Sticky Agent – How Does It Help to Build Better Customer Relationships?
The keyboard of my laptop started misbehaving, and I had to replace it. So, I went to an authorized service center and met with a service engineer named Anand.
The service engineer looked at my laptop and took down the serial number of my laptop and the number of the keyboard. Then, he said he would have to check if the keyboard was available in the market. For which I had to pay a service fee.
Only then would they check if it is available?
I thought that it was wrong for them to charge me for this. I told them I would consider it and left the service center.
Then, I tried a few other sources to no avail.
So, I decided to go back to the service center. It was 3.50 pm, and another service engineer was at the desk. I asked for Anand and was told that Anand would be available from 4 pm.
I decided to wait, as I did not want to repeat the process with another service engineer. Anand already knew the issue and had the serial and keyboard numbers written down.
Now, I’d call this a sticky engineer.
As Anand already knew the issue with my laptop, as a customer, I’d think he’d be able to provide better resolution faster.
What Is a Sticky Agent?
A sticky agent is a feature that allows customers to connect automatically with the same agent they had a conversation with earlier. The term sticky agent is commonly used in call centers and contact centers.
It can be configured the way you want.
For instance, the sticky agent feature can be invoked only for inbound calls or outbound calls. Among the inbound calls, it can be used only for calls originating from the website or your social platforms.
A sticky agent allows you to serve your customers better and improve your relationship with them, making them loyal to your brand.
How Do Sticky Agents Improve Customer Relationships?
There are multiple ways by which sticky agents can develop better customer relationships. Here are a few:
1. Personalization
Let us assume you call the customer service number for the first time and are directed to an agent. The agent listens to you and understands you are looking for an integration with your in-house software solution.
He checks and tells you that this customization would take about six weeks for them to complete and operationalize. And he puts you on the stick agent list.
The next time you call them, your call gets routed to the same agent, who can offer your personalized service. If the tagged agent is unavailable at that particular time or has left the job, then you would be directed to an agent who’d have access to the entire history of your interactions.
2. Faster Resolution
With sticky agents, you don’t have to repeat yourself every time you call. They know the features you have bought, the customizations they have implemented, and the likely extensions you might need.
This allows them to understand your needs better and wants and resolve your queries faster.
3. Proactive
A sticky agent fully knows the customizations and configurations of the customer environment, can anticipate customer needs, and proactively address potential issues.
A sticky agent can proactively reach out to a customer and talk about issues faced by other customers similar to them. They can even talk about the resolutions provided to them and offer the exact solution to the customer.
By being proactive, sticky agents can demonstrate that a business is attentive and cares about its customers. This can help build trust and loyalty, essential to building customer relationships.
4. Consistency
Sticky agents can be consistent in their interactions. With consistency, the customer and the vendor understand what to expect out of the relationship based on their interactions. This will help avoid surprises in terms of expectations and perceptions.
When you get comfortable with the level of service and support, you become loyal as a customer.
5. High-Value Relationships
As businesses grow, providing personalized support using sticky agents would be difficult. However, based on their interactions, sticky agents can identify areas that can be moved to self-service and communicate those upfront to the customers they are in touch with.
Besides, you can continue to route high-value relationships and complex queries to your sticky agents.
Why You Need to Use the Sticky Agent?
- Consistency of Service: Connecting customers to the same agent eliminates the need for them to repeat information or re-explain their issue. This results in a more streamlined and efficient service experience.
- Build Rapport: Continuity with the same agent helps establish rapport and trust between the agent and the customer, particularly in discussions involving sensitive or complex issues.
- Increased Customer Satisfaction: Customers appreciate not having to start from scratch with a new agent during each contact. This feature enhances the customer experience by avoiding the frustration of explaining a situation multiple times.
- Efficiency for Agents: The consistency provided by the Sticky Agent feature benefits agents as they are already familiar with the customer’s issue. This familiarity allows for quicker resolution without extensive review of logs or call notes.
- Tracking and Accountability: Managers can easily track how an issue is being handled over time with the Sticky Agent feature. When the same agent consistently handles a customer’s concern, they become more accountable for ensuring the problem gets resolved.
- Reduced Errors: Having the same agent handle an issue reduces the likelihood of mistakes that may occur when multiple individuals are involved in problem-solving.
- Training and Development: The Sticky Agent feature is valuable for training purposes. Managers can identify coaching opportunities by observing how an agent handles recurring issues with the same customer.
In summary, the Sticky Agent feature promotes service consistency, builds rapport, enhances customer satisfaction, improves efficiency for agents, enables tracking and accountability, reduces errors, and supports training and development initiatives.
The sticky agent is a powerful feature for building more robust, meaningful customer relationships. By providing personalization, faster resolution, proactiveness, consistency, and addressing high-value relationships, sticky agents can help create better customer experiences that increase loyalty, trust, and engagement.
As businesses start to prioritize customer relationships, sticky agents would play a very significant role in providing the support and guidance that customers expect and deserve.
If you would like to use our sticky agent, please Request a Demo.