Customer Loyalty, and Retention in a Post-COVID World: A Customer Service State of Mind

All global economies have been impacted by a non-selective economic catalyst. COVID-19 has altered consumers’ behaviors within global economies. And change has been inevitable, especially for customer service.

If you are looking for a domestic outsourced contact center (CC) partner, want to improve cost/value with outsourcing, manage work-from-home troops, or are considering changing your current CC partner, Global Contact Services provides all of these services. 

Customer experience, loyalty, and retention in post-COVID industries are being redefined, and present overwhelming challenges to customer service approaches. By learning how to read and anticipate a customer’s changing habits and addressing those changes through the implementation of innovative approaches, you will build stronger relationships that will endure and your company will thrive.

What was once the norm is no longer true — activities once taken for granted are now risky, and more complicated. Demand patterns have shifted.

What Are These Changes?
The world has never encountered customer purchasing behavior changes of this magnitude. Few companies were spared.

Shopping behaviors, product needs, and post-purchase satisfaction levels have all been altered. Online purchases and virtual shopping have skyrocketed, and studies suggest that gaining customer loyalty may be challenging considering the decrease in satisfaction levels.

Changing the Customer Service Mindset
The COVID-19 crisis is coincidental to business transformation due to increasing customer experience expectations as well as legal requirements.

Consumer behaviors are being reshaped. Millions of people have retreated into quarantine and isolation. Their world revolves around how their “trusted” businesses respond to their customer service needs — their level of care, empathy, and concern. Although economists predict a boom once things start to “open up,” customers may be reticent in going “all in” and back to the “old norm.”

So, how do you get your customers to go from raving mad to a raving fan?

Restructuring a business’ infrastructure to accommodate necessary changes can be complex and overwhelming. However, an outsourced center partner such as GCS helps you deliver your customer service objectives at a very cost-effective approach. Global Contact Services (GCS) provides a Virtual Contact Center that helps you deliver results — while being scalable to your company’s needs. 

GCS Named One of the Best Call Services of 2021 

From expediently migrating your teams to high-tech work-from-home models, to managing scattered teams through cloud sharing, to managing widely dispersed teams, GCS delivers more than your basic business continuity platforms.

GCS carefully selects the agents best-suited to your company’s needs and focuses training on the topics most important to your organization, resulting in SMEs who consistently deliver top-notch results.

An outsourcing center with a reliable business model and a demonstrated ability to manage the agents to achieve successful results can be very beneficial. Read more about how our hybrid agent workforce model can benefit your organization.

Creating a Customer State of Mind

Studies show that having a focused team of agents provides consistency that customers learn to trust and depend on. Companies who step into the digital age have reaped the benefits:

● Adopt and adjust — even the most electronically challenged are now onboard with digital delivery. For those  confined, digital delivery has become a necessity.

● Companies that rapidly adopt digital functionalities are better equipped to ensure continuity of services.

● Using state-of-the-art technology should assist the process, not replace the human element.

● Offer genuine support. 60% of Americans are genuinely concerned about their safety, and 43% are genuinely worried about their job or income.

● Develop novel ways that yield fast results to track consumer emotions.

● Solicit employee feedback and suggestions. They are an excellent source of real-time information on customer sentiments.

● Invest in technology and tools to rapidly collect input from frontline employees.

● Ensure that you are supporting your support teams—customers are very perceptive.

● Actively raise awareness for digital and remote platform usage.

Examining Realities
Buyers are far more cost-conscious when seeking out the best deals. Continuing to interact with customers and prospects in a personalized manner online is critical. Live chat is an excellent service.

Customer retention and loyalty are paramount. Customers are expecting more service and value from their purchases.

If you have inventory that needs to be sold, offer payment flexibility, sales incentives, and huge discounts to jumpstart sales. Traditional sales techniques will be set aside, creating opportunities for new models.

Starting now is imperative. To recover as quickly as possible from this crisis, it is essential to establish customer lifetime values early. This will drive growth and build resilience.

An excellent example of addressing the changes in a customers’ service state of mind was demonstrated by the Nissan City Hub in Paris, France. Their novel approach in 2019 connected the digital behaviors of today’s consumers with a traditional dealership. It emulates the at-home pre-purchase experience that prospective customers have, with one-on-one time with a Nissan Intelligent Mobility Ambassador and test drive scheduling.

This pilot program is predicated on many of the e-commerce options that online sellers have conditioned buyers to expect on all purchases and illustrates how merging new sales models with contemporary elements helps develop new platforms and enhance transformation.

Here again, GCS creates these types of platforms seamlessly, so you benefit from integrating and outsourcing as many segments of your business as you see fit, i.e., personnel management and  customer service.

Starting Small and Scaling Quickly

Evaluating where change can be most beneficial is an excellent place to start. Pilot programs can provide a lot of data needed to transition to the next level more effectively. One-size-fits-all interactions are no longer applicable –they are yielding to more individualized and personalized ones more than ever before.

Re-imagining the Customer Experience in a Post-COVID-19 World
At some point, this crisis will end —however, changes in buyer preferences and business models are expected to outlast the COVID-19 crisis. Speculation of the long-lasting effects may include:

● Customers permanently shifting to online shopping.
● Economic influences will persist. Leading companies will be able to sustain emerging customer demands by being flexible and recognizing the “new norm” while establishing a means to salvage their business.
● Brick-and-mortar stores may be significantly impacted due to the adaptation and comfort level with remote, low-touch, and digital options.
● Underperforming stores will shutter. This will create many opportunities for those who remain standing to capture this lost volume.
● Examining the dynamics of networks and multi-channel sales across digital channels and wholesale partners.
● Companies should also study fulfillment options that provide pick-up/drop-off for servicing.

End-to-end solutions are vital to online sales. Outsourcing and engaging the services of Global Contact Services (GCS) allows you to focus on other aspects of your business while we take care of your customer service needs. Visit our website to learn more about the industries we serve or Call GCS today to discuss your company’s needs and be sure to ask about our other services: 

● Staffing Management
● Consulting
● Training and Certification