The digital age is upon us. People use the internet to keep in touch with friends, organize get-togethers, research information, play games, and purchase goods and services. When you company is looking at this digital landscape you need to know that some principles never change. Great customer service retains customers. It’s still true, but what does it mean, in a digital world, to deliver great customer service. The old ways are no longer enough, and as the world changes, customers do too. Businesses need to change if they want to keep up with the evolving work sphere. Salesforce.com understands this issue and helps companies improve their customer services. Does your company have what it takes to deliver an effective customer experience? Here are some ideas.
Make It Clear
Your digital face should be simple, as simple as it can be and still do the work necessary. Your customers in the digital words want to be able to quickly understand what’s being offered and what’s being asked of them.
The more you can clarify what they should do, the more likely they are to stay and use your service. For an extreme example, think of Google. A box to type in and a button to click. The instructions are just as clear: Search Google or type a URL. Strive for clarity. Remember: Brevity is Wit.
Make It Fast
Customers in line at the grocery store are willing to wait. They have driven to the store already, so if they just leave they will simply have to drive somewhere else or give up. They can see just how many people are in line ahead of them and can see how fast the person at the register is working. They have a rough idea of how long it will take and are usually willing to accept that. The digital experience is dramatically different. The customer is alone in front of a computer.
They got to your site by typing an address and hitting enter, or by following a link with a single click. They can leave and try another in seconds. There is no one in line ahead of them, in fact, there is no one at all visible. They expect the site to load very quickly. Just a few seconds is frustrating, ten seconds a good reason to move on. Every click, every box they fill in should give an immediate response. The difference in responsiveness between sites is measured in milliseconds and they do make a difference.
Make It Easy
Digital customers are using the internet for convenience. If your site isn’t easy to use, it’s not convenient and they may move on to one that is. Limit the amount of information they need to provide as much as you can. Make it quick and easy to understand and to fill in. Simple things like being able to tab between boxes in order can make a huge difference in a customer’s perception of your business.
Make It Powerful
Colorful, pretty sites may look good, once they load, but what most digital customers want are features. The more you can do for them, even in that first interaction through the internet, the happier they will be. Making a feature rich experience that is clear, fast and easy isn’t a simple task, but it’s the kind of that makes you stand out above your competition.
Make It Part of Traditional Customer Service
Despite all the emphasis on digital solutions, it is important to remember your customers are not digital themselves. Thinking of them as ‘digital customers’ can bring to mind some electronic simulation of a person rather than a real human being. Never forget these are real people who want to use your business.
One way to do this is to be sure to integrate human customer service with your digital services. Using customer service software that allows human staff to answer questions posed in automated chat sessions can leverage the best of the digital world and real human understanding. Tracking all the interactions for customers can allow research into the most common questions and solutions and speed your time to fix problems even more. And maintaining records of individual customer contacts lets your human customer service representatives make a personal connection immediately while filling them in on the background of the customer and their previous problems.
Let Them Know It Is Available
Make sure your customers know they can use your digital option. Sometimes that’s just what they need and they just didn’t know it. Promote it as an alternative with your current customers, and advertise it to potential ones. Don’t make the mistake of forcing it on them with tactics like making call center phone numbers difficult to find. Your goal is to give your customer the best service you can, no matter what the channel. Remember retaining a current customer is much cheaper than finding a new one.
Conclusion
The digital age offers a lot of new challenges for businesses, but great customer service is one all companies have always had to face. Just what defines it has changed slightly, but it still pays off the same way. Satisfied customers.
What are some other ways to offer excellent customer service? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.