Putting Customers at the Center of Contact Centers

For a long time, contact centers have been a “check the box” for many healthcare companies. Whether providing medical, patient support, or access information, much of the focus has been on outbound rather than inbound customer interactions. 

Due to changes in access, however, contact centers are emerging as a key, direct point of contact between brands and their customers.

Today, on average, 30% of inbound calls result in a reportable regulatory event (adverse event, product quality complaint, or both). Of those calls, at least 60% could be more patient-centric, more streamlined, and/or more valuable to the customer, whether patients or HCPs.

Contact centers are responsible for one of the most valuable kinds of customer touch-points: unsolicited, customer-initiated interactions.

So why have so few companies failed to treat contact centers as a strategically important customer touchpoint?

Consider this simple formula: Value = Benefits – Cost

In the “traditional” commercial approach which is company-led and a combination of consultative and transactional, the emphasis is on outbound. Outbound and inbound activities are managed separately. The focus is on selling product features with benefits that are “fixed”, limiting the value for customers.

However, with a customer-centric approach that is patient-led and consultative, outbound, and inbound activities are more closely coordinated. Customers are engaged through a more personalized experience, delivering benefits above and beyond the product alone. This expedites decision-making and leads to significantly greater value for the customer as well as increased loyalty, adherence, and persistence.

Also, as customers, especially patients, become more active in treatment decisions (including both medications and medical devices), they expect to interact with healthcare companies with the same ease and convenience they experience in other areas (e.g. retail).

We believe that healthcare companies need to take a more customer and service-oriented approach. Consider these strategic and operational questions:

·       What types of inbound interactions would create more value for customers?

·       What new skills, tools, and processes are needed to support a seamless customer experience?

·       How can best practices and technology, such as the use of AI, help transform contact centers into a valuable strategic asset for both you and your customers?

By putting the Spotlight on patients, Luminous can help you drive a customer-led approach, balancing inbound and outbound, and creating more value for customers and your business.