Becoming More Mobile Friendly

A Yahoo! Finance article spotlights changes made by the global provider of extended service plans and product care, N.E.W. Customer Service Companies. Some of these changes are applicable to a host of different types of companies, and are worth looking at as good examples.

“We understand how the wants and needs of consumers are changing, and we are offering services that fit the consumers’ lifestyle, delivering support when they want it and through the channels they prefer,” said Tony Nader, president and CEO of NEW. “We are well aware of the critical role electronic devices play in our lives today. In response, we have built a seamless, branded service experience, engaging our people, processes and proprietary technology to ensure consumers are satisfied at every touch point throughout their product ownership experience.”

The Yahoo! article reports that the company eMarketer has estimated that in the U.S. there were 115.8 million smartphone users by the end of 2012, and that number is expected to grow up to 176.3 million over the next couple years. With that in mind, it is beyond the time that companies should have begun to turn their focus to the mobile world. Making websites mobile friendly is almost a must, and if possible, providing special apps to engage customers is a plus.

With a great majority of people having a Facebook and/or Google account, making it possible for people to quickly and easily log in using those credentials is a great idea. I know for me personally, being able to use my Facebook credentials to create an account on a new site makes me way more likely to proceed, than if I have to stop and fill in all of the account fields. Once on your mobile-friendly site, giving the customer access to a whole host of applicable information, like their history and/or service requests is a big step in the right direction.

Some of the other enhancements included in the upgrades from NEW included connections with sources they work with, giving up-to-date information through their app. In their case, it was with the addition of the ServiceBench Mobile app, which provides their “service professionals with the ability to organize their repair appointments for the day, keep track of “open” jobs or jobs that are in need of follow-up, search for additional claims and in-home service calls in their area, locate customers through directional technology, and order the necessary parts for repair — all from the convenience of their mobile phones.” Louis Rose, NEW vice president of ServiceBench operations said:

“With this tool, we can further improve the user experience by providing users with a tool that not only enhances and expedites the administrative aspect of their business but that will also increase their ability to provide a seamless customer experience while out in the field.”

Overall, they are working hard to implement new technology that benefits their employees, which ultimately also benefits their customers who receive better service and turnaround time. The moral of the story? Stay up with cutting-edge technology in order to provide your customers with more options and a much more satisfying experience as a whole.

As a side note, the most interesting experience I had when reading the initial article, was when I clicked the link to actually visit the NEW company site, and got a “Service Unavailable” error. Not sure why, but their site was totally down at the time, which seemed kind of ironic at the time.

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