Uncertainty persists about the world, our lives, and the economy as COVID-19 has changed the structure of every experience. Consumer behaviour change is immediate and apparent. The most evident reason for it is the shift towards the digital interface. COVID-19 has changed the experience of being a customer and demands radical thinking.
1. Empathize
Gaining a deep understanding of customer needs is essential. During such times, businesses that listen, learn, and evolve with empathy will emerge stronger than before. They must continually seek to understand and empathize with people, putting them at the heart of designing your work and constantly evolving with experiences. As consumer preferences are never constant, the workflow should be according to them as they are the market king.
Consumers take note of how brands respond and the brand tone. All this can make or break a lasting impression in front of the rulers of the market. Bring in a twist of the human factor at all customer touchpoints and be considerate.
Companies need to add robustness, speed, and agility to future disruptors in their space. It would be inconsiderate to take the pandemic only as a sales opportunity. Instead, it is a bonus time to experiment with customer relationship building and management.
2. Adapt
The sharp acceleration of digital trends refers to the only constant factor needed to change continually. Fast-track transformation programs help bring experiences and interactions online, rapidly creating new ways to reach customers and satisfy their wants. One must consider that there will be loopholes at their end with the shift. Like current planning cycles, teams and structures are not built for adaptability.
Source: Gartner
Thus, quick changes should be brought in. The product’s formation should be so that the spatial design has long-term solutions for the people. The motto should prioritize digital commerce, and the practical out-of-service center should be set up like a virtual agent. To create a consistent workforce experience, companies must virtually replicate the contact center technology environment at home.
Demands on the networking infrastructures will be unprecedented in times. Companies must be ready and determined to address failures in the distributed network environment that may lead to performance issues and outages. Adapting the change is what one ought to do, then the process is precisely how one should go about the upliftment.
3. Reinvent
Renewal of focus on the customer experience to shape the right, collaborative, and agile organization model for the future will lead to a reinvention of strategies and working schedules. Innovation of the new businesses and experiences can overcome uncertainty by ensuring that the team has the right skills and is working on the right initiatives for the “never normal.”
The current environment is accelerating future trends high. Post-crisis, the companies will need to continue to build on capabilities they have stood up in crisis mode as a sustainable and evolving part of their business. The new normal is here to stay. Prioritize choices that align to the long-term business strategy and innovate solutions that can sustain for the long term.
They are earning the audience’s trust by offering support when everything else is uncertain and overwhelming. Many organizations have started to accept this trait and are leading the way with simple and natural solutions that can help customers and employees hand in hand. Giveaways, CSR, and special deals can help build relationships with people who can easily outlast the pandemic and nourish the working environment.
- Expand the existing virtual agent environments with prioritized intents, urgency, and 24/7 activation. Human agents must be available to focus on the most complex and valuable customer needs, and automation can handle everything else at ease.
- Deploy COVID-19 specific virtual agents for public service use cases (Social benefit motive). Define new intents for the world, build on existing solutions, and ensure content relevancy with the rapidly evolving global situation at par.
Make customers aware of what the company is doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Send a courteous email to customers and post signage in-store to assure them that the company is doing everything they can to protect their and customers’ health when they visit your store. Share any increased cleaning, disinfecting, and hygiene protocols the company follows. Let them know that self-quarantine enforcement among employees who might be experiencing symptoms is being tracked. If there is an alteration in working hours or closing your store for a deep-clean, it’s the duty to tell them as they should know that, too.
It’s essential to enforce and preach good hygiene practices and encourage everyone who passes through doors (customers and employees alike) to follow the rules and regulations laid by the Centres for disease control and preventions recommendation for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The Bottomline
Now is the actual time for consumer companies to invest in the data, technology, and systems required to deliver exceptional consumer experiences to the world. Organizations that can understand customers better and adapt faster are likely to be the next customer-experience leaders. This irreversible trend has ensured that one can move forward with new ideas, prospects, and inventions. In the impending crisis, every company needs to look after the customer experience and strive to suggest the best utility and comfort to the customers. Embrace the new reality by adopting emerging trends, such as agile supply chain planning and innovative ways to connect and keep pace with the preference of customers.
