The most dramatic business story of the last 12 months, quite clearly, is the number of companies – indeed, sheer industries – that have suffered significant losses. How can businesses bounce back? What’s the role of a customer service strategy in business resilience?
Over the past year, the concept of business resilience has become pervasive – the idea that companies must continually adapt to succeed in unpredictable environments.
Of course, well before COVID, companies were grappling with the continued acceleration of e-commerce, new regulations, and the effects of climate change on the global supply chain. In every industry, companies have had to move swiftly to adapt their business models to changing circumstances.
2020 put the spotlight on customer service as businesses dealt with spikes in service demand and dramatically different consumer patterns. After a tumultuous year, what are the customer service trends to watch in 2021?
As companies reexamine their business models – whether to gain share, pursue new opportunities, or get out in front of future disruptions – it’s important to keep in mind that customers also are struggling to adapt to uncertainty.
Customers want to know that they’re still important, and they want to know that they can expect the same quality of products and services that they received before the pandemic. At the same time, customers provide an invaluable source of feedback about the changes that a company is making – and how such changes are impacting customer experience and perception.
That’s why a sound customer service strategy is such a crucial, if often overlooked, ingredient of business resilience.
It’s clear that effective customer service will continue to be a core element of business resilience well beyond the current crisis. Here are the key considerations for every business:
According to Forrester, an effective customer service strategy begins with empathy based on a genuine understanding of each customer’s very real struggle at this time of crisis.
When they’re speaking to a customer, for example, service agents need easy, on-screen access to any and all data that is relevant to the situation. This may include information on prior orders, shipping details, or readouts from previous times the customer has reached out with specific concerns. It’s also imperative that the agent have immediate access to pertinent articles and documents such as fixes to common product issues.
What makes a customer service superhero? Help your customer service agents activate these superpowers and see customer satisfaction soar.
At the same time, many customers want, and have every right to expect, self-service options that enable them to locate answers without having to wait to speak to a representative. This is where tools like AI-driven chatbots can be helpful, letting customers quickly arrive at resolutions to common problems.
Likewise, newer approaches to knowledge management help ensure that customers can easily locate information when they turn to Google for help. These types of tools also reduce call center volume, freeing up agents to focus on less readily resolved customer issues.
