A top-line customer experience is a key to business success. It is the goal of every company, but in today’s environment has become much more challenging due to the repercussions of the ongoing pandemic.
As the workforce and consumers become more virtual, potential customers are increasingly turning to software and online services to meet their needs, and businesses need to find and leverage the appropriate technology to serve them.
It begins by building a strong business technology foundation. One built on what has become the “seven pillars of the customer experience”. These seven pillars can serve as a model for those executives grappling with this fast-changing digital transformation. These include…
1. Continuity. Businesses need to roll with the punches and maintain continuous operations when circumstances change quickly. If technology failed you when employees transitioned to remote work, it’s time to implement secure remote access and equip your team with the appropriate devices and software.
2. Communication. Modern customers expect to be able to get in touch with you easily and conveniently. When they reach out, they want to make certain they are heard. Minimizing wait time for responses and resolutions makes people feel cared for, especially when there are systems in place that keep them updated along the way.
This can include responding effectively via email, phone, and online outreach channels. Utilizing Cloud tools for efficient use with documents, forms, and templates, and implementing VOIP phone systems to help route calls, monitor communications, record calls, and more.
Good customer communication can be facilitated by giving employees accurate and up-to-date customer and business data. It will help with clear and effective communications during the entire customer experience.
3. Software. Depending on the nature of your company, your software needs may go much deeper than communication. Your IT team or an outsourced Managed Service Provider (MSP), can get access to the right tools and advanced integrations that bring it all together. They can help customize software to configure it for your specific business needs.
4. Security. Some consumers are still nervous about moving their customer experiences to the digital realm. They are wise to be cautious about security. Cybersecurity should be enhanced to the highest levels, if necessary, to build trust and make everyone confident that their customer data is safe.
5. Training. Employees should feel confident and comfortable with the technology systems they rely on to do their jobs. Customers get uneasy when the staff is struggling and getting frustrated. Better tools, role-based configurations, and effective training will help eliminate headaches.
6. Data Protection. Protecting data is a major focus on any customer service plan. However it is only part of what an IT team or an outsourced MSP can do. Better IT also produces better data in the first place, which allows you to refine business processes and improve the customer experience.
7. IT Recovery Solutions. Do you remember the time your company was down for a minute but got right back online? Probably not, because there’s nothing to remember. Downtime that lasts hours or days, though, is much more memorable and can create problems for employees and customers alike.
Gartner , the internationally known research firm has estimated that downtime costs businesses an average of $5,600 per minute (over $300,000 per hour), and that was back in 2014. Now it’s even more important to address problems and bounce back quickly. Every minute matters, so make sure your IT staff or support team has a good backup strategy and a disaster recovery plan.
Companies that build a customer service platform based on these seven pillars will not only amaze their clients but also win more business.