SOCAP Is Exploring The Issues Defining Customer Service In The 2020s
The 2023 SOCAP Fall Symposium is coming soon – September 10-13, to be precise. Founded in 1973, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business, SOCAP International, represents a dynamic, collaborative community of best-in-class customer care experts across multiple industries.
SOCAP is one of the world’s largest groups of customer care professionals, and the annual fall symposium is when everyone gets together to look to the year ahead. The agenda comprises panel discussions, keynotes, and deep dives into subjects with experts from companies such as McKinsey.
The entire event is a deep dive into the future of how customer experience (CX) strategies will be planned. The beautiful resort in Tampa Bay, Florida, offers many distractions, but the delegates are more likely to debate discount coupons’ value than paddle boarding before breakfast.
Key Topics to Be Featured at SOCAP
The 2023 symposium features a variety of subjects, including a guide to getting the best from ChatGPT. It also has case studies and best practice sessions from well-known companies such as Campbell’s and LG.
The Use of AI to Improve Customer Service
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a big topic this year – and rightly so. The leap in public awareness of AI took place at the start of the year, so it is no surprise that customer service executives are still processing how to get the best from this technology. There are keynotes about AI working with agents and how AI can help more generally to improve CX.
Areas of Improvement for Metrics
There is also a strong focus on contact center metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – how can they be improved?
This is a debate that is ongoing in the CX industry. How do metrics evolve? Most metrics were designed for post-purchase voice interactions with customers – measuring the outcome of calls. Average Handle Time (AHT) and First Call Resolution (FCR) became closely monitored. It was always better if a customer could get the answer they needed quickly and on a single call.
Net Promoter Sore- A New Way to Measure
But customer interactions have changed. They are no longer driven only by support questions or problems. Many customers have started building relationships with their favorite brands – they interact voluntarily, not because they need help.
If a customer posts a photo of your product on Instagram and tags your brand, then it’s valuable to respond. Still, it is a different type of interaction to a customer calling and needing help immediately.
This has led to a focus on metrics such as the Net Promotor Score (NPS) designed by Bain & Company in 2003. NPS focuses on how likely the customer would recommend a service or brand to a friend, so it is a measure of customer satisfaction and not just a metric focused on the call itself.
However, even NPS has flaws. It was relaunched entirely in 2021 as NPS 3.0. One of the biggest problems with this metric type is that customers are likely to respond to a survey question if they had a terrible experience or fantastic experience – most satisfied people don’t bother reporting that ‘it was all OK, no big deal.’
Talk to DATAMARK at SOCAP
So, how can metrics be improved for the 2020s? DATAMARK has many ideas, which we share here in these articles, but we also hope to participate in some of the SOCAP discussions on the future of CX metrics. Our team will be at the SOCAP Symposium in Florida, so please say hello if you see us there! Please click here to see the complete agenda for the SOCAP Symposium 2023. For more general information on the work of SOCAP, please visit their website here.
