Proven Strategies to Improve Customer Effort Score for PC Manufacturers

noHold's 18+ years of experience, and long standing customers in a variety of industries (including PC) have given us insider knowledge when it comes to what companies can do to better support customer efforts. Diego Ventura, CEO of noHold, took some time to look into the PC industry, and determined a few key pointers that will help improve Customer Effort Scores (CES). 

For more information about noHold please visit, www.nohold.com

noHold A.I. Enables PC Industry Leaders to Transform Issues into Opportunities

June 30, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – Within the past 12 months, noHold Virtual Assistants have handled over 25 million conversations. During these interactions with the Virtual Assistant, actionable metrics were captured regarding end user behavior. noHold was able to turn these metrics into valuable insight not only for the support organization, but also for product marketing, engineering, sales, and more.

In working with the leaders in the PC and related industries, noHold has identified the top 10 most frequently used solutions from support questions in this space. The top issues include: downloads and drivers (39%), system restore (18%), wireless issues (10%), Windows issues (6%), webcam issues (5%) , no boot/no power (5%), touchpad issues (5%), monitor issues (4%), audio issues (4%), and owner manuals/guides (4%).

It is important to target your organization’s top issues and leverage those issues to create opportunities to better serve your customers. In fact, a noHold client used the information collected through the Virtual Assistant to redesign the support site and simplify customer engagement. Here are a few tips on how you can turn insight from the customer into opportunities:

•   Create a seamless customer journey for end users – integrate CRM, live chat, social media, and mobile.
•   Be prepared – make self-service front and center throughout all support mediums. Be ready to answer questions related to new products or services. For example, there will be a lot of questions surrounding Windows 10.
•   Incorporate up-sell opportunities – if the battery is not holding a charge, maybe it’s time for a new one. Provide direct links to order pages, or co-browsing functionality to make it an easy process.
•   Offer premium support when necessary – research shows that a large portion of users will pay for enhanced support, and VIP treatment.

For more information on tips and best practices, please follow this link: http://www.nohold.com/assets/best-practices-web-print.pdf

“There are many tools on the market that can collect metrics in a quantitative manner,” said Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold. “In addition to quantitative metrics, the advantage to our tool is that the Virtual Assistant is also able to provide qualitative insight on customer intent. With that kind of information, organizations are better equipped to make decisions that will enhance their customers’ experience.” 

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

Microsoft’s Virtual Assistant, Cortana, Shows up on Windows 10 PC’s

Photo Credit: PCWorld.com

Microsoft recently announced their latest operating system, Windows 10 to come out soon. Windows 10 is centered on the customer, with new features that include things such as Spartan (a new browser that is said to have the most advanced features), having more integration with Xbox capabilities, and Cortana being fully functional for all Windows 10 PCs. These are just a few of the new features for Windows 10, but we are particularly excited about the integration of Cortana on the PC.

The trend is continuing to shift in favor of Artificial Intelligence. Cortana integrating onto PC’s is only further validation that top name companies are realizing more and more people are accepting, and actually preferring, the use of a Virtual Assistant in their day-to-day lives. This same paradigm goes for support as well. Consumers are looking to simplify their lives with technology, and a Virtual Assistant allows them that opportunity.

What do you think about having a Virtual Assistant directly on your PC? Will other operating systems follow suit? 

www.nohold.com

Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: Implementing a 'Care' Virtual Agent

Excellent customer care is a key factor in satisfying your audience and encouraging them to remain loyal. When they have a question about shipping information, it is important to be able to find a solution as quickly as possible, on their own terms. With the increasing demand for self-service, having an effective strategy for customer care questions, is equally as important as having one for support questions.

Here is an example of a noHold customer recognizing this need for customer care support. Later this week, a leader in the PC and consumer electronics industry is launching a customer care Virtual Agent. This VA is designed to answer questions regarding shipment/purchase information, account access, and more. Having both a support and customer care Virtual Agent allows users 24x7 access to get answers to all types of questions. Companies can position the Virtual Agents together (as one) within the typical support web page, or encourage consumer use by promoting an individual URL as the first line of defense for customer care issues, specifically.  

Customers want to know that the company they purchase from is there to help every step of the way: before, during, and after the purchase. From a customer experience stand point, nurturing the relationship is imperative to keeping current customers and gaining new ones. A Virtual Agent can help through all aspects of the customer journey, coming full circle to create loyal customers by…

• Engaging prospective customers through personalized marketing
• Guiding them along the sales process by educating and up-selling
• Providing excellent customer care
• Supporting them as they maintain a valued customer

How does your company handle customer care questions? Do you see Virtual Agents as being a link between the various stages of the customer journey?

www.nohold.com

On-the-Go Virtual Agent: Trusted Brand Launches Mobile Virtual Agent

                           Reference: Mobile Apps Overtake PC Internet Usage in U.S.

Internet and App usage on mobile devices is continually growing and has already exceeded PC Internet usage in 2014. "Mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States in January. Apps made up 47% of Internet traffic and 8% of traffic came from mobile browsers, according to data from comScore, cited Thursday by research firm Enders Analysis. PCs clocked in at 45%" (CNNMoney). Consumers are using their mobile devices for virtually everything now; shopping, looking up directions, banking, etc. Furthermore, users now have access to their smart devices via their mobile applications. It seems like having a mobile strategy for your company is required in today's world, instead of just a bonus feature.  

For example, one of the top providers for telephone service in the North East Central States, recently enhanced their mobile support presence. They estimated that about a quarter of their users are mobile, and they wanted to adopt practices that will cater to the needs of these users, as well as PC users. One way they responded to customer demand was by launching a mobile version of their Virtual Agent. Now that the Virtual Agent is easily accessible from mobile phones, users can get the solutions to their problems from the palm of their hand. 

Is your company mobile friendly? What are some of your best practices within the mobile scope?

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: Do Your Customers Want a Virtual Agent? Why Don’t You Ask Them?

Happy Throwback Thursday all!

This past Tuesday we shared a blog on leveraging social media to promote self-service tools (i.e. Virtual Agents) and how it can increase usage, and in turn save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. Click here to read the entire blog.  For Throwback Thursday, we wanted to share another example of a leading PC manufacturer for gaming systems, quickly tweeting and engaging their audience about their self-service tool.

Staying connected through social media is one of the most popular methods to communicate in today’s market. This company is not only using social media to promote the use of their VA, but also asking end users for their feedback to enhance the experience. After all, understanding what the customer will use for support is critical in promoting self-service.

This is another idea to inform and engage consumers to utilize self-service options.

This company used a community forum page as another way for customers to voice their opinions. Instead of simply using the forum to answer support questions, they encouraged people to try out their VA to find answers and provide feedback on how they liked it or what could be done to improve it. It was a great way to start interactions with their customers and provide an outstanding customer experience.

Social media channels have been around for a while, and are becoming invaluable tools for businesses. Listening to your audience about products/services allows your company to get closer to the voice of the customer. I’ll leave you with this quote from Bill Gates,

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Cheers!