Resources / Blog

How to Use Emails to Improve Customer Experience and Engagement

May 29, 2018

As more companies expand their international presence, one of their biggest challenges is developing and maintaining sustainable engagement with overseas customers. The days of personal customer interaction at a retail level are long gone, and worldwide live phone support is prohibitively expensive for all but a handful of companies. Social media is a helpful way to stay in touch and market your products and services, but it’s not a secure option for confidential or sensitive information. This leaves email as the most practical option for secure customer correspondence, marketing and support.

It may seem old-fashioned, but email is still one of the most powerful and affordable tools in your arsenal. Connecting via email creates tremendous opportunities to build lasting customer engagement and secure long-term brand loyalty. However, to be effective, it has to be done right.

Worth the investment

Sending emails out is free. But email support teams, automated platforms, and copywriters who can craft effective client communications cost time and money. Another potential cost is translating those emails for global customers. This may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it is an important investment that can result in strong personal relationships with customers all over the world. For example, according to Common Sense Advisory’s “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” report, 74% of customers are more likely to become repeat buyers if they receive post-sales support in their native language.

Multilingual email support is not only good for repeat business – happy and loyal customers have the potential to bring you new business through referrals and recommendations. According to a 2014 American Express study, 46% of customers with a satisfying customer service experience share their positive feelings with an average of eight friends. The same survey found that 42% of buyers consider a recommendation from a friend or family member to be a compelling reason to do business with a new company. In fact, the data shows word of mouth is a stronger incentive than a sale or promotion.

And yet, an shocking 62% of companies don’t even respond to customer emails, says the 2018 Customer Service Benchmark Report from SuperOffice. This, quite simply, leads to angry and frustrated customers and lost opportunities.

Email ups and downs

Email is a fantastic tool for customer correspondence because it is available 24/7s. Regardless of when a customer wants to get in touch — or in what time zone they live — they can always send an email. That’s the upside.

The downside is the potential lag in response time. According to the SuperOffice study mentioned above, it takes an average of 12 hours and 10 minutes for a customer to get a response to an email query. Of course, response times vary across different types of organizations, but taking too long to respond is bad for business. It risks the customer losing interest and can affect your reputation.

5 tips for responding effectively

Customers often reach out with urgent requests or issues. It’s important that the email response is timely and makes them feel like they have the attention of an account rep or agent within the company, who is an advocate working to make sure their needs are met. Here are five tips on how to accomplish that:

1.  Instant auto-reply – In many cases, companies simply don’t have the capacity to provide an immediate response to every customer correspondence. By setting up an auto-reply, you can give customers peace of mind that you have received their email and you can let them know when to expect a full response (e.g. 1-2 business days). Your auto-reply email can also include links to commonly asked questions or additional support resources. Sadly, 90% of companies don’t bother taking this simple step to acknowledge receipt of customer emails, says SuperOffice.

2.  Don’t use boilerplates – When you are ready to actually respond, don’t use boilerplate text. More often than not, pre-written copy just doesn’t cut it. If a customer or prospect took the time to write you an email, you will appear disinterested if your response doesn’t really apply to their specific situation. This can be a major turnoff to customers and lead to an unnecessary loss of business. Instead, invest in personalized customer support.

3.  Stay on topic – Once you’ve established a customer support team, it’s critical that they read each submission carefully and thoughtfully. There’s nothing more frustrating to a customer than patiently waiting for an email response, only to get one that doesn’t answer the question being asked. This is even more exasperating for customers engaged in a back-and-forth email exchange.

4.  Single point of contact – Encourage your support team to establish direct relationships with customers. You can do this by allowing them to respond from personalized email addresses instead of anonymous company accounts (e.g. [email protected] instead of [email protected]). Be sure to set up an email signature with the employee’s name in it so customers feel like they are connecting with a real human being, not a bot. Then, if future queries arise, the customer can contact that same support member – without the annoyance of having to provide their information again or repeat the circumstances of their query.

5.  Negative comments – Your support team must be trained on how to correctly respond to negative or angry correspondence. This is where the three A’s of customer service come into play: acknowledge, align and assure. First, acknowledge the customer’s frustration, then align with them by agreeing that you would feel the same way in their situation, and finally assure them that the problem will be resolved.

Multilingual customer correspondence

When your organization becomes international, responding to customers in different languages and time zones can seem quite daunting. This is where an experienced language service provider (LSP) can make a huge difference to your workload and to the customer experience.

Well-established LSPs have global networks of qualified translators familiar with local cultures and dialects. They can translate and localize outgoing correspondence skillfully so that it will resonate with your customers, and address their cultural expectations. Offering multilingual email support for every relevant market can help organizations keep customers engaged and satisfied on a truly global scale.

 

Resources / Blog

GDPR Compliance Infographic

May 22, 2018

There are many aspects of GDPR compliance that require organizations to implement systemic changes in order to ensure data privacy and security. One of the most far-reaching aspects is language and comprehension. If you need help translating your data policies and procedures to ensure GDPR compliance, contact Morningside today.

Resources / Blog

GDPR Considerations for the Healthcare Industry

May 16, 2018

The EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force next Friday, on May 25, 2018. With hefty, if not crippling, fines for non-compliance, it is imperative that all businesses and healthcare organizations comply with the new legislation.

What is GDPR?

Considered the “most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years” by the EU’s GDPR Portal, this new law replaces the Data Protection Act of 1998 (DPA) in determining how personal data can be used. In an increasingly data-driven world, its aim is to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches by requiring organizations to be transparent and accountable when processing data whilst also increasing the rights of individuals to know, and have better control over, the uses of their personal data.

The trouble with healthcare

Given the vast amounts of patient data held within the healthcare industry, it is highly susceptible to data breaches. Indeed, between January 2014 and December 2016, healthcare organizations accounted for 43% of all reported incidents, with the number of breaches rising by 11% in the first quarter of 2017.

With the new GDPR imposing a fine of up to €20 million (nearly USD 24 million) or 4% of annual global turnover – whichever is higher – for data breaches, compliance is of the utmost importance.

The other significant change is in scope – GDPR is applicable to all companies processing the personal data of data subjects residing in the EU, even if the organization itself is based outside of the EU. As such, all organizations need to consider their operations globally.

What do organizations need to do?

Most of the measures that healthcare organizations need to implement are process-related, such as amending policies and submitting documentation to the regulator identifying where data is stored. Here are four of the key GDPR requirements you should know about:

  • Consent – Data subjects’ consent needs to be “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous” which will require every organization to review and update their consent procedures, including their consent forms, to ensure they are written in plain and clear language.
  • Purpose limitation – Organizations can only use data for purposes to which the patient has agreed, and organizations must be able to prove that they have safeguarded data correctly as part of the individual’s right to access.
  • Privacy by design – Rather than being an add-on once a system has been implemented, data protection should instead be included in the designing of the system so that “appropriate technical and organizational measures” are implemented “in an effective way.”
  • Training staff – Given the increased obligations under the GDPR, everyone within an organization needs to have a level of data protection awareness training — not just management. Training should cover data protection guidelines and a detailed outline of internal responsibilities.

Updating your policies and processes

All of the above changes will need to be implemented by May 25 to avoid fines, however, many of them relate to training and business awareness. These will need to be embedded into an organization over a longer period of time through the introduction and maintenance of up-to-date training. Producing such training for all members of your global organization may seem daunting, especially if you have multiple offices in multiple countries speaking multiple languages. However, enlisting an experienced language service provider like Morningside can make all the difference in reducing the stresses surrounding major regulatory changes. Morningside’s life sciences team has the regulatory knowledge and subject-matter expertise to ensure high-quality ISO-13585 certified localized training content.

Additional regulations

GDPR is only one of several regulatory reforms for which the healthcare industry needs to prepare. For example, manufacturers of connected medical devices will also need to address changes arising from the twin EU Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices (IVDR) updates — and how implementation will affect GDPR.

For example, the underlying concerns of privacy by design in the GDPR are: confidentiality, utility and integrity of data. In other regulatory frameworks governing medical devices, the focus shifts to dealing with possession or control of devices or the safety of people and assets. As such, if a business is working on its privacy by design under the GDPR, it may also need to assess the impact of MDR and IVDR at the same time to avoid re-writing processes and re-configuring systems to comply with the additional regulations.

Looking ahead, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Clinical Trial Regulation and the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (EUFMD) will come into force in 2019. After that, the EMA has begun a phased program to implement ISO IDMP standards for the identification of medicinal products. Companies will need to comply with each of the relevant individual regulations as well as considering the interplay with GDPR. For help aligning your organization’s compliance training programs and/or marketing materials, contact Morningside and we will be happy to help.

 

Resources / Blog

Morningside IP files one of the first PCT Applications in Kuwait

May 08, 2018

The Patent Office of Kuwait officially started accepting Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications on March 27, 2018. Less than two weeks later, on the 8th of April, Morningside IP proudly became one of the first companies in the world to file a PCT application in Kuwait.

How did we get here?

Until now, Kuwait was only a part of the Paris Treaty Convention as a member of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). With the change in Kuwait’s PCT status, Swedish patent law firm Eriksson Patent AB reached out to Morningside IP to assist in filing a PCT application for an entrepreneur and inventor duo in the automotive industry.

Eriksson Patent AB said it was important to their client to file in Kuwait because of its proximity to oil production. This could play a major role in attempts to monetize the patent, for instance through a joint venture in the country.

The PCT and the GCC

Kuwait became a member of the PCT on June 9, 2016. At the time, it was the 149th Contracting State of the PCT. Since Kuwait’s accession, Djibouti, Cambodia and Jordan have also joined – increasing the current total of PCT member states to 152.

Kuwait is also one of six Middle Eastern countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The other GCC member states are: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Kuwait was the final GCC member state to ratify the PCT.

The regional GCC Patent Office has been operational since 1998. However, even though all GCC member states are now members of the PCT, it is not yet possible to regionally file a PCT application through the GCC Patent Office. As such, those who wish to nationalize a PCT application in any GCC member state must do so in each country individually.

National phase entry in Kuwait

Here are some of the key patent filing requirements you need to know about for PCT national phase entry in Kuwait:

  • Only PCT applications filed on or after September 9, 2016 will automatically include the designation of Kuwait.
  • The time limit to file a PCT application in Kuwait is 30 months from the priority date.
  • Applications must be submitted in Arabic.
  • An Arabic translation (no certification necessary) can be submitted 90 days after filing.
  • A power of attorney is required, and must be legalized by a Kuwaiti consulate, or in its absence, at the consul of any other GCC member state or Arab country.

The Morningside IP advantage

We know the PCT national phase entry process can seem daunting and expensive for those seeking patent protection in multiple countries. To simplify the process, Morningside IP provides a one-stop shop for PCT national phase entry in all 152 contracting states, reducing the administrative burden for our clients and offering substantial cost savings on translation and agency fees. Our PCT national phase service utilizes top-tier foreign agents in each target country and functions as a hub for foreign filing throughout the world. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

 

Resources / Blog

eLearning in the Workplace

May 08, 2018

Here’s a helpful infographic on how eLearning can reduce costs, increase engagement and help you make the most of your corporate training programs.