Meeting Customer Expectations In A Digital Age
Pretty much all business functions now involve some digital element or another. Whether it’s credit control or shopping for your favourite products, you can be sure that there’s some involvement from technology. The rise in digital has also seen a rise in customer demand which leaves many businesses wondering how they can keep up with customers rising expectations. Discover how your business can continue meeting customers’ expectations in a digital age.
Welcome new changes
Technology is everchanging and that’s something that many businesses are learning to embrace. It can become easy to get stuck in a rut, but with new evolutions in technology this means that businesses need to adapt or they’ll get left behind by their tech-savvy competitors. The rising use of technology in business has led to a shift in businesses offering new customer service positions. This can lead to employees becoming specialists in particular customer service areas.
Technology is your friend, not your enemy
Technology is your friend, not your enemy, so use it to your advantage. Technology has given us the capacity to be able to improve customer service. Chat bots and automated responses offer speedy answers that can help your customers instantly.
That’s not to say that chat bots and technology will replace your customer service department. In fact, there are some things that friendly chat bots and automated calls just can’t do. Which leads us nicely onto our next point…
Don’t lose the human touch
It can be easy to get carried away with all the latest gadgets and customer service developments in technology, but don’t forget about offering the human touch. Too many automations – whether it’s chat bots or voice recognition telephone messages – can negatively impact your customer’s experience.
Using too many automated devices to deliver customer service can leave your customers feeling frustrated with an overly robotic approach. Technology can help you keep up to date with customer demand in this digital age, but it’s important to give customers a way to reach your live customer service department too. One reason for this is that your customer may have a problem that is simply too complex for an automated bot to understand. What’s more, being able to talk through an issue with a person can provide a better customer service experience.
Future proof your products and services
Strive to plan forward as much as you can for your products and services. While no one knows the future, forecasting ahead and using trends to inform your decisions can help you to meet customer demand in the coming months. Use seasonal trends and historical figures to look at previous customer engagement levels and take appropriate action to meet customer demand. This may mean buying more email credits so that you can keep in contact with a wider customer base, or hiring more staff to man live chat systems.
Ask your customers
Feedback is extremely valuable to a business. Asking your customers for feedback will give you insight into what’s working and what needs improvement within your company. It can also provide important information on how product features or services are performing. In short, customer feedback can help you make appropriate business changes to better suit their needs.
Technology is ever changing which means there are always new innovative ways you can reach your customers. Embracing technology will help your business move forward in a digital age and, in turn, will help you meet rising customer expectations.
For more business information, tips and advice, check out the Know-it blog.
Lynne is the Founder and CEO of Know-it!
She is a passionate, driven and forward-thinking entrepreneur determined to help resolve the late payment crisis gripping SMEs.
Having worked within the credit management industry for over 27 years and ran UK leading commercial debt recovery specialists Darcey Quigley & Co for over 16 years, Know-it was devleoped to make credit control more accessilble for SMEs to help them effectively mitigate credit risk, reduce debtor days and boost cashflow!
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