Responding to the challenges that the pandemic has brought on to organizations worldwide has been nothing short of a struggle. Regardless if your organization is largely B2B or B2C centric, the landscape in which organizations communicate with their customers has become extremely important. Customer communication management (CCM) for many businesses has changed over the past year, primarily focusing on providing high-quality digital communication to their customers. For many customers, these changes have made a lasting impact.
However, there are a number of customers who have reported otherwise. In fact, a good majority of them are unhappy with how certain organizations have responded to recent pandemic restrictions. Nearly half of all businesses in which customers interact have not provided a means to high-quality communication that is expected of said customers. In situations where these customers feel this way, they’re more likely to avoid spending money and find another business that can provide them with what they’re looking for. In order to avoid this, organizations must provide their customers with high-quality CCM. Without it, businesses run the risk of losing existing customers and failing to attract new customers. How can organizations provide such quality CCM, though?
When developing high-quality CCM strategies, businesses should prioritize these three aspects: personalization, privacy and security. Personalized communication allows for customers to feel that their unique needs are being understood and action is being taken to meet those needs. While customers are providing this information, they want to feel safe and secure, meaning their personal information is not in jeopardy. In order to provide a private and secure means to communicating, businesses will likely have to develop digital communication platforms that are integrated with their other business operating systems.
Despite personalization and privacy being atop the list in terms of important attributes for high-quality CCM, these only scratch the surface of expectations of customers. As more and more advancements have been made in recent years, the expectations of customers have risen as well. For example, consider something that is now commonplace for many online retailers: live chat. Just a few years ago, an organization having a fully functioning live chat was remarkable. Even if there were a few bugs, being able to communicate to a business representative in real time was truly astounding. Nowadays, this sort of service is common. In fact, it has become more uncommon for an online retailer to not provide this service to its customers.
Finally, one aspect of a CCM strategy that bounds all other offerings together is omnichannel communication. Meaning customers want the ability to interact with your business through all of the available online facets. Social media, websites, and promotional text messages are all examples of an omnichannel approach. Rather than forcing your customers to communicate or conduct business in only one manner, expanding the means in which you communicate with your customers also makes it more likely for your business to attract additional customers.
For additional information on how to craft the best CCM strategy for your business, please consider checking out the infographic coupled with this post. Courtesy of Conduent.
