How quality customer service leads to growth
The pandemic fueled a spike in demand as consumers relied on online channels to shop, communicate, and stream from their homes like never before. Using grocery shopping as an example, from March to June of 2020, sales grew from $4 billion to $7.2 billion. Furthermore, activities such as shopping on Facebook and Instagram also increased. The past several months forced companies to quickly adapt their strategies. Companies that haven’t taken the effort to meet their customers’ needs must be prepared to keep up with the increasing volumes in this evolved landscape.
Adapting their strategies, customer service teams will be prepared to meet consumer demands, and interact on channels they use the most to build customer relationships and loyalty. It has been often believed that customer service only solves customer problems, which is not the case. Representatives are also brand advocates who can turn interactions with customers into a relationship-building exercise, ultimately helping companies better understand their customers. Customer service teams can help companies grow by providing proactive customer service, managing customer expectations, personalizing the experience, and gathering customer insights.
Support Customer Demands With Proactive Customer Service
In the last year, customer volumes almost doubled, which meant that customer service teams had to expand the number of representatives to support customers while also connecting with customers across social, digital, and analog channels. More customer interactions doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to manage higher volumes—it just means proactive customer service is increasingly more important. Representatives can serve inquiries on the phone, chat, and social media. They can also solve issues proactively through automatic call backs and schedule a convenient time to talk.
Be Transparent to Manage Customer Expectations
Customer inquiries and communications grew during the pandemic, which led to longer hold times causing frustration amongst customers. Transparency and communication become key to providing an excellent experience and managing customer expectations. Representatives can accomplish this by responding to customers to inform them of any delays or options for next steps, such as receiving automatic call backs.Customers expect brands to take action to manage expectations, and are more understanding when representatives are transparent.
Compete in a Crowded Space with a Personalized Customer Experience
Companies can use their resources to build customer relationships by being personable. Representatives are often the first (or only) direct touchpoint with customers, so they’re responsible for delivering a personalized experience that builds loyalty, which is important for all brands. For example, with many businesses and locations closing throughout 2020, more independent businesses have popped up and are competing directly with big brands. This means that personalization can show that companies of all sizes can connect on a personal level and genuinely build strong relationships.
Build Your Strategy By Understanding Consumer Behavior
When managing growth, there is no better way to understand your customers than by studying interactions. Representatives can get insights just by having conversations to improve experiences and offerings through questions like: Why did the customer purchase an item? Why are they returning it? Would they have preferred something else? Companies can get ahead of future needs by gathering insights around product and service preferences. A robust and methodical approach to customer service prepares teams to handle current volumes and expected future growth. Customer service teams can become a critical asset by being proactive, managing customer expectations, and providing a personalized experience.
This topic was recently explored by Fara Haron, Majorel’s Regional CEO, North America, Ireland, South East Asia, United Kingdom, Kenya and India in a piece entitled, “The Surprising Ways Companies Can Manage Growth through Customer Service” for CustomerThink.
