How many times in the past year has your customer care platform experienced any unplanned downtime? How did you recover – and how quickly? More importantly, how did you examine the experience to make sure it didn’t happen again?
If you’re like most of us, you probably began by looking at the cold, hard facts: the financial costs. From lost revenue per hour, to the lost productivity of each customer care agent who sat idle, you probably have a very good idea of what you paid for the downtime…
But do you really have a clear understanding of the costs you suffered?
Consider these 3 Real, But Often Hidden, Costs of Downtime
- No, Your Employees Don’t Like It. Ok, maybe they do – but only for the first few minutes and only when outages are rare. When employees start believing that their ability to actually do their job will be routinely undermined by glitches, mistakes, or the frailty of an aging system, they lose the sense of purpose that came with the job. Worse, they lose trust in you, as a leader, and your organization as a reliable employer. Downtimes undermine your employer brand.
- Downtime Damages Customer Confidence in Your Brand. You’ve seen the studies. Customers today base their satisfaction and loyalty on CX, ie Customer Experience. Increasingly, CX – how your customer is treated and how they feel about that experience – matters more than product or price. The minute to inform a customer of how and when to contact you, you need to be there when they do. Inbound contact center downtime is the Customer Experience equivalent of the frustratingly vague “Back in 10 Minutes” sign hanging in a shop window. It’s a memorable moment of disappointment that instantly breeds distrust.
- No Outage is an Isolated Incident Anymore. Even one instance of downtime can create a long ripple of bad press. For every minute of outage, your cost equations now include the exponential effects of each customer expressing their frustrations – along with their doubts and disappointments – in you and your brand. Customers go instantly – sometimes simultaneously – online, hopping onto their social media venue of choice, to tell the world just how annoyed they are with your failure to answer their call. Hours, days, even weeks after you and your systems are back up and running, negative reviews may be dragging you down, thanks to the web.
Reduce Your Risk of Downtime
If your current in-house systems have become unpredictable or, if your current outsourcing partner can’t answer your questions about preventing future outages, talk to us. At Skybridge Americas, we have been building longstanding, successful partnerships with many of the world’s most iconic brands. We’d like to know how we can help you deliver a seamless, superior customer experience.
by Bobby Matthews
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Skybridge Americas
bmatthews@skybridgeamericas.com
Find out how Skybridge Americas can help you delight your customers and grow your business.
We seamlessly integrate our superior customer care skills with your brand messaging. For more information, contact us at 763-299-4570 or submit our contact form.
