Customer Service in Uncertain Times
The coronavirus has single-handedly transformed our way of life in a matter of a few short weeks. While these social-distancing measures are temporary, it will inevitably have a lasting impact on how customers and businesses interact.
Here are a few long-term changes this current situation will most likely have:
An Increase in Online and Phone Support
The most prominent change will be the surge in e-commerce activity. Online shopping has already experienced tremendous growth with expanded offerings and improved logistics allowing even the most obscure of items to be delivered to your front door. Sometimes within the same day.
With much of the population in self-quarantine, this luxury has turned into a necessity.
Those that were more apt to visit a brick-and-mortar retail store now find that option gone and have turned to e-commerce to have their needs met. Even essential businesses like grocery stores, Walmart, and Target are pushing their online ordering and curbside pickup options.
Some businesses are finding it difficult to keep up with demand. Phone lines are tied up longer than normal. Inventory has sold out. Options for overnight delivery aren’t as readily available.
In response, some of these businesses are needing to hire more help, even during this time when many businesses are faced with the difficult decision to cut their workforce.
All of this, of course, is to aid in a nationwide effort to practice social distancing.
However, even once quarantine measures are relaxed and people are able to frequent establishments, habits built during this time will die hard. Online shopping will most likely see a permanent boost.
Many businesses will also have established procedures to serve customers completely online. More phone lines and extended hours. Chatbots facilitating live chat. Prompt responses to a steady stream of email inquiries.
And those that haven’t will need to adapt quickly to a continually growing e-commerce trend.
A HIgher Quality of Support
Consumer behavior shifts massively during crises like this pandemic. People are concerned for their family, their livelihood, and the future. It’s easy to always feel on edge and anxious.
Great customer service teams universally teach that the customer comes first. Never has this value been more important for businesses and our society. In a time when virtually all in-person social contact is limited to whoever resides within the four walls of your home, the human touch in customer service will speak volumes.
It isn’t outrageous to expect that for some people in quarantine, interacting with your customer service team may be the most interaction they have with another person all day.
Customer support that is sub-par will be exacerbated by the ongoing fear and concern that everyone is feeling. Customer experiences that are able to generate smiles and confidence will be magnified for that same reason.
Many businesses have stepped up their empathy and awareness of the situation, and when things have settled down, they will have an even stronger and more loyal customer base. Customers may not vocally demand a higher level of service and support, but you can be certain that their loyalties will be heavily influenced by how they perceived a company’s response to the crisis.
A higher, more human, level of care and support now and moving forward should be a talking point within all businesses.
Social Media Climbs the Priority Ladder
Usage of social media platforms have skyrocketed in the past few weeks. Understandably so, as options on how to spend time have been severely limited.
Admittedly, most of the increase in activity is due to people seeking out entertainment, but this is a trend that businesses should be careful not to ignore.
Social media accounts are where businesses can take a more personal tone. And the need to distance ourselves from everyone else has made our desire to connect on a personal level even more transparent.
Creating posts, and responding to comments and private messages is another way that businesses can connect with people who are deprived of social interaction. During this time it’s especially important to keep customers updated on how your company is responding. Everyone, businesses and individuals alike, is participating in this global conversation.
If social media hasn’t been a priority up to this point, now would be a great time to create a company social media account. Just be sure to be sensitive during this time. Proceed with caution when promoting your product or service in social media feeds when millions don’t even know what the next day holds.
The New Normal
It’s hard to say exactly what the new normal will be a few months from now. But there are trends that give us some indication of what things will look like moving forward. Society has been forced into an extreme, and it’s shedding light on behaviors worth noting.
Humans are humans. We respond strongly to humanity. And the greater the tragedy, the more we want to be reminded of that humanity.
It’s hard to imagine that businesses will be able to revert completely back to old habits and procedures. Once this is all over, there will be a greater expectation from customers to provide an experience that shows we’ve learned a thing or two about humanity.
And that’s a new normal worth looking forward to.
