We can all agree that one of the most important aspects of the customer journey is delivering an excellent customer experience. It follows therefore, that a major component of the customer relationship requires that the burden falls on the company to initiate the customer interaction and not the other way around.
Recognition of this fact requires your business to ascertain what the modern customer wants through measurement, analysis and action. Ideally, your business would be clear on the types of customers it is trying to attract from the outset. Once you have a picture of your target customer in mind, you will want to ultimately assess what the expectations of that customer will be. This will help you not only meet those expectations, but also set expectations and identify the standard of communication which separates you from your competitors.
In other words, if the aim of your CX strategy is to put the customer first then you will need to undertake an assessment of their needs, resources and capabilities. At the end of the day, the customer is an individual who will always have their own preferred way of doing things, including reading and responding to messages, purchasing services and communicating feedback.
With this in mind, it’s important to meet the client where they are, not where you would like them to be (or even, where you think they should be). You simply cannot afford to lose contact with your customer base. Meeting the customer “where they are” requires your business to be proactive and to check in with the client frequently.
According to Forbes, 82 percent of customers expect an immediate response from branded companies. Being proactive requires you to act and contact the customer beforehand with all the relevant information before they even realize they need it, rather than waiting for the customer to act first.
It’s also important to communicate often and, when doing so, make sure your communication is clear and concise. The timing of this communication plays a key role and, ideally, your business will want to develop the capabilities to service a customer’s wants and needs in the moment, as they occur in real time.
As previously discussed, successfully optimizing this approach necessitates correctly attributing each engagement to the proper customer, continuously collecting and analyzing data during those engagements and then utilizing this data to interact with the customer on a personalized and individualized basis.
Above all else, take into account the customer feedback you have gotten so far, especially customer communication preferences, given the multiple mediums we have for communicating with each other in 2021. You may also wish to present multiple ways of engaging with the customer, giving them the flexibility to identify the type of content and the type of engagement they prefer. From there you can identify which channel triggers a quicker customer response, while simultaneously giving them the flexibility to move and switch between channels at any time. Typically speaking, businesses either have too few channels or have so many channels that they end up overwhelming the customer, so getting the balance right here is crucial.
Meeting Your Clients Where They Are With Topdown’s CCM Platforms
Topdown’s CCM platforms and consultants can help your business successfully implement these customer engagement strategies with relevant and timely communications delivered the way the customer wants to receive it for maximum impact.
To learn more about how a CCM platform can help you surpass your customer’s expectations, get in touch with Topdown today.
