Can Tracker Software Be Used for Improving Customer Experience?
We’re presenting another one of many advantages of using tracker software - improving your client management and customer experience.
Tracker software is a very versatile business tool. As such, it can be effectively used to improve many things within your company, from the attendance tracking process to task assignment and delegation to workplace productivity of your employees. It doesn’t surprise, then, that these benefits can keep piling up and that they can go in some rather unexpected directions.
One such advantage of using tracker software is the fact that it can play a significant role in improving the overall customer experience of your clients. Of course, this can’t be achieved directly, but there are a number of indirects ways to make your clients and customers enjoy working with you. This is mostly done through streamlining your own internal processes, as well as through boosting your employees’ performance, both in terms of engagement and productivity, and in terms of their direct communication with customers.
In the article you have before you, we’ll try to explore all these different ways in which a simple time tracking app can take the customer experience to the next level, so prepare to take down notes because this is one of those things that really makes a difference to the overall success of your business.
Better Project Organization Means Happier Clients
Your success with clients starts in your own backyard. This means that before you try to make your clients happy, you need to have clear internal guidelines on how you organize each project. And tracker software can be an excellent tool to help you get better at project management, and as a result be more effective in client management too.
The first step is to use this software to analyze your current project workflow. Start tracking time on all the tasks that comprise a project, as well as which tools are used, who does which part of the project, and so on. Take one good holistic look at the data you have and try to estimate whether that’s the best you can do, or whether you can do something to improve the workflow and increase efficiency.
Meet up with your team to discuss some possible improvements. For example, which tools need to be used for what tasks, what the order of assignments should be in order to decrease the time wasted on waiting for one task to be done so that the next can get started on, how to delegate the workload in a way that will prevent certain employees from getting overworked while others sit idly around with nothing to do. Devising this strategy will make your work on projects more streamlined, routine-like, and consequently more efficient.
Now, what does this have to do with client satisfaction? Well, if you have a certain effective way of working on projects, that means that the workflow is predictable and trained, with very little unexpected bumps along the way. Your clients will definitely appreciate the fact that they can rely on this predictable routine and smooth project flow.
Managing Client Expectations: Budget and Time
Digging a little deeper into the concept of improving project workflow in order to improve customer experience, we’re turning to client expectations when it comes to deadlines and budget as very important factors in their satisfaction.
Let’s put it this way - saying that the project will take 2 months to complete, then asking for a two-week deadline extension days before the end, and then apologizing one more time because you have to push the deadline another two weeks is a much more frustrating experience for your client than just saying you need 3 months at the beginning.
Using tracker software to measure how long each type of project tends to take, as well as how much money you usually spend on different processes will give you a chance to have more accurate project estimates both in terms of money and time. This means that your deadlines are going to be more realistic and less likely to be pushed and your budget projections will improve as well. As a result, your customers and clients will be better informed and won’t be frustrated by constant change of plans.
Employee Engagement Plays a Role Too
It’s not just your workflow that has a significant effect on how happy your clients are with your services. It’s also how your employees approach their work on projects. Often times, even the most effectively planned strategy can’t be executed well if your employees are disengaged and unproductive. So, this is another thing you need to work on improving.
First of all, you can easily estimate your workers’ engagement levels with tracker software. All you have to do is look at their productivity. Are they immersed in the tasks, or wandering off into the realm of social media and on-the-go entertainment? This will help you understand what you need to improve.
Next, you can use those insights from the time tracker to improve employees’ engagement, either by optimizing their workload, recognizing their efforts, or just providing them with honest and actionable feedback. Doing this will ensure that your workforce cares more about their job and the projects they work on. From a client’s perspective, that’s a much more appealing attitude. Plus, apart from being more dedicated to the tasks, your employees are also likely to become more productive, thus contributing both more quality and more quantity to the customers.
What About Customer-Facing Roles?
Lastly, we turn to the actual customer-facing job roles, such as technical support and call center agents, because this is the most direct way to interact with your clients and show them the value of your team. Although this aspect of your business largely depends on how well-trained, professional and resourceful your employees are, tracker software can still help in small but useful ways.
For example, you can track the time your employees spend with clients, either on a call or trying to help them solve a problem via email, in order to estimate how efficiently this is done. Analyze the tools and processes used to help customers and then re-evaluate those to find the best and most effective way to solve your customers’ issues as quickly and successfully as possible.
Conclusion
In the competitive industries we have today, customer experience can make or break you. This is why you should use every means available to boost it, including a tool such as time tracking software. If you know how to do this right, you’ll be that much closer to flawless relationship and trust between your business and your clients.