As businesses recover from the limitations that COVID-19 placed on them, many have reflected on just how important their customer communication management strategy was for their success over the last two years. B2B and B2C businesses alike needed to make some sizeable adjustments to continue operating at their normal efficiency, but it would all be for naught if their customer base seemingly disappeared. The changes that these organizations made, both the good and bad, will be detailed alongside this post and accompanying infographic.
Whether or not these changes have made a difference is up in the air. For some customers, they’ve been pleased with the way in which organizations have adapted. For others, not so much. In fact, some customers have gone to say that nearly half of all businesses that they visited throughout the pandemic had failed to adjust accordingly. When customers feel as though their needs aren’t being heard or acted upon, they’re more likely to ditch businesses they frequent to find ones willing to meet their needs. Without a high-quality customer communication management strategy, organizations could begin losing their most loyal customers while also becoming incapable of attracting new customers to replace them.
High-quality customer communication management comes in many forms. The first being personalized communication. Customers want to feel that their unique needs are being identified and acted upon by the businesses they’re interacting with. In connection with this personalization, customers also want to feel that their privacy is being respected. Secure and private communication is key between businesses and customers. Though their private information might have to be shared in some instances, customers want to feel that their information is being thoroughly protected. For businesses, this means investing in digital platforms that are both highly intuitive and safe enough to protect their customers.
These three aspects only begin to uncover the expectations of customers across various industries. More and more technological advances mean customers’ expectations will continue to rise as well. Let’s take online retailing as an example. A decade ago, online retail shoppers would happily browse a department store’s digital aisles for their products. Nowadays, with the evolution of live chat services, customers can ask about specific products or styles and get their answer straight from an employee. This is a brilliant strategy but has become so commonplace that customers don’t necessarily appreciate it as much as they should.
One of the most important ways in which a quality customer communications management strategy truly comes together is through the use of omnichannel communication. Not having a limit or barrier for your customers to continue interacting with your business day after day is key. Some customers are more prone to constant online interaction with your business. Whether that be purchasing from your online store one day, to showing off that purchase on a social media platform the next, every customer is different. Keeping every channel open for them to have the freedom they desire is key.
Crafting the customer communication management strategy that matches the needs of your customers and your organization is bound to be challenging. For more information to help your organization along the way, be sure to take a moment to check out the infographic included alongside this post. Courtesy of Conduent.