations      would do well to mold their self-service solutions entirely on mobile.

Conclusion: the future of customer service starts today

Customer relations are changing. The digitization of society is creating new opportunities for companies to optimize their relationship with their customers. Nevertheless, the rate of change continues to accelerate. Today, if an organization fails to question its own approach or doesn’t know where it’s going with its customer service, then it is bound to come under threat in the relatively short term. The future of customer service starts today. Brainstorming about the changing role of personal, self and crowd service is a priority to any organization.

In fact, the research report showed that a large group of consumers is very open towards crowd service.

This short video, shows you the impressive stats:

To summarize:

• 55% would like to ask other consumers questions on a forum
• 48% would like to receive help from other consumers
• 58% would love to help others with their questions

This concerns just 2% of consumers

We asked people what channels they use to contact companies when they have a question, both before and after a purchase. The two most popular channels are the telephone and self-service. What’s more, self-service is already the number one choice in every phase.

Only 2% of consumers today prefer to ask questions via social media. This is a very small group indeed.

We can formulate several hypotheses to explain this result:

• Many questions are personal and consumers have no desire to discuss them on a public platform
• Only a limited group of people ask questions or complain on social media and in the future they will turn to other channels
• This could just be the beginning, maybe there will be more questions in the future

My gut feeling tells me that the first explanation is key. The same trend is emerging all across the globe: a very small group of people prefers social media whereas the vast majority opt for self-service.
Actually, as a company, that’s the way I would hope the trend is going. After all, self-service offers huge efficiency advantages that answering questions on social media can never provide.
Naturally digital customer service remains important
The danger of this result lies in the fact that the opponents of digital customer service will get up and claim that investments in webcare are no longer necessary. Why invest in 2% of consumers?
This is, of course, the wrong conclusion. One percent may be a small percentage, but in actual numbers this still represents a large group of people. These consumers often have a slightly different profile than the average consumer. Someone who asks questions on social media has an open, direct personality and may also be loud in the offline world.

The indirect impact of social media is always bigger than the direct effect
The 2% are really raising their voice today. Just look at how KLM’s good work on Twitter and Facebook has given their reputation a boost. The online news spread offline and this had a positive effect on KLM’s reputation. In the future, companies that don’t offer online customer care will suffer indirect damage to their reputation. Indeed, the online news moves offline and when all of a sudden it’s reported in the mass media, the company is put in a bad light. The opposite creates a positive spiral.

In the end, online customer care may well turn into a digital commodity. Offering this service online is normal but it no longer improves your company image; not offering this service is totally unacceptable.

To summarize:

• The investment in webcare is for a small group of customers
• Naturally we are making this investment for those people, but also for the indirect impact it has on our reputation
• In the future, companies will invest in a super-efficient self-service system that will not only boost customer satisfaction but the company’s efficiency as well

Download the full study
Click here to view the full study and download it free of charge. Please feel free to let me know how you see the role of webcare in the future in light of these conclusions.

• Natural Conversations: these are the spontaneous conversations that consumers have about brands and companies.
• Fueled Conversations: these conversations are about the content a company shares with its audience. The content gives people something to talk about and they are happy to share it.
• Direct Conversations: these conversations contain a question, remark or opinion and are addressed directly to the company.

Three conversation streams, three different management styles

To increase the overall sentiment about your company online, it is important to manage all three types of conversation. A lot of companies are only focusing on tackling the direct conversations through digital consumer care. This is important, but it isn’t enough. All three streams influence the overall reputation of a brand.

Natural conversations are almost always about the product and service quality of a brand. The quality of their offline experience determines the quality of the natural online conversations. In a digital world, we tend to forget that the real experience in the offline world is still the biggest online conversation starter for people.

Fueled conversations are about the commercial content of a brand. As soon as a brand creates fantastic content, people will be happy to share it. The goal is to create a content flow that creates value for the consumer. Instead of launching two big campaigns a year, it is advisable to work with content sparks, since they are shared on a more frequent basis. In order to create impact with these conversations, make sure to use the ‘selling without selling’ techniques from a previous post.

Direct conversations require a reply. Direct conversations are direct questions posed by consumers about products or services. These conversations call for a fast, professional and personal reply.

Three conversation streams, three different parts of the organization involved

Each of the conversations involves a different department.

Natural conversations should be followed by people from the consumer insights team. Natural conversations provide you with loads of information. This is client feedback that you receive without asking any questions. Consumer insights should use the data internally to improve overall product and service quality.

Fueled conversations are the responsibility of the marketing and social media team. The commercial content should always be the responsibility of the marketing team. Online and offline communications need to be aligned. There are still too many companies that don’t inform their online teams about offline communication, and this can give rise to frustrations. Marketing is responsible for all commercial communication and should be involved in content management.

Direct conversations should be handled by customer experience people. The direct online questions are the equivalent of the phone call to the call center or the email with a customer complaint. These questions should be handled by customer care people. Of course, the style and approach online requires a different approach. People responsible for the direct conversations should be trained in general communication skills as well as in specific online skills.

In some larger companies, there are specific conversation hubs that foresee different profiles to handle these three types of conversation. In that case, the conversation hub is a decentralized team of people who work together with marketing, HR, IT, R&D and product management.