How do I ensure that communicating with customers is done as efficiently as possible? How do I improve customer satisfaction and how do I measure this without using too many questionnaires? What is the current situation for employees at the customer service help desk?

Companies and organisations are always busy improving their customer service and in the process they ask themselves the questions stated above. More and more companies are successful in using video for their customer service, such as Nespresso, CBR en Eneco. However, video is often not yet the first tool that comes to mind when thinking of a solution. Let’s see how video can contribute to improving customer service, looking at efficiency, customer satisfaction and job satisfaction.

How does video enable efficient communication?

A contact moment is every moment a company is in contact with a customer. This can either be by phone, chat or email. Many companies have a team of specialists to provide customer support.

It is often the case that many customers ask the same or very similar questions. Of course this varies per company, but when this is the case, video is an excellent tool. By turning generic questions into an interactive video, customers can look for the answer to the question themselves. Not by scrolling through a long FAQ page, but with just a few clicks in a video.

Besides being efficient,  video content lingers in the memory 70% better than regular text, helping people better understand what to do. The steps that customers may need to take, can also be included in the video. Think of a payment or downloading a PDF. This way, all information is collected in one place.

CBR's interactive video

The CBR administers driving tests to the general public. They use interactive video to inform people about requesting a Health Declaration. Based on answers to various questions about their personal situation, viewers get advice on whether they need a Health Declaration to extend their driving license. At the end of the video, viewers can specify whether the video has been helpful or not.

In the case of frequently asked questions, it is often said that “prevention is better than cure”. The best ratio is 95% prevention and 5% cure. With video you make sure that customers are better informed and find all the answers they are looking for. For example, only 5% of customers with a difficult issue need to contact the customer service.

How can you improve and measure customer satisfaction with video?

Companies consider the highest possible customer satisfaction to be very important. Not only is customer is king, but positive reactions from recurring customers can attract potential new customers.  How can you achieve a higher customer satisfaction rate? How is customer satisfaction measured? And how can video contribute to improving customer satisfaction?

Currently, many companies measure customer satisfaction using the Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS is often measured by means of surveys or telephone queries. Not only does this method cost a lot of time and energy, but depending on the chosen method it can also be difficult for a company to find out why customers are satisfied or dissatisfied. For many companies, this is precisely where important lessons can be learned on how to improve their service.

With interactive customer support videos you can kill two birds with one stone. You answer the question, while also using forms to directly ask for open or closed feedback. This way, you immediately know whether your videos are effective, whether customers are satisfied or not and why they might feel that way.

If you ask for closed feedback, you can easily measure customer satisfaction using grades, stars or smileys. If you want to dig a little deeper, you can also ask for open feedback, so people can go into more detail about the service. Customers can elaborate briefly on their experience, while you can use this feedback to keep improving your service.

Eneco receives large volumes of questions about Toon. Such as: how does Toon work? How do you connect Toon to the WiFi network? How can you program Toon? Toon currently offers help in many ways: a step-by-step guide, FAQ and a service forum. However, we are always looking for ways to reach and help clients in the best way possible without putting strain on the overall business. That is why we chose to develop the interactive videos with Blue Billywig. Their advice demonstrates how interactive video is of added value for both customer and Eneco.

Laura Overwijk, Senior Online Marketer at Eneco

What is the current situation at the customer service helpdesk and how can video bring improvement?

It is undeniable that the real power of communicating with customers lies in the emotional. The power from person to person. Is it then no longer of any added value to speak to people over the phone or by email?

Employees at the customer service helpdesk continue to operate as experts for the difficult, emotional and challenging issues that come in. Where video is an excellent tool for more generic questions, the customer service employee is there for the complex questions.

This not only results in a happy customer, but also in a satisfied employee. These people are trained to guide a customer in the best way possible, from beginning to end. When the same questions on the same subject come in over and over again, this takes the challenge out of the work, resulting in less job satisfaction. Video in combination with a customer service expert is a formula that works very well for a happy customer and a satisfied employee.

What role does video play in your customer service?

After these three questions and answers, one thing is clear: video is an added value for improving customer service. It makes contact more efficient, it increases customer satisfaction and also makes it easier to measure satisfaction. For employees, it means that they remain challenged and can truly take on the role of the expert.

So whether improving customer service is something that just crossed your mind or if it is in full swing, ask yourself the question: what role will (interactive) video play?