Customer service, essential for a business to succeed
It's no longer a secret that customer service is an essential element of business success. Forging a relationship between the company and the customer makes it possible to satisfy and build loyalty. The objective is therefore to offer simple and effective “customer-company” interaction services, which require very little effort. As you know, the more effort a customer has to make, the less he perceives your company as transparent and sincere. Imagine a customer who searches for a long time for a way to contact you on your site… You then lose a lot of points in his eyes. It will also give you less trust, which is understandable.
In this sense, the quality of the customer relationship is decisive in the purchase. More and more consumers are leaving a relationship because of unsatisfactory customer service. This customer service must now learn to personalize itself. Indeed, individuals want to get answers instantly and at any time. For the company, the answer is therefore to offer customer service available on all channels: telephone, computer, physical points of sale, etc. Each channel has its characteristics, as well as its advantages.
Which channels to use to optimize your customer relationship?
First of all, the telephone remains essential for your customer service. Consumers are always looking to contact a company quickly when a problem arises. It is also central when you do not have a physical point of sale or if the individual does not have a good internet connection. The call is often used to ask for more information and to "get someone human". This is indeed very important for Internet users. Click to call is a great way to put the phone back at the center of your strategy and make it easier to make contact.
- The email is most of the time used by the company to contact its audience (order tracking, sending special offers and promotions, newsletters, etc.). However, remember to always provide a contact email address. It's reassuring.
- If you have a point of sale, it is an element to be greatly valued. This can indeed be a significant advantage for your strategy compared to that of your competitors who only have online contact points.
- Use mobile as a way to stay in touch with your buyers. For example, you can confirm the purchase via a simple order confirmation SMS. Offer a mobile application to track the order, consult the customer account, contact the after-sales service, etc.
- Never forget to place all the contact information on your website: FAQ, opening hours if you have a store, community platform for help between customers, referral to your social networks, offer messaging or live chat , …
How to succeed in your omni-channel customer service strategy?
Successful customer service means offering minimal wait time on any channel. It is also to be certain of having a real efficiency. In other words, make sure you answer questions correctly on first contact and most importantly, make sure you don't move the customer from service to service. It's a pretty unpleasant feeling.
Note that what matters most in omni-channel customer service is consistency. For example, a customer should be able to contact you for any reason through their preferred channel. He must be able to order online, request information by calling a hotline, pick up his purchases in store, etc. Customers must be able to continue their journey by switching from one channel to another without having to restart their journey each time. This is what is meant by consistency of the omni-channel customer relationship.
The challenge lies in the technology to be put in place to list all the contacts made between the company and the customer. This technology is often software that allows true omni-channel management of customer follow-up. This type of software is particularly useful because it will allow customer service within the company to access all the information on Mr. X: his purchase history, his complaints, his requests for information, etc. Others software this time in the cloud also allows companies to allow any employee to access customer information wherever they are and especially via tablet, smartphone or computer.
Test the potential of chatbots to optimize your omni-channel customer relationship
Social media messaging services are becoming preferred touchpoints for consumers to ask questions or simply contact a business for a variety of reasons.
Implementing a chatbot simplifies procedures and relieves customer service of certain tasks. For example, you can try to respond to simple requests by creating a chatbot: opening hours, sample requests, special requests for such and such a company service, complaint, etc.
However, do not forget to list all of these contacts by your Internet users. These requests are all information that you can reuse later in your relationship with your buyers.
