3 Problems That White-Glove Customer Service Can Solve in Senior Living
Despite being a key determinant of a technology’s ROI, customer success is often overlooked by communities when they shop for technology.
Why? The reasons vary. A major one is that customer service isn’t a feature you can just tick a box on – like a PointClickCare integration. It’s harder to measure. But, again, that doesn’t diminish its importance.
Here, we spell out three costly problems that an attentive customer service team can fix – and how this customer service can improve the experience for every member of your community.
1. Ineffective Tech Implementation Processes
In many cases, when senior living communities adopt tech, they do so to save time. Maybe that’s by automating calendar management or simplifying wellness check-ins. The specific tactics may change, but the goal remains the same.
So what happens when a community, in dire need of time, must adopt technology? They use existing implementation plans. They recycle old how-to guides. They rely on what’s already available.
Why? Because coming up with a comprehensive implementation plan on your own is time consuming. And if you don’t know how vital an effective implementation is to the long-term success of your senior living technology, you likely don’t know if your existing implementation process cuts it.
Customer service teams know that, though. They can advise you on how to best deploy your new technology without stacking too much work on your – or your staff members’ – plate. In real terms, this might look like recommending that you use a resident pilot group to test the waters.
Not only can pilot groups help evangelize the tech in your community, but they also highlight key insights about the tech itself. These insights may range from the specific (the font is too small) to the general (the platform is hard to understand). Every bit of feedback in this case helps inform your broader implementation strategy, like how much training you need to offer or your adoption timeline.
2. Low Technology Adoption among Residents
Let’s say you created a thorough, intuitive implementation process on your own. You even brought in an outside tech consultant to review your plan. It ticked all the boxes. But, months after implementation, resident adoption rates have plateaued. And they never rose all that high to begin with. You’re looking for answers, but your vendor’s customer service team doesn’t offer much additional support beyond mass emails announcing new products.
A white glove customer service team wouldn’t put you in this situation – for a few reasons. That’s because they’d…
- Anticipate your needs. If you’re experiencing lower-than-expected adoption rates, a white glove customer service team would immediately spot this trend and reach out.
- Check in regularly. One staple of white glove customer service: regular meetings with clients. This gives both parties an opportunity to share necessary updates, whether that relates to a new product feature or a slight dip in adoption figures.
- Offer ongoing training opportunities. Some resident adoption issues require more than the occasional email to solve. Sometimes residents need additional training. A white glove customer service team will offer it.
Technology can make every aspect of residents’ lives easier. But if your residents aren’t using that tech, it can’t make a difference. The right customer service team will continuously seek out new ways of boosting resident adoption and satisfaction.
3. Middling ROI on Technology Investments
It goes without saying: if people aren’t using your technology, it’s not driving value.
Now, some of this comes down to finding the right form of technology. If you, for example, adopted a digital calendar when you really needed a full engagement platform, you might not see the ROI you were expecting.
But your technology’s ROI largely comes down to customer service. That’s because your vendor’s customer success / service team should be hyper focused on value extraction – on helping you get the most out of your technology. (Note: an exemplary customer service team would also help you find the right piece of tech for your community.)
In the day to day, that value extraction means constantly reviewing tech metrics (user logins per month, time spent using the tech, etc.). That means setting aside time to discuss your current initiatives. That means finding ways to highlight the business outcomes of using technology (e.g., reduce print material spend by 18 percent).
Put simply, white glove customer service will ensure you have the right technology for your community and that it’s ultimately driving revenue.
Any specific problems that your customer support has solved? Any problems that it’s created? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience and share your insights – either on the blog or on our LinkedIn. Email Icon’s marketing team here if you’d like to share!
You’re Not Just Buying Senior Living Technology; You’re Also Finding the Right Partner
Sure, there’s the hardware and the software. You’re, no doubt, buying that. But today, especially in senior living, you need effective customer support to adopt technology. In a lot of ways, discovery calls and demos aren’t just opportunities to hear about a product; they’re interviews.
Each call gives you more information on a vendor. Do they reply to emails quickly? Are they only mentioning self-service tools – not onsite training demonstrations? Are they trying to find the perfect tech fit for your community, or are they just upselling?
Every takeaway, at each stage of the buying process, gives you insights into who you’re partnering with. And you should take note. The more supportive your vendor, the more likely their tech is going to improve residents’ lives.Want to hear about Icon’s approach to customer success? Check out this roundtable blog with our Customer Success leaders. Or reach out to see what differences white glove support and all-in-one tech can make for you.