Think you are great at customer service? You can bet your competitors are thinking the exact same thing! It is important to understand that post-pandemic the world has changed, and so have your customers, writes Sharon Williams co-founder of Taurus Marketing.

The way they experience your brand may well have shifted and now is a good time to review how that looks, both inside and outside your business.

7 tips to make your customer experience and personalisation top notch

1. People still buy people

The majority of your customers buy because they like you! No matter how exceptional your product or service is, the closer you build the relationship, the more successful you will be. So how did Covid-19 affect or change this and what are you doing to re-invigorate or re-instate that customer relationship?

2. Pick up the phone

In today’s new normal, we are spending hours relying on technology and are virtually tied to our desks experiencing Zoom after Zoom. Nothing compares to picking up the phone, making personal contact and having a real conversation one on one. This is so much more powerful than hiding behind email.

3. Add value with every interaction

Relationships are based on trust. But post-pandemic our trust has been lost, from trust of government to our trust of the media. People are looking for reliability more than ever, so take time to earn and maintain their trust – Find out what keeps your customer awake at night and understand what pressures they face so you can offer timely help. Adding value will help you stand out from the crowd and will show your customer how important they are to you.

4. Use a variety of ‘touchpoints’ to make that difference

Although the phone is key, find a variety of different ways to communicate with your customers. Multiple points of contact such as face to face meetings, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, EDMs, special offers, emails, newsletters or event invitations, will support and maintain those important relationships.

5. Do what you say you are going to do

The importance of response times (getting back to clients quickly) is a key factor more than ever. Return calls as quickly as possible. Show you can deliver on promises and deadlines and if these cannot be met, communicate this to your client.

6. Your customers have all the answers, so ask them!

Take time to re-acquaint your company with your customers to track how you are doing. They have all the answers, shared experiences and will tell you what they need from you. If their feedback is positive, then make it your minimum standard of customer service excellence. If the feedback is negative, act quickly to fill the gaps!

7. Review how to make life easy for your customers

Some industries love complex language, but our customers generally don’t! Look at how you can shorten and simplify documentation you send to customers, ensuring it’s clear and concise. Save their time. Do not make your customers trawl through pages of words to find the one piece of information they need – it will only put people off!

Keeping customers happy is not rocket science, but post pandemic, the world (and that includes your customers world) has been rocked. Treat them as you would like to be treated yourself. We are all ‘just people’ and remember, at the end of the day – people buy people.

This post was first published on April 12 2021 and republished  September 4 2021

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