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The coronavirus is currently determining everyday life, both for private individuals and companies. The management between home office and childcare is a major hurdle for many private individuals, but companies are also facing major challenges in view of the new legal requirements.
While these requirements have the highest priority, companies cannot ignore the satisfaction of their customers despite everything. In this article we give advice on how you can ensure a great customer experience even in these difficult times and thus start stronger after the Corona crisis.
Listen carefully to your customers
The current forecasts see a slump in market volume in the coming period, but this does not mean that people will consume less in the future. That is why it is now particularly important to listen carefully to the already insecure customers and to discuss which topics and questions currently have priority.
You should therefore actively pay attention to all channels through which you obtain customer feedback and react directly. Does the ordering process continue to run smoothly, does the goods reach your customers on time as usual, is customer support helpful and available? We also recommend proactively approaching customers and addressing these issues directly.
Offer helpful tips and content directly.
In these times it is important to demonstrate that you are still there for your customers.
Provide informative graphics, blog articles, collections of tips and advice, or videos that you can convey to the desired target group through your various marketing channels.
This will also help you get started with the aforementioned proactive communication with your customers, where you anticipate the worries and problems directly and offer solutions. With a well-chosen strategy and approach, you can achieve greater customer loyalty to your company.
Communicate clearly and transparently
Companies as well as private individuals are currently demanding clear words and transparency with regard to the current situation and how to proceed.
This information obligation is also yours. Don't wait for customers to ask you about longer waiting times, anticipate any interruptions in the supply chain.
Inform your customers about new support times if your team cannot be reached at the usual times or within the usual framework due to illness, short-time work or home office. It is advisable to create special newsletters for this, to communicate the situation via social media channels or to publish this information directly on the company website.
Be flexible, also with regard to your offer
Resist the reflex to rely on short-term growth in sales due to the current economic situation.
In times of crisis it is important to be flexible and to show your customers that you want to continue working with them for the long term. This can be implemented, for example, with the help of promotions and discounts, discounts on shipping or a fair approach with regard to payment targets or return deadlines.
Reach out to your customers and you will leave a lasting impression even after the crisis and achieve long-term customer loyalty.
Don't neglect your employees
Not only your customers, but also your employees are dealing with some very existential issues in this crisis.
- How secure is my employment?
- What points do I have to consider in the home office and how do I juggle work and childcare during this time?
Relieve your employees of all concerns early on by communicating proactively and transparently. We also recommend collecting feedback from your employees on a regular basis, for example with an internal anonymous employee survey using the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS).
As you can see, the current situation is no reason to become frozen. On the contrary, if you act correctly now, communicate proactively and transparently, offer tips and solutions, be accommodating, listen and react directly to the feedback collected, in short, when you stand as solid as a rock for your customers, you will be strengthened and with emerge from the crisis with stronger customer loyalty.
Recommended reading: If this article helped you and you would like to learn more about the role of NPS in shaping the customer experience, continue reading here: "The role of NPS in customer experience (CX)"