31 Aug The Changing Landscape of Customer Experience during COVID-19
Customer experience plays a major role in driving the growth and sales of any business. When an organisation provides high-quality services, it attracts the target customers who in turn, recommend it to others and so on. Modifying the conventional methods of communication can change the game and shoot a company’s sales. There are several ways for a business to thrive but customer retention is one of the best strategies for growth.
A survey conducted by PNAS(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) showed that 43% of small businesses have temporarily shut down during the novel Coronavirus pandemic. If you are looking for ways to sustain your business, you first need to change the way you serve your customers.
In a time where everyone is afraid for their lives, you cannot really expect skyrocketing sales. You have to rethink and come up with strategies that will ensure customer retention during the pandemic. Let us get started with what you are looking for.
We have listed down the best methods that will help in delivering customer experience in the COVID outbreak.
1)Drive towards empathy rather than sales
At present, customers want support and a caring hand that will pull them through the difficult times. Your business needs to be the brand which people can trust and have faith in. Support your customers with positive messages, reach out to people who have been affected by COVID and create small awareness programs to educate the mass.
Also, try to donate to benevolent organisations like WHO and NGOs that support the common mass with medications, food or shelter. Make it a point to appreciate the efforts of health workers and others who are actively working amidst the pandemic. You might wonder how it is going to help customer experience?
Well, these selfless acts will ingrain trust among your customers and they will be much more likely to buy from you. Keep your customers informed about the ways you are supporting organisations and helping people. People are sensitive to such kindness and they too will support you by promoting your business. This is the most common method several companies have applied to sustain their business and have retained their customers.
2)Grow your online presence
Promoting your business online is a no-brainer. Surveys show that 80% of the millennials admit to spending more time on social media. Since you cannot promote your business in a conventional way, going online is the wisest strategy you can adopt.
You can create catchy posts, post online quizzes and promote your products online. It is high time you revamp your website and make your app user-friendly. If you still haven’t taken these steps, your business is missing out a lot. To further increase engagement, arrange a few giveaways so that more people are actually interested in viewing your business.
3)Support and interact with your employees
A strong team is what keeps a business going. It is very crucial to support your employees during the pandemic. We understand that the economy has completely crashed down and your business might not be reaping gigantic profits. But to show your support, you can provide the salaries to your employees.
You might pay less than the original amount but cutting off the salary or firing employees is not the correct option. Once you show your support, your employees will be willing to go an extra mile and work harder to grow your business. Also, hold regular online meetings with your team members to come up with innovative ideas to grow your company.
4)Include contactless delivery services
Though people cannot step out, they still need to buy items for everyday use. Groceries, masks, clothing are some of the essentials which people cannot do without. No matter what your company sells, it is important to arrange for contactless deliveries.
Your website needs to be optimized to handle the user load and must be swift in its operation. Make sure you keep a large bulk of your products in stock. This will encourage customers to order online and get their products delivered at their doorstep. Good delivery service is no more optional. It has become essential for customer retention.
To increase your sales, you can reduce your delivery charge, send fresh products or reduce the time your company takes to deliver. If you provide good products, every customer will opt to go with your business. Reducing the delivery time might be a bit difficult when a large number of orders come in. In such cases, you should inform your customers about the delivery time and they won’t mind much.
Besides a smooth good delivery, make sure your employees opt for only contactless delivery. The delivery executives must wear protective masks, gloves and maintain a distance of six feet from the customer. Abiding by such social norms will further heighten your reputation and aid in customer retention.
5)Interact well with your customers
You wouldn’t want your business to go out of style, would you? To ensure that you are performing better than your competitors, ask your customers for their feedback and analyse the overall response. You can improve your services by bringing in new products, ensuring smooth delivery and answering the customer queries
Besides this, you can personalize the customer chats and calls. Chatbots seem to have taken over the Customer Service section. However, having a human interaction with the customer makes your service much more reassuring. Also, chatbots cannot solve every problem and it can get annoying for the customer to ask for a solution without any effect.
These minor changes can heavily influence your strategies of customer experience. Customers don’t really demand anything extravagant. They just look for smooth services and good products. If your business can fulfil the basic requirements, you will be way ahead of your competitors.
Customer retention might seem tough but it is definitely worth the effort. Your business runs because of customers and it is the appropriate time to acknowledge their support. You can inculcate our methods in your company and see what works best for you.