Mention content strategy, and the first thing people often think of is web content. Yet, there are other parts of a business that have content at its core—the most important of which is the customer service center. Customer service centers are our direct line to customers. They answer calls, reply to emails, and often coordinate printed material—and we should be incorporating them more into our strategy. Developing a content strategy that includes your customer service center improves the customer experience, provides opportunities to monitor and act on customer feedback, and helps you measure if your content is (or isn’t) working.
I presented this talk at Confab Central in Minneapolis, May 2015. See a transcript at www.webcontentstrategy.com.au and video at http://livestream.com/confab/central
5. “51 per cent of U.S. consumers
switched service providers in
the past year due to poor
customer service experiences.”
Source: Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey
6. Top customer content frustrations
Self-help sites and systems that
can’t answer my questions
Not being able to understand the
information provided to me
Too much paperwork or online
forms
Source: Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey | Icons by Norbert Kucsera & SuperAtic LABS for the Noun Project CC3.0
9. Why we should pay more notice
Contact with the customer
Better for the bottom line
Everything is measured
Icons by Norbert Kucsera for the Noun Project CC3.0
10. Content plays a
critical role in
customer
service centers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/plantronicsgermany CC2.0
11. Types of content
• Product guides
• Social media
• Forms
• Web content
• Intranet content
• Knowledge bases
• Instant chat
• Email and letters
• Scripts
• Fact sheets
• CRMs
• FAQs
18. Having completed our review of your
claim, we have avoided the cover due
to the Late <insert insured persons
name>’s breach of their duty of
disclosure in their application for the
<name of product> Policy. As a result of
this decision, no benefits are payable.
19. Having completed our review of your
claim, we have avoided the cover due
to the Late <insert insured persons
name>’s breach of their duty of
disclosure in their application for the
<name of product> Policy. As a result of
this decision, no benefits are payable.
20. Create content with empathy
Use the appropriate tone
Respect privacy& personal info
Use clear, familiar language
Icon by Stepan Prokop for the Noun Project CC3.0
22. Optimise for the operator
Improve internal search
Tag content properly
Use logical file names & URLs
Icon by Arthur Shlain for the Noun Project CC3.0
25. Design better forms
Only ask for what you need
Make instructions clear
Group questions logically
Focus on good flow
Icon by Scott Baker for the Noun Project CC3.0
26.
27.
28. Complete this field if you were not the driver
Do not complete this field if you were the
driver
Photocopied forms are not permitted
No photocopies are permitted
30. Think format and structure
Know how content will be used
Include headings & subheadings
Design for scanning
Icon by hatayas for the Noun Project CC3.0
33. Plan the right workflow
Include content in workflows
Capture feedback & updates
Create a maintenance plan
Icon by Candice McCollough for the Noun Project CC3.0
35. Legal Aid Queensland call centre
Client service officers
Use legal info page as reference
Calls a month
16
60%
12k
36. Top legal information pages (out of 180)
1. Criminal convictions
2. Driving and licence offences
3. Having sex
4. Do I have to talk to the police?
5. Young driver laws
6. Drink driving offences
7. Collection and enforcement of child support
8. Parenting orders
9. Car accidents
10. Leaving home
37.
38. What we had to consider
• Legal terms vs. client terms
• Pages would be read out loud
• Vulnerable clients should seek
legal advice
39. Our approach
• Call centre visit
• Interviews, analytics
• Inventory & qualitative audit
• New digital style guide
48. What we had to consider
• Superannuation is complex &
heavily regulated
• People care about different things
at different life stages
• We wanted to encourage people
to use Member Online
49. Our approach
• Existing template review against
web content
• New template that structured
emails consistently
• Tone of voice guidelines and
standard calls to action
50.
51.
52.
53.
54. In summary
• Create content with empathy
• Optimise for the operator
• Design better forms
• Think format and structure
• Plan the right workflow