While I’m writing this article here in Milan, Italy I constantly hear ambulance sirens going back and forth for a dramatic reason that is globally hitting us. Nevertheless, time goes on and life does as well, meaning that we have to keep either ourselves and our businesses alive. As for customer service, many people with different roles such as managers, supervisors and agents are working from home. Consequently, we’re observing a sudden increase in digital conversation volumes between customers and brands. So, how are you coping with that? What measures have you taken to guarantee an excellent – yet remote – support to your customers?
Internal Communication
Whether you work in a small or bigger brand, one of the first things to re-arrange is internal communication. This means getting touch with:
- Your manager(s)
- Your team(s)
- Colleagues from other departments
- Your vendors – those who provide you infrastructure, tools, software, etc. to maintain business as usual (or at least vital functions of your business)
- Other co-workers – e.g. business partners
As many conversations, due to current circumstances, take place via video-calls, think about how can you leverage such conversations. More specifically, what are you using them for? Is there any part of your processes that can be switched to video [e.g. conversations or consultancy]? That’s the moment to test them to improve your internal efficiency.
If you want to dive into using video calling platforms for calls or webinars, I suggest you this smart read.
External Communication
In this case, the list is much shorter: it’s your customers. Regardless of whether you work in a B2C or a B2B environment, I’ve got similar questions as above for you.
Did you manage to switch some activities onto video calling platforms [e.g. pre-sales / post-sales support, delivery] or other digital channels such as social media, live chat or messaging apps?
Overall, how can you leverage Digital Customer Service in such a complex period where customers tend to rush and act irrationally?
We’ll talk about that on April 8th with other great customer service professionals at the free webinar linked to below. I suggest you attend because the following topics we’ll be covering have become urgent for many brands:
- Training agents for digital support – to engage and retain customers by delivering a personalized service. CS agents are the human face of your brand and their engagement with your customer counts. Learn what training and soft skills your CS agents need, to showcase your brand in the most positive light possible
- Evaluating and overhauling the corporate culture of your contact centre. Metrics are important, but CS agents need to have a strong grip on the skills necessary to make the customer feel valued. Move to a customer-first way of thinking throughout your interactions
- Enrich Agent-Customer Interactions with AI insights. Instead of replacing human interactions, AI can support them. Delegate call directing, simple questions and data analysis to AI-driven systems and free up your CS agents time, allowing them to provide answers to complex queries that need that human touch
Don’t miss this free webinar as there’s will also be a Live Q&A session: register here.
Over To You
The last thing we need to do in these complex times is standing still. We need instead to re-think and re-engineer your processes integrating digital channels, whilst keeping a strong focus on our customers, thus their experiences. I know it’s not easy because I’ve just been thru, having to rapidly change goals and strategies; however the longer you remain stuck on your habits, the more you risk.
Have great conversations.
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_sodis‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
Paolo Fabrizio
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