5 Customer Service Strategies In The New Normal

COVID-19 has affected pretty much every aspect of our lives, including how we do business. Everything, from operations and sales to admin work, has shifted to the online space. Though it can be challenging, companies are taking advantage of the new normal. More specifically, the digital landscape that’s opened up for the economy.

Establishing a solid online customer service system is imperative. As more and more people make their purchases online, keep that open and continuous line of communication with your customers. Engage with your customers when they have inquiries, request assistance, or need product-specific after-sales services.

Read on to know about 5 customer strategies you can implement for your business in the new digital normal.

Why Do You Need a Digital Customer Service Strategy In The First Place?

The majority of the people had to make their purchases online during the pandemic. A safety measure to reduce their contact and the spread of the coronavirus. But even as the world starts opening up, many consumers will likely continue to prefer digital transactions, according to Forbes.

Businesses that want to increase their sales conversions and customer satisfaction ratings need to develop a good customer support system. One that encourages a positive customer journey in their business’s online space.

The goal is to always keep the customer experience positive. With everything done online nowadays, be on top of your online presence and customer support. This will ensure you are there for your customers should they need anything. These satisfied customers are more likely to later refer you to their friends and family. In return, this drives up traffic to your website and increases sales.

5 Online Customer Service Strategies To Implement In the New Normal

1. Develop a Positive Self-Service Customer Experience

Focus on helping customers meet their own needs. You can do this by providing them with self-service aid. These are things like product selection, transactions, and common post-sale support.

Provide as much information as you can about your products in their product description. Do you have two similar products perhaps? Maybe make a blog that goes more in-depth about their differences and the best application for each product. On that note, talk about your products. Who are the products best for? How is it best used? Maybe there are some cool hacks or tricks you can do with your products. Make sure you navigate them to these blog posts so they can learn all about your products.

Have a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page on your website. Here, you can address any common inquiries you’ve received in the past. You can also include any questions that you anticipate they may ask in the future.

The more information you readily provide for your customers, the more likely they'll have a more favorable perception of the brand. To them, the company’s performance is great even if they haven’t even contacted customer support.

Customer self-service is great as it allows your team to be less overwhelmed with a barrage of customer messages or emails. A less overwhelmed team means a less frustrated group of customers.

If a customer has any specific inquiries that your blog posts or FAQ page cannot answer, a customer support associate can then assist them. Since the associates aren't overwhelmed, they can provide quality service that will hopefully leave the customer with a positive outlook of your company.

2. Set Specific and Achievable Goals

The best way to improve your customer service is to talk to your customers. Conduct customer satisfaction surveys and see how you can best serve them in the digital space.

Usually, customers would want a shorter response time when reaching out to a brand. Know your team and see if a quick response time is possible. If not, what is the average time frame for customer service to get back to the customer? Within 3 hours or maybe within the 9 to 5 office window? Inform the customer of this time frame to set expectations and to not keep them waiting.

Gather data from your customer service team. Along with the customer satisfaction surveys, assess their performance. Then, conduct monthly and quarterly team training and reviews. This allows you to actively adjust your goals and your systems to reach those goals. The key is to strike a balance between keeping your customer happy while also not overburdening your team.

3. Open Up Social Media and Messaging Channels

Phone and email customer support are the traditional media used to provide customer services. However, you should consider offering new digital channels for your customers to reach you.

Having your business on social media can boost your customers’ experience. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are very popular with just about anyone with a smartphone. You can also utilize messaging channels like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messenger.

Setting up your social media profiles isn’t that difficult to do. You can even reach a wider audience and capture new markets you may have never encountered otherwise.

Provide your customers with accessible channels where they can communicate with you. This also makes you appear more approachable. If they feel like they can easily come to you for any concerns, this adds to their positive experience of the brand.

Make sure every member in your customer service team has their designated channels they are responsible for handling. This way, they can provide real-time support and act on any feedback provided by the customers immediately.

You can also assign two or more channels to each member if you do not have a large enough team to accommodate a one-to-one setup. Make sure to account for the average traffic of messages you would receive on each channel. This ensures that the team is still efficient in responding to any inquiries.

4. Consider Live Chat or Instant Messaging on Your Website

Having live chat and instant messaging for your website is a great way to provide speedy, if not instant, customer support.

Social media is great if your customers are already on that platform. But what about those who are simply on your website?

Customers won’t have to head over to their email, make a call, or even open up their social media apps. They can simply talk to your customer support team on the website, not needing to be transferred to a different channel. This easy, uninterrupted, and seamless experience can help provide a positive customer experience. This can even help make sales conversions even faster.

5. Proactive Communication

Try to be one step ahead of your customers. Actively provide them with any brand, product, or business information that would be of concern to them.

Tell them about your proactive measures against the COVID-19 virus. Inform them of any travel and commerce restrictions that make it challenging to ship orders to specific locations. Are you considering making a new and improved version of your current products? Let them know and maybe even have them chime in and provide their input.

If you can make it easier for your customers to access information about your brand that concerns them, do it. Use your social media platform, your customer phone directory, and your email newsletter. Don’t wait for your customers to reach out to you if you can easily reach out to them first.

Be With Your Customer

Everyone is navigating the new normal and the shift to the digital space can be confusing. Whether it’s a message from a first-time customer or a recurring customer having a problem with their payment method, be with your customer. Show that your brand is empathetic and cares for its patrons. It can go a long way in developing brand loyalty and business growth.