Consumer behaviors constantly evolve, but the pandemic pushed some new characteristics that have some companies in panic mode. The post-2020 consumer wants more than price and quality; they want to feel that brands know and understand them. They want a customer experience, not just a purchase.
Companies know this is what consumers want, so they are adjusting their strategies. According to a Forrester study, 95% of company leaders say providing a good customer experience, sometimes referred to as CX, leads their business growth strategy. That report was published before the pandemic – which means if prioritizing the customer experience was important before, it’s critical now.
Consumer Needs
Consumers began expecting better customer service at the onset of the pandemic. Shopping patterns shifted to more online activity, as many brick-and-mortar stores temporarily closed. And as those stores reopened, online shopping continued to be vital to growth, as did the importance of more personalized services. Simply put, consumers that were once tolerant of less-than-stellar customer service were no longer accepting of it and are willing to drop their loyalty to a brand with a single bad experience.
Consumers want to spend their money with brands that are empathetic and have the ability to respond quickly to any query. What qualifies as a good customer experience? The following seem to be on the minds of most consumers today:
- Empathy
- Fast resolution
- Resourcefulness
- Knowledge
- No repeating of problems
Improving Through Advanced Solutions
If you don’t have the infrastructure in place to assist your customers, you’re going to fail to hit that “fast resolution” goal. For some companies, this means implementing advanced call center solutions that help route calls to the right people more efficiently. It could mean implementing call monitoring technology or installing messaging solutions (chatbots, etc.) for quick and easy Q&A.
You likely have a customer base that spans generations, and each generation has communication preferences, which means you need technology that speaks to each generation. For example, Millennials prefer live chat, yet around 75% of consumers still want to contact a company representative via telephone, which means you have to offer both.
Also, you have to consider that consumers today expect that if they start a conversation in one channel, the conversation will have the ability to move seamlessly forward in an alternate channel. That takes plenty of strategizing to make sure everything works well together.
These CX priorities are being met with a variety of cloud-based solutions designed to offer better experiences while simultaneously keeping costs in check. Technologies such as unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) streamline conversations with customers as well as in-house collaboration to deliver better and faster results to customers.
Ultimately, what these technologies do is make connections with customers more human. It may seem counterintuitive, but when problems are resolved and information is easily accessed, there’s more time for positive interactions and the customer is left with a great experience.
Partner With an Expert
Getting on top of your customer experience solutions is easier when you’ve got an expert assisting you. At ITBroker.com, we help our customers find the appropriate supplier, which takes the trial and error out of the mix. We know exactly which solutions will meet your needs. Furthermore, we help our clients reduce and convert expenses and support them throughout the entire process. If your goal is to improve your customer experience, contact us to check out what we have to offer.
