If mobile shopping growth rates continue, by 2028 70-80% of online purchases will be made using mobile devices. It is also suggested that in 2028 you will be able to sit at home in a comfortable chair and shop in a boutique at the same time. To do this, you just need to put on a VR headset and run the store application.
While online shopping offers countless benefits – you are able to do it from the comfort of your home; you do not need to worry about traffic or finding somewhere to park, there are no long checkout queues – shoppers are often left unsatisfied with the lack of customer support.
Really get to know your audience
Providing customer support and offering a seamless customer service experience is extremely important. According to the Institute of Customer Service, some of the top players in customer service include Amazon, Waitrose, John Lewis and M&S Food, all of which are well respected retail brands. Other popular brands known for their supportive customer experience include Netflix and, of course, Disney.
Getting to know your audience is key, and understanding your customers’ preferred methods of contact is crucial. In an increasingly digital era, as well as using the telephone, people are choosing to engage with companies using live chat services, social media platforms, email and SMS. Each method comes with its own benefits and preferences differ from person to person. For some, choosing to engage on a live chat service can have the added benefit of flexibility. A customer is able to step away from their laptop and come back to the conversation as and when they please. It also means the customer service representative is able to manage multiple conversations at the same time – something they would not be able to do over the phone. Live chat services can also offer a better experience for customers who are not native to the language and may feel more comfortable having the time to write a message rather than speak on the phone.
While some communication methods are clearly more popular than others, it is important to offer customers a range of different ways to get in touch. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to customer service.
Omni-channel flexibility
When it comes to providing a consistent customer experience, it is important to remember that while your target customers in different regions may share some of the same interests, it is likely they will have different preferences. Therefore, companies should take the time to research the most popular methods of communication and offer customers a platform they want to use. Ultimately, a strategy should be built on firm data and be aligned across multiple platforms. The challenge is providing a consistently excellent experience across all channels.
At Dzinga, we offer small and medium sized companies a toolkit for sales and customer care related communications across all channels including phone, web and social media. We are a one-stop destination for a business’s communication needs.
Looking to the future
Many would argue that customer experience is just as important as the product or service a company is selling. It is key to building a company’s reputation and can be damaged very quickly so it is incredibly important to keep it front of mind and maintain it.
The evolution of technology has made it extremely easy for customers to express their views about a company to millions of people – good or bad. Whether a comment is shared on Facebook, Twitter, Trip Advisor or another website, if it is especially negative, it has the potential of being detrimental to a company’s reputation. On the flip side, if a customer is sharing a positive customer support or experience story with a large audience it can have an incredibly positive outcome for a company.
Whether a small start-up or a well-established global company, it is important for companies of all sizes to ensure customer service is at the top of their agenda. Going that extra mile can encourage repeat business and build up a portfolio of brand ambassadors.
