{"id":6663,"date":"2019-05-23T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T10:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=6663"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:55:01","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:55:01","slug":"interview-paolo-fabrizio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Paolo Fabrizio \u2013 Selling with Customer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paolo Fabrizio,<\/b>\u00a0is an experienced digital and social customer service consultant, trainer, author and speaker.\u00a0In the \u201990s, was part\u00a0of the first online insurance company in Italy covering many different customer-facing roles. From his\u00a0blog\/podcast<\/a> to his books,\u00a0Paolo\u00a0is an insightful customer experience<\/a> speaker and\u00a0lecturer at Unimib Bicocca University in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

In this interview, Paolo\u00a0guides us through\u00a0major customer service dynamics, how to\u00a0amplify excellent customer experiences,\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0engaging with customers.<\/b><\/p>\n

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sure, I help brands leveraging Digital Customer Service with a strategic goal: turning \u2018support\u2019 into a business driver to retain and attract customers.\u00a0My main activities are consulting, training plus speaking and writing books<\/b>. Prior to that, I\u2019ve spent over 20 years in companies covering a vast array of customer facing roles; that allowed me to gain thorough expertise of major customer service dynamics.<\/p>\n

To you, how important is Customer Service for companies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yesterday it used to be important, even though often underrated, today has become paramount. Like it or not,\u00a0we\u2019re dealing with digital-savvy consumers who have dramatically raised their expectations bar:<\/b>\u00a0reading online reviews and support interactions before deciding whether or not becoming customers. Moreover, they put to the test brands in every single interaction. That\u2019s why today it\u2019s crucial taking care of every single conversation, regardless of the support channel or the customer itinerary (pre-sales, sales, post-sales) in order to consolidate customer\u2019s trust.<\/p>\n

\"Importance<\/p>\n

You wrote two\u00a0customer service books in 3 years. Why did you do that and what different topics do they cover?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First off, let me tell you that writing books it\u2019s been an exciting experience for me. In 2015 I wrote \u2018La Rivoluzione del Social Customer Service<\/a>\u2018 to raise awareness in Italy about the topic by showing best practices of those brands who had already successfully embraced it. I\u2019ve also explained that\u00a0social networks can be powerful support channels to amplify excellent customer experiences<\/b>\u00a0since conversations are public. As for my latest book \u2018Vendere con il Servizio Clienti<\/a>\u2018 , the title is self-explanatory (\u2018Selling with Customer Service\u2019). It\u2019s a strategic manual focussed on three main topics: turning support conversations into business, delivering Digital Customer Service, investing in employees skills and technology and, last but not least, spreading customer service culture across all departments.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also admin of the LinkedIn Network \u2013 Social Customer Service (SCS Italia) \u2013 How did you build it and what insights can members expect to see?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The group is open to those professionals\u00a0wanting to dive into Digital \/ Social Customer Service and exchanging views and experiences.<\/b>\u00a0Every day you can find fresh, exclusive content (articles, podcasts, whitepapers, videos) that can help them strategically and operationally use. We\u2019re currently\u00a0over 500 international professionals<\/b>\u00a0and as the group is growing, I\u2019m going to introduce new interactive features\u2026as soon as LinkedIn will enable me to use them. Feel free\u00a0to join us<\/a>, we\u2019re always happy to welcome new members.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most significant change in terms of customer behavior you\u2019ve observed lately?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The perception of time. Customers, thus all of us, have become impatient: they are not willing anymore to wait to get in touch with customer service, so that they use digital channels to instantly deliver their query or complaint. Immediately after, the hourglass starts\u2026when will I get my response? Then, will it fix the problem or will it be just a standard reply \u2018we\u2019ll let you know as soon as possible\u2019?\u00a0Nowadays customers want fast and resolutive responses<\/b>\u00a0and that\u2019s a real challenge for many brands.<\/p>\n

What would be your top advice to deliver a remarkable Customer Service?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t take customers expectations for granted because they\u2019re constantly changing. So keep on engaging and listening to them to understand how they\u2019re changing (behaviors) what products\/services they appreciate or desire to have and what digital channels they use\/wish to use to get support. To give you an example a few years ago KLM airways introduced Messenger as\u00a0new customer servicer channels after realizing that over 70% of their passengers actively use that app.<\/b>\u00a0My top advice is then do deliver great customer experiences regardless of the number of support channels you\u2019re offering.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Why do you think it\u2019s important building a Digital Customer Service Team?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Because even the most experienced agents on traditional channels (phone, email) are not ready to manage online conversations with customers.\u00a0They need to have and develop specific skills<\/b>\u00a0such as excellent, concise writing skills, empathy and emotional intelligence just to name some of them. In fact, based on my experience, only a small number of agents are fit to become digital customer assistants. That\u2019s why I help most of my clients building their own Digital Customer Service team: Choosing the most talented and motivated people (hiring) and training them to use the right tone of voice as per channel. Because\u00a0it\u2019s what you say and how you say it that makes the difference in terms of customer satisfaction and<\/b>\u00a0productivity (number of interactions need to close the conversation). Another plus is that you build know-how that you can use again when new team members will join in.<\/p>\n

According to you, what will be the key Digital Customer Service trends for the next 12 months?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Instant messaging apps will spread as support channels.<\/b>\u00a0WhatsApp has recently let their APIs available to digital omni-channel platforms and that\u2019s a milestone that will\u00a0speed up the adoption for many B2C companies, especially in Europe.<\/b>\u00a0Other messaging apps, such as Messenger and Telegram are bound to play their part in the forthcoming 12-24 months. I think it will be exciting following the evolution of Digital Customer Service and I\u2019ll be doing it when meeting clients and peers \u2013 looking forward to speaking at the\u00a0Customer Service Summit<\/a>\u00a0in London next September. Hope to meet you up there!<\/p>\n

To discover more about Paolo, his\u00a0first<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0second<\/a>\u00a0books, plus key expert insights. Visit his\u00a0website<\/a>, follow him on\u00a0Twiter<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0too.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paolo Fabrizio,\u00a0is an experienced digital and social customer service consultant, trainer, author and speaker.\u00a0In the \u201990s, was part\u00a0of the first online insurance company in Italy covering many different customer-facing roles. … Read more “Interview with Paolo Fabrizio \u2013 Selling with Customer Service”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":6666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Paolo Fabrizio \u2013 Selling with Customer Service | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paolo Fabrizio, is an experienced digital and social customer service consultant, trainer, author and speaker.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Interview with Paolo Fabrizio \u2013 Selling with Customer Service | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"Paolo Fabrizio, is an experienced digital and social customer service consultant, trainer, author and speaker.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cc4f043d2b478862a8622c28b0ebd08c"},"headline":"Interview with Paolo Fabrizio \u2013 Selling with Customer Service","datePublished":"2019-05-23T10:00:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-16T17:55:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-paolo-fabrizio\/"},"wordCount":1023,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Business Trends - 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