Tag: Customer Satisfaction

Digital Culture

Stepping Into The Digital Culture

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It seems like the term digital has taken over our lives. Everything from the watch on our arm to the fridge in our kitchen seem to have joined the digital revolution going on around us. How are we adapting to this new digital landscape and ensuring that our companies and brands are embracing it in the best way. The first step to truly immersing yourself in the digital world is to understand the developing digital culture.

Digital culture is a big step away from the business cultures many of us were used to. It is not confined by location, there are no physical boundaries, no socio-economic, racial or ethnic divisions. Digital culture is open to anyone with access to a digital device and an internet connection. We are increasingly augmenting our reality with the use of a variety of devices, moving from an analogue experience to a connected digital version. This growing and evolving digital culture revolves around a set of core values which we will review below.

Creativity

Digital technology has changed the way we experience the world, particularly marketing, we have moved from passive messages to disruptive experiences, with digital devices now part of our every day lives. We live in a world of innovation where we are encouraged to experiment and innovate. To stay ahead of your competitors you need to embrace the opportunities that digital tech provides and push the boundaries, before someone else does.

Equality

The digital world is open to all that have the ability to access it. Putting aside that access issues display a level of socio-economic inequalities, the digital platform has flattened the playing field considerably. Any company who has access to the internet has the ability to reach millions of people the world over, something that would have been impossible for all but the largest corporate companies in the purely analogue era.

Empathy

Digital technology has allowed us to become more responsive than ever. For companies, we can become receptive to the needs and wants of our target audience and adapt our offerings, messages and communications. Empathising with your audience is no longer is a luxury, it is expected.

Integrity

With people becoming more tech savvy and far more security conscious the onus is on brands to become more transparent in their business practices. The internet gives people far more access to check every aspect of a companies culture, finances, and service to name but a few. Due to this shift in customer access companies have been forced to become more honest and trustworthy across all of their business functions.

Knowledge

Everyone has become an expert since the arrival of Google. The answer to any question is just a search away. No longer can you waste hours debating a matter over a drink, in mere moments the internet can resolve many a dispute. But what does this digitally driven knowledge mean for brands. The internet and digital devices have made brands infinitely more knowledgeable. The digital world has brought with it a more data driven knowledge for companies, specifically about their customers and target audiences. You can now analyse every visit to your website or like on your social page. It is allowing for far more personalisation and targeted content and marketing.

Efficiency

With the move into digital everything becomes faster. This is both a blessing and a curse. We all expect instant gratification now, with mail delivered in an instant, deliveries that arrive within hours, and on line access to almost any resource you need at your finger tips. Companies have had to become super efficient to satisfy its customer and stay ahead of the competition. Whilst challenging to maintain, this increased efficiency has been benefit for companies. It has allowed them to advance their services, becoming more agile to meet the needs of its ever more demanding customers. 

Openness

As we have said above it has become of top importance for companies to be transparent in their business operations. Customers are placing authenticity high on their list when it comes to choosing a brand to do business with. They also want to develop a relationship with the brand. Social media has opened companies up to a much more personal relationship with its customers, who now expect a two way conversation.

Unity

With so many touch points between a company and a customer, it is more important than ever that companies take a holistic approach to their external communications. There needs to be a fully integrated approach across the whole business to ensure that the key messages of the company are behind every customer facing moment.

 

These value should be at the basis of your companies online presence. By succeeding in these areas you are one step closer to be the answer to your customers problems. The digital world show no sign of slowing down, with new innovations being released almost daily these values will no doubt evolve and change over the next 10 years. If you are still getting to grips with this emerging digital culture and need some guidance get in touch with us now and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

Are you winning at customer service?

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When you think of marketing what comes to mind? Digital, TV, Radio, PR? How about customer service? With the rise of social media and so many opportunities online for people to speak about your brand, your customers are actually a vital marketing source. Building a base of loyal customers and especially those who become brand advocates can really propel your brand forward, especially online.

Having loyal customers is more than having a great brand, it is about making sure that the customers experience at every touch point is high quality. Many companies excel at the sell, they have a well thought out and successful route to purchase which engages the customer and connects them to the brand. However, they miss out on possibly the most crucial part of the customer journey, and that is post sale. Having worked so hard to draw the customer in, they fail to retain them due to poor customer service and aftersales.

A dissatisfied customer can be costly, not only in the loss of their future purchases but with availability to some many online channels it is easier than ever to publicise a bad customer experience. Even a simple search on google will not only bring up your company details but also your online reviews. Being the pessimistic beings we are, most of us head for the bad reviews first to establish our view on the company.

So how do you avoid this dissatisfied marketing? It is all in the planning. No company can maintain a perfect operation at all times, things will go wrong, it is how you deal with an error that establishes your level of customer satisfaction. There are generally five stages someone will go through when they are unhappy with a product or service and it is having a plan to deal with each stage that will boost your service and quality.

Stage 1: Customer in distress

Whether it is an issue with their product or service, or a query they need answered, your client is in need. Don’t make it difficult for them to tell you. It is amazing how difficult it can be to find contact details on some sites and especially support details. Use standard wording such as ‘contact us’ or ‘support’ to make it clear how to get in touch with you. Web forms are a great solution for customers and can allow you to gather basic information about the query before engaging in a dialogue. It is also important to let your customer know what expectations they should have in terms of response times and ensure that you are able to meet them.

Stage 2: The Acknowledgement

Nothing is more frustrating that completing a form or sending an email and not getting confirmation that it has been received and is being looked at. Make sure your customer knows you have received their query and tell them how and when you will respond. An automated email is a good idea at this point, you can include an acknowledgement and also reassure the customer regarding response times and perhaps give some additional help sources in the meantime.

Stage 3: Finding the Expert

Ensuring you have a clear idea of the what the customer needs means that you can route the query to the appropriate person or department. Being able to connect the customer to an ‘expert’ on their issue will give them reassurance about your brand and a sense of satisfaction that their query has been taken seriously.

Stage 4: The Response

Most companies will find that queries have a few common themes, and whilst the company should then try to solve these issues, in the meantime, a library of pre-template responses can be useful. The relevant expert can then tailor the response to take account of the details of the customer query and of course personalise the email. Where there is a new issue, or a one off issue with a particular product or service, there should be a service protocol put in place as to how these are dealt with.

Stage 5: The Follow Up

Don’t assume that the clients issue has been resolved by your single response to their query. Always provide a follow-up option should a client need more help or still has a problem. An option to reply to an email is okay but this can get into a situation of email ping-pong which is not efficient for the customer or the company. Offering a phone call or a live chat facility can help bring about a swift resolution. A phone conversation has the most personalised touch and can help the customer feel that the company actually wants to help. From a company perspective it can also open up opportunities for relationship building and potential upselling and cross selling.

 

However you decide to deal with these stages, ensure that you have a plan in place to keep your customers happy. A customer who has a problem that is solved by a company in a timely and personalised manner is likely to sing the praises of that company to friends and family. A happy customer is a key part of your marketing mix and a customer-centric approach is becoming essential in the digital era.