3 min
With COVID-19 (coronavirus) dominating the headlines, many companies are beginning to contemplate how this pandemic could change customer needs and employee expectations.
How Have Customer Needs Changed?
Crisis and significant global movements can lead to changes in customer needs and behaviors. In general, the current climate is a time of anxiety and concern for many users. Therefore, now more than ever, companies must be connected to the Voice of the Customer (VoC), so that they can be sensitive to any change in the customer journey as a reaction to this potential global epidemic.
Consequently, brands should let customers do the talking. Real-time visibility into the voice of the customer will be crucial for organizations to act in a timely and relevant manner to overcome the new weaknesses that have arisen due to the coronavirus crisis.
How To Listen To The Voice of the Customer (VoC)?
Customers constantly communicate their prospects to companies through a variety of media, from surveys and emails, to social media and website navigation patterns. Each channel has a meaning that can help build CX strategies.
For example, an increase in web traffic on cancellation pages may indicate that customers are concerned about the future of a service due to the current crisis and want to know what measures companies are taking. Initial communication of these could also remove a purchase barrier for customers.
Analyzing the signals customers send is vital for organizations to increase their responsiveness and prevent future behavior.
Likewise, social networks can serve as a great indicator for the analysis of user sentiment and, due to their spontaneous nature, they can help companies to refocus actions in near real time thanks to the active listening they can carry out by users.
How To Plan The Supply Chain And Digital Channels?
Analytical technologies like machine learning can be very helpful in identifying changes in purchasing patterns and modifying decision making if necessary. This visibility will improve the agility of a company not only to react quickly, but to avoid interruptions in supply.
For instance, brands may plan to prepare for increased reliance on digital or voice channels rather than face-to-face channels in the coming weeks in response to COVID-19 and instructions for quarantine. This could lead to companies deciding to prepare additional internal resources to deal with an influx of inquiries by phone, email or social channels. Live chat pop-ups could be added to certain pages to allow chatbots and virtual assistants to shoulder any additional burden of customer service that arises due to the epidemic.
In addition to using analytical measures, organizations must maintain close communication with all stakeholders. Efficient protocols will ensure that information is moved quickly to the right people, allowing them to prepare contingency plans.
How To Communicate With Customers And Employees?
Internal and external communication measures need to take into account the current climate, as decisions here can have a lasting impact on customer loyalty. We must ensure that the company’s external communications are balanced, show empathy and are based on facts.
It is also essential to provide employees with real-time tools and resources on what the company is doing for customers in the face of this global health emergency. This will put workers in a position to add value to customers rather than being left with nothing to say. To create these resources, it is necessary to listen to the type of queries that are made in the call centers.
How To Improve The Employee Experience?
Especially in times of widespread social stress, employees must feel valued, informed, and supported by companies. This environment retains workers and, in turn, increases the customer experience they offer.
During this incredibly sensitive time, the decisions the company makes must be considered, as the impact on customer loyalty and employee experience can last long after this health epidemic ends.
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