Do a Google Scholar search for the term “customer service” and you will find nearly one-and-a-half-million citations, spanning decades. As customer service evolved over the last half century, so has the consumer’s expectation. Online technology, social media and a global workforce have moved from extras to assumptions in customer care. Omnichannel marketing strategies are the new guidelines for consumer experience enrichment and the customer knows this.
Brand Reputation
Omnichannel marketing theory requires all of the sales channels, from distribution to post-sales, do their jobs and do them well. Directionality is important, especially for the reputation marketing channel. A company needs to portray a certain character and the consumer must expect to receive services based on that repute. Recent studies show that brand reputation is more than a marketing tool. It is a customer service foundation that buffers against perceived service failures. When a customer feels that a service has been delivered in an inferior manner, coping mechanisms come into play. These systems for dealing with stress will vary from person-to-person and range from positive thinking to venting. Having a good brand reputation helps to push the consumer to the positive end of the coping spectrum.
Digital Everything
In our technological society, there are certain things that customers rightfully assume. A digital platform needs to include an interactive website, cloud-based client care and mix of high and low tech. Putting together a robust customer care system with all of the bells and whistles can be cost prohibitive yet this a price that needs to be paid. According to Zipwire, it costs up to six times as much to replace a dissatisfied customer than it does to hold onto an existing one. Zipwire is one of the leaders in customer care, offering a blend of sales, marketing and customer service solutions. By using a system like theirs, a business can get all of the perks of high technology without the high cost. It is what the customer expects.
High Potential Employees
Employees are a company’s greatest asset. Exceptional staff link back to the brand reputation of the company and are key to creating consumer loyalty. Because of this, managing your brand’s image means managing your employees. Research published in the Journal of Management Development shows that managers value employees that are customer service oriented. These employees were the ones most often promoted to larger jobs. From an employee’s point of view, this is an increase in responsibility and often pay but the company sees the reward as creating a customer centered standing and retaining clientele.
Ambidextrous Loyalty
The new thinking for customer care is that the sales person is also the customer service person. This gives a one-stop experience for the consumer, making the experience a personal one. You can think of this as ambidextrous because, while one hand is tending to the customer, the other is selling. A logical consumer expectation is that your business wants to make a sale and that loyal customers are first in line. Your customer service staff needs to be able to sell your product or service and your sales staff must be able to address problems. Otherwise, the company appears disjointed and loyalty comes into question.
