How do I manage it without moving from home? News

Follow our news and events

How do I manage it without moving from home?

...in the Country where one in four people doesn't even have access to the internet, according to Agência Brasil, based on data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), will everyone be really prepared to use digital tools to solve problems, communicate or shop on a daily basis? From what we see in contact center services, the answer is no.

Data: 09.09.2020
How do I manage it without moving from home? How do I manage it without moving from home?

By Nelson Armbrust*

It is a fact that the world is going through a process of digital transformation, enterprises are increasingly investing in means of problem solving, sales and more services that can be performed remotely. Customers, on the other hand, are spending much more time on their mobile phones than in queues at stores and bank branches. The Covid-19 pandemic and the need for social isolation has been accelerating this process. Figures from AppsFlyer, a global application data measurement company, reveal that, between March and May 2020, the use of bank financial applications increased by an average of 53%, purchases increased by 80% in facilities and 50% in revenue.

But in the Country where one in four people doesn’t even have access to the internet, according to Agência Brasil, based on data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), will everyone be really prepared to use digital tools to solve problems, communicate or shop on a daily basis? From what we see in contact center services, the answer is no.

Guiding and providing this digital inclusion of Brazilian consumers in the remote solution of their needs, whether through digital channels or over the voice channel, has been a great demand in the customer service segment since the beginning of the pandemic period. Many people did not know how to use digital media, due to the lack of skills or access, and were used to going to stores, agencies, etc. When they no longer had this option of physical space, being forced to interact through digital means, many questions arose.

At AlmavivA do Brasil we found that the increase in requests is directly related to the use of digital channels. In a large company in the financial sector, which before the pandemic had an average of requests per contact by 1.7, saw an increase during isolation to 2.9. That is, it almost doubled. Since the vast majority of these new requests are related to the use of the digital banking channels, such as credit card bills and payments via App, for example.

For a customer in the mobile segment, we are receiving almost 1 million additional calls from people who previously used to change their SIM cards in stores and abruptly stopped having this option, also needing to use digital service channels for guidance on using their phone & Internet provider App.

Senior as well as lower-income customers are among the people with the most difficulties in dealing with digital applications and media. According to a survey carried out by the Instituto Locomotiva, a research and strategy institution in São Paulo, people over 60 are those who mostly got out during quarantine. Among the reasons for this: the difficulty of using technology to make purchases and payments.

It caught my attention to see on television an anxious elderly woman, queuing at the mall, on the first day of reopening, to pay an overdue bill at the store. It is for these people that the customer experience segment has provided an essential service, by helping and teaching these customers so that they do not have to take any risk. Those who answer the phone, answer the chat and e-mail of several companies have the role of helping people and supporting the entire process of digital inclusion.

* Nelson Armbrust is Deputy President of the Board of Directors at AlmavivA do Brasil, one of the Country’s largest companies.