Today, companies, thanks to data, can measure their performance in real time and undertake proactive strategies to benefit their business. Unfortunately, this is an opportunity that not everyone is taking advantage of.
If you think about it as consumers we are invited to express preferences all the time: on the speed of shipping, the service received, the quality of the product.
We send data, data, and more data, which influence not only the approach of other consumers, but increase brand reputation and enable companies--who analyze them--to better understand expectations and degree of satisfaction.
Statistics from Zendesk's CX Trends Report 2021 confirm that50 percent of customers are ready to choose a competitor following a bad experience.
The alternative is always just a click away, as the marketplace is increasingly competitive, especially since many businesses have started opening their own eCommerce.
With these new balances, it is much easier to lose a customer than to intercept new ones; companies need to be careful about making missteps! What is the solution? Experiential marketing, the key to SME growth, as we mentioned in the previous article.
By analyzing data related to customer experience (CX) you can undertake strategies to increase loyalty. You can solve critical issues and meet the expectations of all users more quickly.
Although this thinking seems more obvious than revolutionary, there are so many retailers collecting data in an unstructured way. They use Excel sheets as CRMs or their own touch points still in a multichannel perspective, that is, separate from each other.
Then there are also those who do not consult these data at all. Maybe it's because they don't have the right tools to centralize and use this information to guide decision making.
Result? Companies end up offering a standardized approach in service and upselling initiatives, because they do not recognize the users they interact with. They also lack visibility of requests even when they are submitted simultaneously on many of their touch points (email, chat, phone, WhatsApp, Facebook).
Managing workflows is by no means simple and straightforward, especially if you do not monitor in real time all the interactions and the agents who are dealing with them.
This gap undermines the optimization of internal processes and the timely resolution of every request even to the detriment of customers. Not to mention the complications that arise when, in order to find a solution, the same user interfaces with multiple work teams that, however, are not aligned with each other.
Experiential marketing to put the customer at the center of your priorities!
You will understand that the success of a good customer experience is built from many details. But also from all the information that allows you to solidify long-term relationships, balancing cost and ROI.
Today we'll tell you about Zendesk, the omnichannel help desk integrated with your business applications (such as CRM, telephone switchboard), with which you can improve your performance.
As a partner of Zendesk in Italy, power2Cloud can help you implement this omnichannel help desk in your company, integrating it with your business applications. We have already helped startups and SMEs in this process, following customized workflows and needs, would you like to start too?
During 2020, many businesses were forced to close their doors and move online.
The COVID-19 taught us that consumer expectations and the way they shop has changed abruptly. As you're trying to embark on new strategies to recover revenue and scale quickly, don't forget experiential marketing!
Adopt an approach that places the customer at the center of all strategies undertaken, to enhance the lived experience with your brand.
We are not referring exclusively to the purchases you make, but to all the interactions you exchange with your users, whether it is an information request, a return, a complaint, and so on.
The empathy that is created between consumers and your company is important, you just need to listen to them carefully!
With the right tools, you can gather, map and analyze their needs, meet their expectations, and correct your weaknesses. Enhancing the uniqueness of your offer is easier through exclusive and personalized communications, to immediately create added value and make an impact over the competition.
Set goals and invest time
It is no secret, the growth of any business does not happen overnight, but is the result of small victories collected over a long period of time, which is why we talk about experiential marketing.
Mind you, don't leave anything out!
In retail there are a number of processes that can be improvediif the company has the time to collect data sets, such as reviews, that are useful in understanding even its own weaknesses.
Some examples? "Too much plastic, the packaging is not recycled!" "The product has too many dyes." "It doesn't have easy-to-open packaging." "Aren't there any single-servings?" "Can't you also include a body line?" "I can't attach a personalized message to the purchase!" "Why don't they also include PayPal payment?"
Armire patience. The list can be long and varies from case to case. You may discover things you had not weighed with proper importance.
Setting goals to channel employees' work and attention is certainly a priority.
Goals should be in line with the target market and the company's overall strategy: they should not be too ambitious--they would become too expensive to implement--nor too reductive--because you might lose even the customers you already have.
Naturally each company will undertake its own strategy, and this will have an impact across the board.
Some, for example, will choose to prioritize lower rates or broad product selection over customer experience. Others will include net customer value growth (the difference between the number of new customers the business has acquired in a given period, minus the number of customers the business has lost in the same period) or a high promoter score (how likely a customer is to recommend the business to a friend, family member, or colleague), which will increase the number of word-of-mouth referrals as a result of a good online or in-store experience.
If retailers learn to consistently monitor quality goals for the customer experience, they will begin to play a key role in employee KPIs, motivating agents and colleagues who will feel the work is even more impactful to achieve this success.
Analyze data and encourage creativity
When goals and approaches in business change, as in the case of customer experience, it is important for stakeholders to be involved in the process.
Every employee should be encouraged to access and consult the company's collected data (including customer experience data), particularly when it is relevant to their role and work.
Involving the entire company--regardless of whether it is a marketing colleague or those working in the field at the point of sale--in the analysis of all data, including those related to traffic, cost, and CX data, will prompt collaboration and problem solving, thus increased competitiveness of all teams against the market.
We like this approach, because every employee becomes part of the conversation, an important building block for achieving new goals.
It is equally important for companies to foster a healthy and free environment for discussion, even if ideas do not go as planned.
This encourages employees--even younger employees--to be open and proactive, while companies teach the intrinsic value they have for their business, to build a strong and resilient workforce that can immediately recognize what is not working in order to improve.
During the pandemic, many retailers quickly tested new strategies in local stores, hoping to control their finances without sacrificing the experience of their customers.
Providing for rapid testing and evaluation will help retail companies collect huge amounts of data, including CX data. These rapid cycles offer great long-term benefits because they allow new approaches to be tried regularly, studying customer reactions. So agents can understand what works and whether these changes have the potential to be implemented company-wide.
Document and share your knowledge
Once companies understand that data plays a key role in their customers' experience, they need to make this information accessible to colleagues to consult it easily, securely, quickly, and intuitively.
By encouraging employees to record both mistakes and successful approaches, the company can build a successful structure that quickly engages and informs new colleagues as well, in case of turnover.
This can be achieved by creating user-friendly dedicated digital channels within the company, where tests can be described and learnings nurtured, holding weekly meetings to discuss both the success and failure of tests and strategies.
This is a data-centric approach, setting goals and priorities, using all information and documenting what is learned to deliver an experience that lives up to customer expectations.
What is your goal? Aim for experiential marketing.
Retailers in the past year have seen the shopping experience of their customers, the work of their employees, and, ultimately, that of other companies that have done everything they can to remain competitive.
Let's review some data:
- 84% adopted new tools or processes
- 44% managed remote teams
- 37% had to lay off employees
All of these changes have been and still are difficult to manage because they have come on suddenly, catching many off guard. It is no wonder, then, that 68 percent of officers feel overwhelmed.
To meet not only your customers, but also your employees, we want to remind you of five thoughts that are helping to improve customer experience (CX).
1. Spotlight on customer experience
This year the customer experience has shifted mostly online, in-person interactions have declined, but the importance of providing meaningful experiences has not. 69% of retailers were more attentive and concerned about customer experience this year than last. That's why they are trying to offer an increasingly personalized approach through all the channels they make available.
We would like to remind you that when we talk about a better CX, we are not referring exclusively to the purchases made, but to all the interactions that affect the relationship between users and your brand, whether it is an inquiry, a return, a complaint, and so on.
2. We are in a more colloquial world
Good customer experience assumes meeting customers where they are. Intercept them on the channels they find most familiar and where they spend most of their time.
In general, customers mostly prefer messaging channels. Not surprisingly, retailers have seen a 24% increase in support requests on WhatsApp, and so 37% have added a new channel aimed at social messaging to increase engagement.
3. Watchword: agility
The ability to adapt quickly has always been recognized as a useful skill for any business, but 2020 has upped the ante.
65% of retailers are trying to improve their agility by making use of agents, tools to manage workflows, and Artificial Intelligence. Retailers with the highest CX performance are 1.8 more likely to use workflow management tools.
4. The future of work is now!
Retailers are reorganizing the way their agents support their customers.
46% have announced smart working for their employees, but only 47% feel they have the right tools to do so, while 51% of CX Managers currently lack the means to measure its success.
Unfortunately you can customize support solutions to help your teams work smarter.
This makes support ticket resolution and agent collaboration faster.
Also remember that cloud solutions like Zendesk can be accessed from any device (computer, tablet, mobile) and provide flexibility and continuity to your work.
5. The digital turn
The shift to digital has been accelerated there is no doubt about it. Retailers who were previously slow to make this transition have had to make it urgently, even if not all of them had the necessary budget.
Zendesk offers scalability to your portfolio and growth. You can pay only for the licenses you need according to your availability.
Experiential marketing with Zendesk is a breeze!
Improving the customer experience is difficult, continuing to make customers happy even more challenging.
With Zendesk you can offer your customers the support they need, on the channels they prefer. Because happy consumers become repeat customers, this can sustain your success.
Zendesk is used by pharmacies, large-scale retail, eCommerce, delivery services, government,
Here are some aspects you must not forget if you wish to move to experiential marketing:
- Offer personalized service
Profiles complete with information help you understand which user you are interacting with. With Zendesk, you can centralize data from all your company's channels and teams: email, billing, order history, preferences. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to deliver what they need, when they need it, how they need it.
- Scaling with automations and AI
If customers are happy, business grows. You can continue to answer their questions quickly and efficiently. With unified knowledge, thanks to Zendesk, you can offer support on the channel (email, phone, chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.) they prefer.
Of course you can make use of FAQs, the Answer Bot and other automations to answer frequently asked questions. This way you can allow your agents to focus on the more complex tasks that necessarily require their presence. Even a very circumscribed team of agents--due to pandemic, resources, or timing--can process thousands of tickets per month flawlessly with Zendesk.
- Always be available
Gone are the days when emails and phone calls were only received during business hours, today customers have 24-hour access to your brand: from eCommerce to chat, from Facebook to WhatsApp.
With Zendesk you are able to offer ongoing support that satisfies your customers, but also the agents who need to assist them. You can make sure they get the help they need, when they need it, so they can get back to more important things like shopping soon.
- Transform your ecosystem of distributors and suppliers into trusted partners
Your products will not see the light of day without the help of an extended ecosystem of suppliers, distributors, and
sellers. From design and development to distribution and analysis, it's easy to manage all parts
in every step of this journey.
Ask our team for a demo. We can quickly activate it and recognize all the features your business needs. You can always count on a dedicated account, customized training and the best integrations to work with an extra sprint.