Coronavirus has altered customer mindsets. They expect brands to provide seamless experiences at every touchpoint. 

From boosting the effectiveness of customer support to organizing your workloads more efficiently, you can improve customer experiences in multiple ways during COVID-19.

Here are a few tips to follow. 

1. Meet Customers Where They Are

During Coronavirus, simple activities, such as in-store purchases or dining out with friends, are now hard to plan, risky, and even prohibited.

Given that, it is not surprising that customers are making a shift from offline to online purchases. The way they communicate with brands has also changed. In today’s stressful times, they expect fast, intuitive, and at-home experiences. 

Sell Online

According to the Digital Commerce 360 analysis, U.S. customers spent $861.12 on online purchases in 2020, up 44% from $598.02 in 2019. 

Applying an online commerce strategy depends on your industry. 

For example, fitness companies have started creating online workout programs and expanded free trials to attract new users. 

Banks, on the other hand, have shifted to “do it at home” options. China’s Ping An Bank provides seamless digital experiences. They received more than eight mullion page views and 12 million transactions within half a month. 

Expand your Services

With pubs, supermarkets, and restaurants closed because of the lockdown, home delivers have gained momentum. 

Statistics back me up in that. China’s premier food delivery service, Meituan, reported quadrupled delivery orders in early 2020. Global delivery giants, such as Amazon Fresh, quickly became overwhelmed. 

Therefore, if you still do not offer home delivery options, it is time to rethink your decisions. 

The good thing is that home delivery options expand beyond food drop-offs. For example, pharmacies offer free delivery services, while car dealerships provide vehicle pick-up and drop-off services for repair and maintenance. 

Make Physical Operations Touch-Free

In some industries, contact between your employees and customers is unavoidable. To provide the utmost employee safety, consider converting to contactless operations. 

For example, Walgreens rolled out a drive-thru shipping experience. Customers order from a menu, store operators assemble the order, and deliver it through a drive-through window.

2. Strengthen your Customer Support

During the Coronavirus pandemic, providing exceptional customer service is crucial.

Consider connecting your phone system with CRM software. When a customer calls, your customer support agents will see customer data on their screens and provide personalized customer service.

Use social media monitoring tools to track brand and product mentions. That way, you will respond to customer questions and provide helpful feedback faster.

Live chat is another example of effective customer support. It humanizes customer service and appeals to both mobile and desktop users. 

Remember that, during Coronavirus, when your customer service channels are overwhelmed, self-service plays a fundamental role. Consider integrating AI chatbots with your website and social networks. Also, create a knowledge base where customers can find answers to their questions on their own.

3. Boost Employee Performance

Satisfied employees provide a higher level of customer service. That creates a more satisfying customer experience, improves repeat visits, and encourages customer loyalty. 

For example, increase their productivity with the right tools. 

A CRM solution is crucial to any company collecting customer data. It centralizes all communication channels under a single platform and facilitates interactions between your teams and customers. Most importantly, customer data is available to all employees via both mobile and desktop devices, meaning they can deliver exceptional customer experiences from various locations.

Using an employee scheduling tool can significantly improve employee performance and satisfaction, especially in industries requiring employee scheduling. Humanforce is one of the best time and attendance cloud solutions offering real-time notifications. Managers can update schedules faster and track employee availability to avoid understaffing and boost customer service.

Businesses in the hospitality industry should also invest in an online booking system. During COVID-19, when online table bookings and home deliveries have grown, an automated booking system will save your employees’ time, boost CX, and minimize the risk of human error.

4. Keep Track of Customer Needs and Preferences

Collecting customer feedback helps you learn more about their needs and preferences. Most importantly, by keeping the finger on their pulse, you will monitor your brand sentiment. 

The goal is to track customer feedback across all channels and touchpoints, including:

• Phone systems

• Live chat

• Chatbots

• Social media monitoring

• Website forms

• Online surveys

• Emails

That is where investing in a CRM solution shines. It integrates with a wide range of marketing, sales, and customer support tools. CRM software collects data from these channels and keeps it in a central location. 

That way, you are not restricted to tracking data once daily or weekly. Your teams can monitor and use customer data in real-time and adapt customer services accordingly. 

Over to You

Since the beginning of the pandemic, customer experience has taken on a new dimension. In 2021, they expect fast and frictionless customer service at every touchpoint.

I hope these insights and tips will help you!