Did you know that SUMO supports buffer time? What is buffer time, you may be asking?
Buffer Time is a feature whereby SUMO will auto-block time on your calendar before and/or after an appointment to ensure you have time to prepare, debrief, or travel to/from the appointment.
Global Settings & Per User Control
First off all, SUMO includes the ability to define buffer time at a global or team level or on a per user basis. This allows ultimate control and can be applied to various scenarios. For example:
Online Scheduler — You may wish to deploy the SUMO Online Scheduler. When people self-schedule an appointment with the Online Scheduler, you may have SUMO setup to block 15 mins before and after the meeting, so your sales team isn’t bouncing from meeting to meeting back-to-back without any gaps. This can be stressful and also extremely unproductive, as they need time between meetings to log action items, knowledge transfer or delegate actions to others, and more.
Email Invites — You may also wish to email an appointment invite to a customer and when they self-schedule an appointment from the invite, have SUMO setup to pre and/or post buffer times.
Default Settings per Appointment Type
When setting up SUMO you may define pre and/or post buffer time per Appointment Type. For example, you might setup the following:
Initial Consultation — These meetings have a default duration of 60mins, a pre buffer of 15 mins, and a post buffer of 15 mins. Total time blocked = 1.5 hrs.
Follow Up — These meetings have a default duration of 30mins, a pre buffer of 15 mins, and a post buffer of 15 mins. Total time blocked = 60 mins.
However, while these defaults can be set at the global or team level, SUMO also allows users to override the default buffer time settings on a per appointment basis. For example, perhaps you will need to drive an hour to meet a client in person. You can email an invite to the customer to choose times to meet with you, where you only have 3 hrs available: 1hr pre-buffer to travel to the appointment, 1hr to meet with them in person, and 1hr post-buffer to travel back.
Buffer Time can be used for both in person meetings to help accommodate travel time, as well as virtual meetings to give your team critical planning & debriefing time between meetings.
In today’s age, it’s important to regard your clients’ desires when they demand only specific types of contact from your organization or opt-out of particular kinds of information sharing. SUMO provides information to assist you with deciding the most ideal approach to agree to the best way to comply with the data protection and privacy regulations that that apply to your organization.
Most data protection and privacy regulations demand that you and your company honor consumer requests about how you use their data. A few of the regulations that are important to many organizations collecting and handling their clients’ information include:
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), European Union
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), United States
Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL)
If you have clients or users who demand explicit methods of contact from your organization, review these typical requests and the methods related to them.
COMMON CUSTOMER REQUEST
ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
THINGS TO CONSIDER
A customer has asked to not receive appointment-related email messages that I send using SUMO. How do I prevent SUMO from sending these email messages?
Your staff may check the “Email Opt-Out” box on the related lead, contact, or person account record.
Consider periodically reviewing your contacts’ “Opt-Out” preferences to make sure that only those contacts who wish to receive emails do not have “Opt-Out” checkbox set to true.
A customer has asked to not receive appointment-related SMS text messages that I send using SUMO. How do I prevent SUMO from sending these SMS text messages?
SUMO Appointments — In this product, your staff may check the “Text Opt-Out” box on the related lead, contact, or person account record. SUMO CEP — In this product, the customer is required to OPT-IN every single time they wish to receive an SMS Text Message, so the system will never send an SMS text message the customer does not OPT-IN to.
Consider periodically reviewing your contacts’ “Opt-Out” preferences to make sure that only those contacts who wish to receive emails do not have “Opt-Out” checkbox set to true.
A customer in California sent me an opt-out request so that we don’t refer to or share her personal data.
Build a flow that: – Accepts a contact ID. – Finds all data associated with that contact ID. – Deletes the data.
If you connect to external sources, consider deleting the data from those sources. Keep in mind that flows don’t necessarily identify all the data to delete.
After your flow finishes, run a report to identify any remaining information, and then delete it.
I want to be able to track customers’ preferences for receiving marketing solicitations. How can I do that?
Store customers’ data privacy preferences.
Work with your legal team to understand how quickly you must act on your customers’ requests. Keep in mind that the preferences you set simply help you track your customers’ requests. And it’s up to you and your company to determine a way for honoring those customers’ requests. You can identify the customers for which you’ve set privacy preferences by either: – Retrieving updates to data privacy records when you set an Apex trigger on the Individual object. – Running queries for updates to records based on the Individual object using the SOAP API.
Consider setting a schedule for these tasks based how quickly you must act on your customers’ requests.
I want to be able to track customers’ preferences regarding processing or deleting their data. How can I do that?
Work with your legal team to understand how quickly you must act on your customers’ requests. Keep in mind that the preferences you set simply help you track your customers’ requests. And it’s up to you and your company to determine a way for honoring those customers’ requests. You can identify the customers for which you’ve set privacy preferences by either:
– Retrieving updates to data privacy records when you set an Apex trigger on the Individual object. – Running queries for updates to records based on the Individual object using the SOAP API.
Consider setting a schedule for these tasks based how quickly you must act on your customers’ requests.
New platform services enable companies to optimize the customer experience with a unified set of customer engagement tools.
SUMO Scheduler, the leading scheduling solution built native on the Salesforce CRM platform, has announced today the SUMO Customer Engagement Platform (CEP).
SUMO CEP is a fully integrated comprehensive customer engagement solution, that is the result of feedback from their customer community. Packed with highly requested features, the platform provides a larger set of tools and options for organizations to effectively engage their prospects, customers, and partners.
Jason North, chief executive officer at SUMO Scheduler, said, “Brands are looking to technology to better help attract and retain customers. With the launch of SUMO CEP, we are maximizing an organization’s internal interoperability and allowing them to manage the customer journey in one place.”
The Next Generation of Customer Engagement
Continuing the company’s dedication to giving Salesforce customers the most extensible, secure, compliant, and reliable solutions, the new SUMO CEP goes beyond making connections.
Organizations are looking to personalize customer interactions at every touchpoint across the customer journey. This solution allows companies to engage seamlessly across every department a customer could connect with including call centers, sales staff, customer and financial services. SUMO CEP is not a compilation of disparate applications that do not integrate with each other, but rather a single platform solution, that includes:
Appointment Scheduler
Event & Class Scheduler
Queue Scheduler
Custom Schedulers
This consolidation of capabilities provides the reimagined SUMO Scheduler brand with added strengths that allow companies to deliver on the expectations of the modern customer.
SUMO has also unveiled a brand refresh. The refresh includes a new website, refined messaging, and a modernized logo. The brand refresh represents the evolution of the company.
“Companies have a difficult time maintaining a seamless customer experience. We’ve built a platform with a powerful set of tools that help manage the complexities of the customer journey while driving business success for our clients,” North said. He added, “With this launch, we are now unifying all these assets behind a clear, clean revitalized brand.”
Building on our reputation in the industry of providing exceptional customer support, the company’s Salesforce expertise and leadership in technology, SUMO Scheduler’s customer base now total more than 85,000 worldwide.
To learn more about SUMO CEP, just schedule a conversation with our sales team.
Healthcare technology is constantly evolving and allowing practices to easily manage processes and information across their many systems. Clinics can now more effectively serve and connect with their patients digitally with these new technologies. Not only can the right technologies, like a customer engagement platform, support a practice’s need for efficiency, they can also deliver a better patient experience.
Be Available Even When You’re Not
Scheduling a clinic appointment is not one of the most enjoyable or convenient experiences for most people. The only time a patient can schedule an appointment is usually during a clinic’s open hours which also tends to be during people’s working hours. Booking appointments for patients is not always a positive experience for clinic staff either. A clinic’s reception desk has to juggle checking in patients with answering the phone, searching calendars for openings, and returning emails and calls.
Online scheduling makes it easier for patients to schedule appointments from a computer, mobile phone or tablet at any time convenient for them. Your appointment desk will receive fewer phone calls, spend less time booking appointments and have more time on more important tasks.
Make Sure They Show Up
Reminders are always a part of the patient appointment cycle for a practice’s admin staff. Postcards and phone calls are standard practice for many clinics but this is a highly manual task. Appointment scheduling software can eliminate this process. A clinic can schedule and send automated reminders to patients after they book an appointment.
Patients can choose if they want a phone, email or text to remind them of their appointment. Having all these options for patient reminders also benefits your staff. Based on a client survey, SUMO Scheduler found that automated reminders can reduce no-show appointments by as much as 35%.
In case you’re still not convinced, consider these projections for 2019 from a report by Accenture:
66% of U.S. health systems will provide online scheduling.
64% of patients will make appointments online
986 million appointments will be scheduled independently
Value of online scheduling: $3.2 billion
Be Consumer-Centric
Patients have a choice in where they receive their care. The modern patient is conditioned by industries like Retail and Banking to expect an experience that is seamless.
Besides the convenience of self-scheduling an appointment 24/7 and automated appointment reminders, there are other ways a customer engagement platform can support a positive patient experience.
A customer engagement platform can support clinic providers being matched with patients based on a provider’s skill set as well as the provider of their preference. The location, a clinician’s gender, and the languages are spoken are also other criteria that can be searched by a patient to match them with the provider that suits their needs. Connecting providers with patients based on the patient’s preferences also benefit providers. Clinics can set parameters so providers are available to the patients they are qualified to treat.
Digitize Data and Check-In
Patient intake and registration is another pain point for clinics and patients. If the process is paper-based, collecting and updating patient information and documenting a patient’s needs for their appointment can be time-consuming.
A patient intake kiosk, such as a tablet installed in a clinic waiting room can alleviate the strain on front desk staff and providers. Patients are able to check-in then enter their details while they are waiting to be called for their appointment. This data can populate the patient’s EHR (electronic health record), allowing front desk staff to focus on other tasks while clinicians can access the information during the patient appointment.
Customer Experience as a Service
A good engagement platform will help streamline the entire patient visit process. It will also work within a clinic’s current system without any major disruption to your staff’s workflow. It should, in fact, help your staff be more efficient and give them more time to devote to patients that need more of their attention.
“The phenomenon of prospective college students’ motivation to attend college melting away during the summer between the end of high school and beginning of college.” (Wikipedia)
Does this sound familiar? Your Admissions department has done the monumental job of organizing campus visits, managing new student applications, and making sure accepted students had all the necessary application paperwork. The student registry is confirmed so now the next stage begins. Problem is on the first day of classes, the number of students that showed up for the start of school is much less than the intake number reported by Admissions. This is known as the summer melt.
As many as 20% of high school students that have been accepted to college do not show up for their classes at the start of the fall term. The reasons why such a dropoff occurs are varied. In the period between acceptance and start of the Fall term is a tenuous time of transition. Students have to sort their way through a small mountain of paperwork for things like financing and housing. Then there’s orientation, and class registrations to complete as well. Often all these activities are done without assistance and can be overwhelming.
A multitude of paperwork alone can cripple an accepted student’s follow-through to actually show up for classes. Then there’s the nerves of a new environment or the new challenge of independence. Assimilation into a new way of life can be daunting. The few months between acceptance and day one is the critical timeframe for propelling a student towards success.
Cooling The Melt
No matter if your institution is a community college, traditional university or business school, the end goal is getting those student to matriculation. Institutions must matriculate students as quickly as possible. However, mired in paper-based processes, all too often Admissions and Registrar offices struggle to keep up with the demand for assistance. Utilizing technology can help to improve the process for both the students and staff managing, student and recruitment.
A higher education institution may not be able to affect the volume of paperwork that needs to be completed by incoming or returning students, but there are other opportunities to improve summer melt. Providing digital channels for both prospective and enrolled students to communicate with advisors, admissions and the registrar’s office can improve not only attendance but also enrollment.
Multi-Channel Communication
A common complaint amongst administration staff is the difficulty of getting in touch with students. They are not always responsive to phone calls or emails. Millennials generally prefer to talk over text versus a voice conversation. In fact, 75% of Millennials think text is a helpful way to receive an appointment, delivery and payment reminders, as well as surveys an promotions.
Millennials are more interested in texting over other forms of communication because it’s less invasive, more personal, and makes them feel valued. (OpenMarket)
Incorporating text messaging as one of your institution’s communication channels can improve student response rates. Phone calls and emails can be supported by the addition of text messaging.
Self-Scheduling Convenience
Early retention and engagement actually starts from the date of acceptance. Emailing updates, answers to FAQs and links to resources can go a long way to making a good impression for your institution and can improve the probability of admitted students graduating and becoming valued alumni.
A couple of the areas an effective onboarding program will address are:
Student retention
Integration into the school culture or program
Easing adjustment to new surroundings or program
The onboarding process is not limited to a single day of orientation but recognizes that students enroll at different times, at different locations if your institution has more than one campus or even online. Online appointment automation can give campuses the flexibility to educate students at a time and manner that is most efficient as well as effective for both your department and your students.
51% of Millennials receive general appointment reminders via text messaging. (OpenMarket)
An effective online appointment scheduling solution provides the convenience of self-scheduling which is useful for important meetings with advisors, admissions or even the financial aid office. It will also not only offer appointment reminders across the two communication channels most commonly used by schools, email and phone, but also text. The student experience is improved and the reminders help curb no-shows.
Attract and Retain Through Engagement
Reducing the number of forms required to apply or even graduate from a higher education institution would befenit all parties involved. However, it would be a change that would be slow to come so it is best to focus on areas that can immediately be affected for improved student interaction.
Adding text messaging and online scheduling are two ways to help students to connect with your institution without too much effort, leaving them with a positive view of their experience.
Research shows that customers will pay more, buy more and be loyal to a company that delivers an excellent customer experience. Customer experience should not be confused with customer delight. When a company delights a customer, they are usually going above and beyond the customer’s expectations for a specific moment.
Customer Delight vs Customer Experience
Zappo’s customer service reps, who are called genies, are famous for their examples of customer delight. One of Zappo’s genies, Steve, is famous for having spent over 10 hours on the phone with a single customer. This act was going above and beyond that customer’s expectations and thoroughly delighting them.
Customer experience is the customer’s summary impression of a brand after several interactions. Sample interactions include a company’s website or social media posts. From these first touchpoints, the customer may go to a brick-and-mortar location to view the item in person. If the customer sees a product or offer online, then visits a store and finds the sales staff is unaware of the item or the item is not in stock, the customer is given a negative experience. Every interaction should make it easy for the customer to do business with your company. The customer experience does not end with a purchase either. Interactions with a company’s service or support departments need to still maintain focus on the customer, the brand promise and be obstacle-free.
Digital solutions play a significant role in the customer experience. They are instrumental in a modern customer experience strategy. Companies investing in these types of technologies that are made to cater to customer expectations will easily surpass their competitors.
Examples of removing obstacles for customers and delivering a seamless experience with digital solutions like AI, CRMs and online scheduling include offering services like reserving an item online and pick up in-store, sales and service knowing a customer’s purchase history and preferences, and allowing customers to schedule an appointment or join a virtual queue via mobile phone, website, or an on-site kiosk.
Delighting a customer is isolated to moments with a single customer. Customer experience is the consistency at every touchpoint along every customer’s journey with your entire organization.
The Numbers
This data is merely a sample of statistics spanning the past 5 years proving that customer experience is too valuable to get it wrong. Companies that are focused on a customer experience strategy and embracing digital solutions as a part of their strategy to meet customer expectations will easily surpass their competition.
When asking consumers what impacts their level of trust with a company, offering excellent customer service is ranked number one. (Zendesk) 2013
52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience. (Zendesk) 2013
Gartner predicts that 89% of businesses are expected to compete mainly on customer experience. (Gartner) 2014
Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increase in profits by 25% to 95%. (Harvard Business School) 2014
26% of companies leading financially use CX technologies, compared to 7% of laggards. (Bain) 2015
A customer experience promoter has a lifetime value to a company that’s 600 to 1,400% that of a detractor. (Bain) 2015
75% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a company that knows their name and purchase history and recommends products based on their preferences. (Accenture) 2016
54% of customers have higher expectations for customer service today compared to one year ago. This percentage jumps to 66% for consumers aged from 18 to 34 years old. (Microsoft) 2017
70% of consumers say they have already made a choice to support a company that delivers great customer service. (American Express) 2017
84% of organizations working to improve CX report an increase in revenue. (Dimension Data) 2017
47% of consumers have made the choice to switch to a different brand due to bad customer service within the last year. (Microsoft) 2017
33% of customers who abandoned a business relationship last year did so because personalization was lacking. (Accenture) 2018
Forty-two percent of consumers said they would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience, and 52% would pay more for a speedy and efficient customer experience. Of course, price and quality are still the top considerations when consumers make a purchase decision. (CMO) 2018
iLimitedIn Tyton Partners’ first annual survey on academic advising and planning in higher education, the focus was on how U.S. colleges and universities are using advising and planning technologies in pursuit of improved student guidance and retention rates. They reviewed the rate of adoption of these technologies in degree planning, analytics, and reporting and at-risk early alerts by surveying 1,400 administrators, advisors and faculty.
Change is Hard
The report revealed there is a disconnect between intent and action. A majority of institutions have the interest to utilize new technologies in their overall strategic plans however, it seems to be the adoption and execution of technologies is another matter.
Beyond battling with changing budgets and staff to student body ratios, advising departments must also battle for the attention of their student body.
The conclusion from the survey, released in 2016, was that technology would play an even bigger role in the drive for higher education institutions to retain students. Fast forward a few years and the data has changed dramatically. The 2019 survey results support the conclusion that technology would be a turning point for academic advising and planning in higher education.
Technology is Breaking Through
The adoption of technology has increased significantly from the initial survey to the current one. In 2015, the percentage of institutions that believe in the effectiveness of technology in advising efforts was only 32%. Four years later that percentage has almost doubled at 62% of those surveyed.
Student engagement has always stood out as a constant issue for academic advising offices. The 2015 survey reported that an overwhelming 88% of administrators surveyed saw student engagement as a barrier to better outcomes. From 2015 to 2017 the number reduced by over half to 40% and decreased incrementally to 32% in 2019.
Technology’s ability to affect student engagement with higher education staff is undeniable based on these figures. An institution’s ability to effectively support its student body is much better supported by integrating technologies into the process. Change can be hard and budgets can be tight but this data shows the long term payoff is there.
Customers are shopping online, in-store or both at the same time. Their expectations of brands have become more demanding in terms of the shopping experience they encounter. There is a wealth of touchpoints for a customer to connect with a brand and the customer expects their interactions to transition smoothly from one channel to the next no matter where they begin their journey – online or offline, on an app or with a customer service rep.
Omnichannel marketing allows traditional consumer companies to more effectively compete with their online-only counterparts. The value and returns created from an omnichannel strategy are greater than the initial investment in building out a seamless experience across multiple channels.
The following statistics deliver a compelling argument for any consumer-facing company, from retail to financial services, to invest in an omnichannel strategy.
Be Everywhere Your Customers Are
Omnichannel customers spend 4% more in-store and 10% more online than single-channel customers. For every additional channel they use, customers spend more money. (Harvard Business Review, 2017)
48% visit brand websites to research products. Younger consumers (37% of teens and 27% of Millennials) use video channels to research. (CMO, 2018)
49% of consumers buy from their favorite omnichannel brands at least once per week (Marketing Land, 2016)
Give Your Customers What They Want
9 out of 10 consumers want an omnichannel experience with seamless service between communication methods. (UC Today, 2019)
71% of consumers want a consistent experience across all channels, but only 29% say they actually get it. (Gladly, 2018)
Nine out of 10 consumers say they expect a seamless transition when moving from one communication method to another. (NICE inContact, 2018)
Omnichannel Investment Pays Off
Personalization at scale can drive between 5 and 15% revenue growth for companies in the retail, travel, entertainment, telecom, and financial services sectors. (McKinsey, 2017)
49% of consumers buy from their favorite omnichannel brands at least once per week (Marketing Land, 2016)
Businesses that adopt omnichannel strategies achieve 91% greater year-over-year customer retention rates compared to businesses that don’t. (Aspect Software, 2014)
Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel. (Google, 2014)
It’s Not Too Late
And here’s one more bonus statistic: According to Rakuten, 26% of companies have yet to take any action regarding an omnichannel strategy.
It generally costs a brand more to win a new customer than retain an existing one. With an omnichannel marketing strategy in place, brands can not only have an edge on their competition for new customers, but they can also build long-term loyalty amongst their existing customer base.
Omnichannel services continue to change the offers that retailers provide and the ways that consumers buy. The demands on retailers are changing in lockstep. Even as eCommerce sales grow, retailers must adjust to shrinking margins and customers’ cherry-picking the best deals. Mobile’s growing influence also affects consumer web and in-store sales, even when buyers are physically browsing the aisles of retailers.
Forester
The beginning of change for consumer-facing industries started in 1991 when the internet was opened to commercial use and eCommerce became mainstream. The next step in the transformation of retail came with the development of multichannel retailing.
Multichannel retailing evolved from the growth of e-commerce and the need to reach a wider audience anywhere and everywhere from a coffee shop to their sofas. We are now in the third phase of retailing with omnichannel retailing.
Omnichannel retailing is the next evolution of retailing. Fast becoming the standard retail strategy for major retailers, omnichannel retailing takes the method of customer engagement and selling a step further. It is the future of retail commerce.
Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel. (Google)
Omnichannel vs. Multichannel
A retail brand operating with a multichannel strategy will have a multitude of selling and engagement channels including a website, chat app, brick and mortar locations, a mobile app, digital advertising, and social media. The multichannel retailer uses each of these channels in different ways to push out the company objectives rather than serve their customer’s interests. This channel-centric manner of thinking may still get sales but this a short-term strategy compared to focusing on their customer’s interests and needs and winning long-term loyalty.
Enter omnichannel retailing. An omnichannel strategy may have the same set of channels but connects all these various touchpoints together for a more unified customer experience. The customer does not care about the tactics assigned to a retailer’s various channels. The lines between online and offline shopping are no longer distinct.
87% of customers think brands need to put more effort into providing a seamless experience. (Zendesk)
The Center of the Retail Paradigm Shift
A retail customer wants a retailer that offers a well-connected customer experience across every department and every channel it owns. Customers enjoy shopping in brick and mortar stores when they receive a consistent brand experience before the purchase and long after the purchase is complete. Brick and mortar success lies in delivering this holistic experience.
Companies with extremely strong omnichannel customer engagement retain on average 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer engagement. (Aberdeen Group)
The multichannel retail model is built around delivering a product. The omnichannel retail model building every resource at its disposal around the customer.
Retail brands must adapt to the shift
Rather than having every employee in a company silo themselves within their assigned departments, the omnichannel strategy best benefits the brand when their internal resources are aligned as well.
Data needs to be available and connected across channels and platforms. 77% of strong omnichannel companies store customer data across channels, compared to 48% for weak omnichannel companies. (Aberdeen Group)
Having a CRM, like Salesforce, provides not only a place for a marketing team to access customer data for ad campaigns but also for a customer service team to log a call history, and sales staff to log a customer’s important dates and preferences. Similarly, maintaining stock level information on products that are available in-store as well as online serves the customer’s expectations when shopping a brand.
Staff needs to be well-trained and equipped with the best tools. 45% of shoppers in-store expect sales associates to be knowledgeable about online-only products. (Forrester). 50% of shoppers expect that they will be able to make a purchase online and pick up in-store. (Forrester)
Your sales staff are your brand ambassadors. Besides training, providing tools like iPads with access to inventory and customer profiles gives them the opportunity to personalize their customer interaction.
Anther customer-centric service includes online appointment scheduling. Online scheduling lets a customer schedule an appointment with a sales rep of their choice to get their questions answered. Or perhaps they want to reserve an item online and then pick up in-store. A brand creates a high-end experience by letting the customer schedule a pickup time that is convenient for them.
Departments need to be cross-functional. 55% of companies have no cross-channel strategy in place. (The CMO Club).
The goal of cross-channel retailing is offering customers a convenient and flexible buying process. Nowadays a customer uses an average of almost six touch-points with nearly 50% regularly using more than four. If your brand has not connected all its resources it is not equipped to make the buying process seamless from any and every channel a customer uses.
This can lead to abandoned purchases. An example of cross-channel is a customer who may receive an email featuring a specific product and decide to read more in-depth information on a website. Then, the final purchase of this product is made in a brick & mortar store.
Meet Customer Expectation with Technology
Customers are smarter, have more choices and are savvier. Customer expectations have changed due to technology. This new retail paradigm directly impacts businesses. Mobile devices are empowering the customer with real-time information on products and pricing from the comfort of their homes or while they are shopping your store.
Interacting with your customers on a personal level and at their peak point of interest can create a brand experience that they will remember, perhaps even when they are shopping your competitor. By adapting to today’s customer shopping habits and expectations, retailers can secure engagement and brand loyalty in long into the future.
The research has consistently shown that a higher education institution’s student retention rate is directly affected by the quantity and quality of communication from their advising staff and teaching faculty. Admissions and advising offices that engage students early and regularly can have a significant impact on enrollment rates as well as a student’s probability of matriculating.
Admissions and advising offices that are proactive in enrolling and engaging new students are succeeding to do so with the assistance of technology. These are a few technologies that support and facilitate student engagement.
Self-Scheduling
There can be an endless amount of back and forth emails and phone calls for admissions counselors or advisors trying to schedule a meeting with a prospective or existing student. Providing online self-scheduling links on a webpage for key departments, in emails or text messages allows for meetings to be scheduled at a student’s convenience.
Appointments can be scheduled after office hours and booked into a staff member’s calendar based on their specific area of expertise. Advisors and admissions staff save time by not having to do all the work of setting an appointment with traditional tools. Self-scheduling software also employs automated appointment reminders which help with no-shows rates.
Text Messaging
This form of communication is by far the most popular among students and has higher interaction rates versus phone and email. Its effectiveness as a communication channel is simply put with over 90% of text messages being read within three minutes.
Text messaging with prospective students can help to remind them to complete any enrollment paperwork or other tasks they have forgotten to do. Text reminders can keep future students informed and focused, making sure the students are ready for the start of term and reducing student melt. For advisors, text messaging is a strong tool for advisors to build relationships and maintain connections with existing students. Consistent interactions with advisors can improve an institution’s graduation rates.
Video Conferencing
Sometimes a trip to a university campus is not convenient for a prospective student before applying. Providing prospective students with the ability to have a face-to-face meeting with an admissions counselor can be invaluable to a student. Besides getting assistance from a staff member who understands the application process, it can also have a positive effect on the student’s impression of the school.
Video conferencing or chat tools are very useful for virtual advising or coaching. Students get a more personalized advising experience from advisors that offer video chat. Students can have many obligations that occupy their time while attending school. The option of a video meeting can be valuable for students that cannot fit an in-person visit into their busy schedules.
Technology for Academic Success
Engaging and personalizing the student journey throughout the process of applications, course selection and management to the ultimate goal of matriculation can be positively enhanced by technology. Admissions and advisor offices have a multitude of demands to meet usually with a limited amount of resources. The right technologies can help better support their daily work, their students’ personal needs and their institution’s goals.
SUMO Experiences Over 200 Percent YOY Customer Growth as Appointment Automation Solution Brings Customer Satisfaction and Productivity Benefits to Multiple Industries
ATLANTA (April 30, 2019) — SUMO Scheduler, the #1 online appointment-scheduling solution built native on the Salesforce CRM platform, announced today key customer wins in Q1 2019 across a range of industries. Indicative of the company’s forward momentum, SUMO also reported that it has experienced over 200 percent year-over-year growth in its customer base since 2017. SUMO recently opened a European office to help facilitate continued growth outside North America as well. Among the new customer acquisitions in Q1 2019:
A multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company
A global provider of medical health insurance for travelers
The world’s leading cybersecurity company
A provider of high-quality, energy-efficient products for homes and businesses
A nonprofit offering assistance to the visually impaired
A global network of higher education services
A chain of full-service precision implant dentistry services
SUMO can help organizations streamline appointment-setting 24/7/365 from any device. It can be used to easily deploy “Schedule Appointment” buttons on websites, social media pages and in mass email campaigns, eliminating the frustration of having to wait for personal assistance.
“Appointment automation delivers numerous benefits for businesses, including employee productivity, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, revenue growth,” said Jason North, CEO and founder of SUMO Scheduler. “Our recent customer acquisitions represent a wide range of industries, spanning B2B, B2C and even nonprofit organizations. SUMO’s fluid design, ease of implementation and lack of heavy customization requirements make it the right choice for organizations of all sizes to attract and retain customers.”
The global appointment-scheduling software market was valued at $160 million USD in 2018 and is expected to reach $360 million USD by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of 15.1 percent between 2019 and 2024. SUMO runs in the cloud as a mobile-friendly, software-as-a-service solution. To schedule a call with a scheduling expert at SUMO Scheduler, go here.
SUMO Has Been Used to Set up Over 1,000 “New Customer” Orientation Meetings With Care Provider Clients Since its Implementation in October 2018.
ATLANTA, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Large pharmaceutical companies dedicate hundreds of hours each month to setting up new customers—typically care providers such as clinics and doctor’s practices—and orienting them to the products they may be prescribing or recommending. SUMO Scheduler, the #1 online appointment-scheduling solution built native on the Salesforce CRM platform, announced today that it is working with one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers to streamline the new customer onboarding process.
Previously, orientation meetings were scheduled by customer service agents at the manufacturer’s call center in Austin, Texas. But this manual process was inefficient for both the onboarding team and care providers. The company chose SUMO for automated appointment scheduling due to its fluid design, ease of implementation and lack of heavy customization requirements.
“SUMO has already been used by our customer to set up over 1,000 care provider orientation meetings since its implementation in October 2018,” said Jason North, CEO and founder of SUMO Scheduler. “Compared to having to go through a call center to discuss and agree on a meeting time, the onboarding process is now much faster and efficient for both pharmaceutical staff and new customers.”
Once care providers have been vetted and approved by the pharmaceutical manufacturer, they receive a welcome email with an embedded scheduling link provided by SUMO Scheduler. As a result, care providers are able to quickly and easily schedule their welcome and onboarding call. This gained efficiency also enables customer service agents to spend up to 35 percent more time on other tasks, including serving more care providers.
“SUMO lets our client automate the central customer engagement aspect of its business, making it easier for them to put their experts in direct contact with care providers,” North said. “In the healthcare industry, orientation meetings are of critical importance for strengthening relationships and giving medical professionals access to knowledge they need in their day-to-day practices.”
SUMO runs in the cloud as a mobile-friendly, software-as-a-service solution and offers a range of features to help businesses across many industries simplify and streamline appointment-setting.
To schedule a call with a scheduling expert at SUMO Scheduler, go here.
Insurers Report That SUMO Adds Up to 50 Percent More Appointments to Agents’ Calendars.
ATLANTA, Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — As insurance providers continue to face pressure to adopt efficient, secure and cost-effective technologies to maintain their competitiveness, many are also looking for new ways to streamline the path to the customer. This is why the U.S. leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite has chosen SUMO Scheduler, the #1 online appointment-scheduling solution built native on the Salesforce CRM platform.
According to Deloitte, seven out of 10 insurance carriers are now using cloud computing in their business as an integral part of their technology environment and business platform strategies. SUMO runs in the cloud as a mobile-friendly, software-as-a-service solution.
“Our insurance clients are reporting that SUMO Scheduler is adding up to 50 percent more appointments to their insurance agents’ calendars,” said Jason North, CEO and founder of SUMO Scheduler. “As you can imagine, appointment automation helps improve employee productivity, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, drives revenue growth.”
Prior to becoming a SUMO user, the insurance provider had always serviced its corporate clients by having agents at their sites during open enrollment periods to meet with interested employees and assist with the enrollment process. However, appointments were either scheduled manually or walk-in employees were met with on a first-come, first-serve basis, which was inconvenient if the insurance representative was already in a meeting. The provider wanted a way to automate appointment scheduling to improve customer service and engagement, and to ensure that the right number of agents are available on-site to handle needs.
SUMO provides the insurer with the ability to offer self-scheduling to their corporate customers. A self-scheduling link, shared with their employees, enables them to schedule an appointment directly on an agent’s calendar when it is convenient for them during the time the agent will be on-site for annual open enrollment periods. Automated reminders sent directly to the employee from the insurance agent help to ensure that they do not miss their appointment. SUMO further enables the insurance provider to pair specific agents with employees based on questions or needs, so that they get the expert assistance they require.
“Many of our clients’ core strategies in 2019 are to modernize customer engagements to drive revenue growth,” said Jason North. “A key tactic our customers are deploying to attract and retain customers is to offer Schedule Now technology to connect customers with experts fast. It only takes a moment to lose a customer, so streamlining the path to a conversation is absolutely key and the solution must be mobile friendly.”
To schedule a call with a scheduling expert at SUMO Scheduler, go here.
It may seem like the entire retail industry is still struggling but according to the Mastercard SpendingPuls report, holiday retail sales grew at their fastest pace in six years, topping $850 billion. Total holiday retail sales from Nov. 1-Dec. 24 rose 5.1% vs. a year earlier, with online spending surging 19.1%. This marks an increase from the 2017 holiday retail sales gain of 4.9% and online shopping growth of 18.1%. Drill down to specific categories though and the story begins to vary.
Electronics and appliances dropped 0.7% while home furnishings had an uptick of 2.3%.
Department store sales slid 1.3% from 2017, affected by store closures.
But the online sales were much more upbeat, with 10.2% holiday sales growth.
Now that it’s a new year, what are retailers doing to improve if they had a slip in sales or continue their momentum after the 2018 holiday season? It’s cheaper to focus on developing sales with existing customers. On the flipside, the fastest way for a brand to grow is to attract new customers. Or they can put in place a strategy aligned with both of these goals.
More than Customer Service
Customer experience is and will continue to be a major driving force in growing customer loyalty. The value of an excellent customer experience can substantially impact a brand’s identity as well as its bottom line. These are just a few of the tactics retailers use to build a great in-store and brand customer experience:
Face-to-Face Selling – Having knowledgeable sales associates who are helpful and informative create a real desire for return customer visits. A strong workforce can help a brand sell for the long run rather than a one-off. Most buying journeys start online with product and pricing research, however many purchases still are completed in a store. For high-value purchases, such as fine jewelry, this is especially true. Having a sales associate with strong product knowledge can, not only assure the customer and close the sale they can also compel a customer to return for future purchases.
74% of consumers globally and in North America think that knowledgeable in-store staff is important to their brand experience (Oracle).
In-store Experiences – This tactic is all about creating immersive and personalized experiences for the customer from the time they walk in the store. Brands that work to delight their customers from their first visit always benefit. Ulta offers a broad assortment of hair and beauty products. Besides offering these products, Ulta also offers in-store services such as hair, skin and brow treatments, differentiating itself from other retailers that sell beauty products.
80% of consumers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences (Source)
Retail Operations Technology – Perhaps the most overlooked tactic is a transformation within the not so exciting department of Operations. Technological integrations here can strengthen the customer experiences a retailer is offering.
Mobile POS Systems: Smartphone or Tablet-based POS systems allow sales staff to combat customer frustration and cart abandonment. Associates can break up a long queue and check customers out faster. These mobile systems allow sales associates to access a customer’s buying history, making personalized recommendations possible.
Analytics: These types of technologies are business intelligence investments that can inform and improve the customer experience. Smart camera and video analytics can help decide product placement, avoid overcrowding and minimize service times.
Customer Relationship Management Platform (CRM): The data captured in a CRM, including preferences and demographic data, enables segmentation and personalization. This data can inform the type of shopping environment a brand creates and allows a market segment or an individual to be targeted with promotions that appeal to them.
Scheduling Software: Another technology growing in adoption by retailers to evolve the customer experience is scheduling software. Currently used by 29% of the respondents in the NAPCO Media survey, this technology fits comfortably within the omnichannel direction retailers are taking in giving customers the experience they have come to expect. The value of this technology can contribute significantly to a brand’s customer experience strategy.
This technology plays a strong role in a brand’s omnichannel customer experience strategy, unifying online and offline interactions. Brands offering self-scheduling on their websites are not only creating a positive customer experience they are also helping shift their customers from an online visitor to an in-store shopper. The convenience of booking an in-store appointment online shows their customers their needs are a priority.
Self-scheduling an in-store appointment allows a retail customer:
to book an appointment at any store location
to have direct access to a knowledgeable sales associate
to skip the line or not wait in line at all
Exceed Your Customer’s Expectations
The Year of the Customer has been a yearly declaration over the past few years. Walker’s Customer 2020 report, however, forecasted the importance of the customer experience back in 2013.
“Enlightened companies must view the customer experience as a strategic, C-level initiative. In the future, the responsibility of a “chief customer champion” will become more common, serving one purpose – to create an unrelenting focus on the customer throughout the enterprise.”
Current data continues to reinforce the importance of a customer experience strategy. By pursuing excellence in the customer experience, there is no need to decide on whether to chase new customers or concentrate on existing ones. Managing the customer experience can serve both purposes. What is your brand doing to create personalized positive retail customer experiences?
Online Center Offers Expansive Knowledge Base and Instructional Content, Empowering Users to Get Even More from the Industry’s Top Online Appointment Scheduler.
ATLANTA, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — After months of cross-team collaboration, SUMO Scheduler announced today the launch of its Customer Success Community, an online support center with an expansive knowledge base and other instructional content aimed at helping users get the most from their SUMO experience. The new SUMO Customer Success Community offers:
Detailed FAQs for sales, admin, developers and users
Hundreds of knowledge articles
Dozens of training videos and webinars
A process to suggest and upvote new feature requests
An easy way to log a case for hands-on help from an expert
SUMO Scheduler is the industry’s number one online appointment scheduler built 100% native on Salesforce®. Trusted by top brands in the retail, insurance, finance, banking, higher education, and other industries, SUMO completely automates appointment scheduling on any device to increase appointment volume, drive revenue, and enhance customer satisfaction.
“Customer success is one of our six core values. It’s absolutely critical to us that our customers always have everything they need to be successful,” said Jason North, CEO of SUMO Scheduler. “Our new Customer Success Community gives users instant and easy access to all the resources they need. It also makes it easier for our customers to discover how others are using SUMO to drive growth.”
North added that he views the new Customer Success Community as a key value-add for SUMO users and a strong market differentiator.
According to Forrester, of all self-service channels, customers make the most frequent use of knowledge bases, which give them the ability to find the information they need when and how they want it. SUMO’s Customer Success Community is like a knowledge base “powered up” with an array of exciting new resources, such as quality videos and webinars. It delivers an efficient and effective way for users to resolve problems and become much more proficient with the solution than ever before.
