The fog is lifting

For decades, customer service has been poorly understood – an afterthought to the proposition, a cost to be managed, or worse a series of independent and uncosted decisions which add up to an unplanned customer service experience.

Customer service deserves more attention: it is a major area of investment for consumer-facing businesses, and deployed right can deliver substantial returns in terms of immediate sales, customer loyalty and colleague engagement. The emergence of low-cost business models (notably in retail and travel) and the technology-driven explosion in the number of service channels (online, mobile, etc.) have shaken up customer service and led both consumers and companies to question established norms. The future of customer service is becoming clearer, and it poses important questions for any consumer-facing company.