Julie Rimmel, Client Liaison Officer at Amplifin, believes customer care needs to move away from reactionary service to proactive engagement, particularly within the payment and collections sector. It’s an approach that reshapes the narrative around customer care, shifting it away from frustration, limited visibility and friction towards a more rewarding experience that values customers within the business ecosystem.
“This commitment to changing the way support is provided to customers led us to developing the three Cs of customer service – Champion, Culture and Communications,” continues Rimmel. “These fundamentals impact customer experiences and define how our people behave and the ethos we maintain.
Amplifin creates champions throughout the business. Executives and leadership live the brand and represent a customer-first mindset, and ensure the whole organisation understands why customers are so important. The company recognises that, without clients, there is no business and therefore their needs and expectations are a priority. This is an ethos that’s filtered down to every individual within the business as all employees share this commitment to customers and exceptional service.
“Communication is where everyone comes in,” says Rimmel. “It speaks to our internal and external communications and the content we disseminate. Combined with our Champions, this then feeds into a dynamic culture. Our customer-facing employees have to think about culture because it is part of their role, but we ensure this mindset sits across every person within the business.”
It is critical for Amplifin to actively engage everyone and ensure that they understand the importance of the role they play in influencing the customer experience.
Steven Maier, Chief Brand Officer at Amplifin, adds: “There has to be collective buy-in from every single staff member. We can’t say the customer is king only in certain departments. No – everyone aims at delighting the customer.”
Amplifying customer engagement
Amplifin invests in the training and development of every person who joins the company to ensure their actions live up to the brand promise.
Of course, this leads the conversation to proactive versus reactive customer care. The latter is common in South Africa; the former is a rarity that Amplifin cultivates to ensure customers never sit in the seven circles of ‘Please hold’.
“We anticipate what the client needs before they come to us with a problem,” says Kamogelo Letlape, Customer Care Liaison Officer at Amplifin. “This means we have to actively consider what they want, what they might want and how we can constantly shape our offerings to meet these needs before customers even know they have them.”
If a business is stuck in a reactive rut, it waits for the customer to drop problems on its doorstep. However, if a company prioritises proactive thinking, they have most of the answers when customers ask questions and, through a proactive approach, avoid problems altogether – often solving customer concerns even before they ask the questions. Amplifin robustly tests solutions and listens to clients to ensure the services they provide meet client requirements.
As Letlape explains, “A company will stagnate if it isn’t proactive. Thinking ahead and planning for the future are actions of a company focused on the future and the customer.”
Maier adds: “If all your engagements are reactive, then every engagement is negative. People don’t call support because they want to, they call because they have to, so if you can minimise the need for them to pick up the phone, then you’re changing this narrative to one of positivity.”
Listening sits at the core of customer service
When customers do call support to resolve problems, it’s as important to listen as it is to resolve them. This allows the business to populate its self-service capabilities and provide customers with training and education tools, so they also are empowered to resolve their problems proactively alongside the Amplifin Customer Care team.
“When a business is reactive, support functions as containment rather than refinement,” says Shazia Fredericks, Client Liaison Officer at Amplifin. “When I joined Amplifin, my perception of customer service completely changed towards one where we listen to our customers and get the bigger picture.”
“The difference between proactive and reactive is staggering when examined under the light of customer experience and retention. This is the route to great customer experiences,” adds Rimmel.
Certainly, the customer is becoming far more aware of how they can vote with their feet, and many are doing just that – leaving companies that don’t serve their needs. In the past, financial services may have had a grip on the customer thanks to limited competition, but today, this has changed, and customers are turning to companies that are paying attention.
“The act of listening moves away from the contact centre approach to intentional customer relationships, and this is where we want to live, in a space where our customers expect us to go beyond their expectations,” concludes Maier.
