Getting a new channel up and running, can take a host of software engineers, installation experts and compliance analysts. But for some reason, when it comes to creating the channel’s content, there’s an industry-wide tendency to leave that writing job to whoever’s lingering near a keyboard at the time – which is typically office snacker Mike because it’s 5pm and he’s misplaced his gingernuts.
If it’s not immediately obvious why leaving content writing to Mike is a terrible idea, that’s okay, we just need to know that it is. And we need to remember that there’s something extremely liberating, as well as sensible, in hiring content experts to optimise our channels. Crucially, a channel is only as effective as the content it contains.
And let’s face it, there’s a million reasons why Mike’s content will fall short…
- Good content needs to keep up with the masses. The masses include Twitter users, instagram users, phone users. Oh and then there’s the people who prefer texting, the people who say “you can get me over email”, the people who have a penchant for a chatbot, the people who dally with portals, and the people who don’t believe a word of anything unless it’s formatted neatly into an FAQ. Good content needs to reach all of these people, by diversifying each and every time it interacts with them, according to the channel it travels through.
- Strong content will also be able to translate a constant stream of information in a concise and compelling way. Which is quite tiring, if your actual job is Team Leader.
- Efficient content creation means making sure there are NO ERRORS, because oh goodness gracious, customers who find a misplaced apostrophe might decide our FAQs are equally flawed.
- To write content for any given channel, we need to consider our audience, our message, our medium, and our purpose. We also need to do this with flair, and with our business’ bespoke tone of voice. It’s a lot of work,
But it’s not just about avoiding the pitfalls, it’s about making sure our shiny new channels deliver on their potential.
- Professional content writing will keep our channels CLEAN and FRESH. To put it bluntly, there is absolutely no point in investing in a brand-spanking-new chatbot, if that chatbot is going to roll out the same tired information that’s already failing to remove a workload from our agents. On the other hand, a writer deploying the principles of effective communication can empower the chatbot with up-to-date, powerful answers – freeing up our agents to deal with more technical enquiries.
- Content writing has the ability to CONNECT us more closely with our customers. As contact centres we need to do this very quickly. The Nielsen Norman Group found the average user typically leaves a page within 20 seconds unless the content grabs their attention (bkacontent.com). Captivating writing is a CRAFT which requires serious skill, so by leaning on the people who have it, we are giving our channels a better chance of fulfilling our customer’s needs, and so reducing agent workload.
- Even if we think we can knock up compelling content within our working hours, on top of our actual job, we might not be the best person to do this. Part of the role of a content writer is to eliminate jargon and unnecessary fluff from the words which reach our customers. Their OBJECTIVITY requires taking a step back from the heart of a business, and coming from a more UNIVERSAL PERSPECTIVE. It’s hard to do that when we’re on the inside, and we want to passionately include every piece of information we know about our industry. Content specialists are trained in the principles of effective communication to be economical, selective and bullseye accurate with the words they use – whilst still having an emotive impact, and the ability to influence customer actions.
- Effective content writing will keep our channels DISTINCT and VERSATILE. Content writers know how to wear many hats at once, which is crucial when a contact centre is trying to create an omnichannel experience through a plethora of mediums such as online portals, social media, texts and IVR mazes. That tango ain’t easy – so let’s leave it to people who can dance (and by dance, we mean write).
- Content writers will make our channels TIME-EFFICIENT, which in turn makes them worth their weight in gold. This time-saving magic happens in several ways:
- Our customers get their information more quickly and efficiently, because it’s been created and proofed by a professional writer in a dedicated turnaround.
- There’s no faffy time correcting misinformation or typos, because professional writers also know how to professionally proof.
- Our agents are saved the trouble of repeating themselves to customers, because those customers will have already found accurate information on other channels, eliminating the need to phone up.
- Mike can actually do the rota for once.
Writing effective, empowering content is difficult, but here’s the rub: without effective content our chatbots, FAQs, Knowledge Banks and IVRs will never reach their potential. So, let’s give Mike a break, let him do what he does best and instead challenge Adexchange to demonstrate what’s possible…