Photo Courtesy of Pixaby
Now more than ever, consumers are shopping digitally using various channels to buy everything from groceries to movie theatre tickets. This trend has been accelerating since 2012 and continues to gain momentum while simultaneously creating a conundrum for some organizations on how to provide a human touch in customer care on the internet highway.
People are passionate about where they shop—online and brick and mortar; live chat is quickly becoming the main source for providing customer service and those who are not on point are likely to experience customer attrition.
It’s rarely a perfect science, but finding the right balance of giving a personal touch online and being too desperate for sales is more critical now than ever. Here are a few ways to offer amazing customer experiences to online consumers:
* Keep Things Simple – The less user-friendly your website, the more frustrated your customers and the more likely they will leave an empty cart. Online shopping should be an effortless experience. Navigating your website should flow in a pattern of how customers think (anticipate their wants/needs) — in an uncomplicated and straightforward fashion.
* Quickly Respond to Live Chat – When consumers click on an item, quickly turnover the chatbot (robot who answers customer care questions) to a live human being who is conversational and an expert in the customer’s interest.
* Understand the Difference Between Motivation and Determination – Being motivated to be the best in your industry is important, however, motivation can be a struggle if you’re not in the mood be proactive or if you’re having a bad day and only want the next customer not to be as annoying as the current one. Waiting on something or someone to prompt you to be motivated is counterproductive. A singular thing that beats motivation is determination…determination to pursue accuracy and to give positive customer engagements in every interaction. Determination is a resolute action that takes control of situations, makes customers think that it is done with ease and compels them to want to come back to you.
* Teach/Assist – While interacting with customers, teach them how to use the product/service so that they get optimal productivity from it; most of them want to be self-sufficient and not spend time talking with chatbots or customer service representatives. When customers are resting on any page longer than normal (and you should define “normal” in your course of business), initiate an online conversation by asking if they need help; be prepared to give succinct and accurate answers—the first time.
* Be Ethical – Every organization should have a code of ethics by which all levels of management and staff embrace and abide. No matter how “insignificant” the employee’s title, whatever they say and do has an impact on the company and its service.
* Have Fun – More and more businesses are taking strides to add a little fun into encounters with customers. Decide what fits your corporate culture and make it work. It will increase employee productivity, customer retention, sales and profit margins.
The 21st century consumer has little patience for long waits online (or for that matter, in brick and mortar establishments). In this age of immediate gratification, they fully expect businesses to anticipate what they need and want before they do. The organization’s responsibility is to know how to anticipate and to proficiently produce “with pleasure”.
Make it a great day!
Leave a Reply