“A customer service department should be not just one department, but the work of an entire company,” sais Tony Shay, founder and CEO of Zappos. This approach led the entrepreneur to success: his online store of clothes, shoes and accessories Zappos.com was acquired by Amazon in 2009 for $ 1.2 billion.

Creating a positive customer experience is the new black. Brand strength is directly proportional to its quality. And not only is customer service a broader area than the original narrow meaning of this expression, but it is also developing at an unprecedented rate today. Those companies that understand the trend and invest in this area will ultimately not only create trusting relationships with customers but will also receive a significant advantage compared to those that compete solely in product, price or promotion.

Businesses are moving away from organizationally-oriented development strategies and are increasingly thinking about customer needs. 73% of companies with a user experience level rated as “above average” show better financial performance than their less customer-oriented competitors.

81% of American business leaders believe that the company’s communication function is highly important in dealing with the effects of the coronavirus recession. The focus is on attracting and maintaining loyal customers, and loyalty is the unique emotional and monetary relationship of the buyer with the brand on a long-term basis.

Supermarket chains usually provide the best quality of service, and television and internet service providers are the worst. And customers want their consumer experience to be enjoyable, simple, and, if possible, emotionally rewarding. 85% of consumers are willing to pay up to 25% more to get superior quality service. Each moment of interaction with a buyer for a brand is an opportunity to provide useful or innovative experience and achieve a “wow-effect”.

Chat bots, instant messengers — millennials and their preferences dictate the use of different methods of communication. With each new Uber, Google Express, Tinder or Slack, customer expectations increase. Moreover, their expectations regarding interaction with companies are changing, which sets a new benchmark for others. Today the most amazing experience is not only feasible but is quickly becoming the standard.

The “Wow effect» occurs when there is a synergy of consumer experience and employee experience in a single ecosystem. In this article, we will tell you how to get a grateful and loyal customer.

Anticipating the needs

Time is the most valuable currency. When Kerry Drake boarded his United Airlines flight, his mother was dying, and Drake knew that if he missed a connecting flight, he would probably not see her for the last time. After his first flight got delayed, Drake burst into tears right on the plane. The flight attendants quickly found out what happened, and after a few minutes, the captain managed to delay the next flight of Drake. As a result of the fact that many employees worked together to help this client, Drake went to the hospital on time to see his mother.

Drake wrote a letter to the staff in order to express great gratitude for help. On CNN covering this story Christopher Elliot, a lawyer, said: “Airline employees are evaluated based on their ability to adhere to the schedule. Airlines compete with each other in this matter. When the flight crew heard about this passenger distraught with grief, they must have said: “To hell with it” … and made the right call. ”

Seeking for inspiration everywhere and innovating

The current epidemiological situation and mandatory distance measures can ruin your business or it can make it way stronger. So, many adherents of fitness and sports were left without the usual workouts feeling depressed and locked at home. WorldClass every day produces from 7 to 8 workouts for adults and children in a variety of formats daily and for free. We are anticipating to see how their sales will increase after the closure of quarantine measures.

Another case: a longtime Lego fan named Luka spent all his Christmas money on a Lego ninja Jay XZ. Contrary to his father’s advice, he took his Ninjago to a shopping center and lost it eventually. Luke wrote a letter to Lego, explaining his loss and assuring employees that he would take care of his figure if they sent him another one. The response he received from a support representative quickly became viral on social networks. The boy received a toy in return for the lost one and another.

Employee involvement played a key role in this case. 59% of consumers say that they lack live human communication for their consumer experience, and 72% of highly involved employees are convinced that they can positively influence it.

Co-creating with the target audience

A story from the Sainsbury supermarket shows how a support team can find opportunities to do something extraordinary. Lily Robinson, who insists she is three and a half years old, was somewhat embarrassed by one of Sainsbury’s products called tiger bread. In her eyes, the bread didn’t look like a tiger at all and actually looked like a giraffe. With the help of parents, a letter was written to the customer service department.

To her surprise, support manager Chris King (27 years and one third) told her that he could not agree to this. He explained the origin of the name:
“I think that renaming bread with a giraffe from tiger bread is a brilliant idea — it looks more like spots of a giraffe than a tiger, does it? It is called tiger bread because the first baker who made it a long time ago thought it looked stripey like a tiger. Maybe they were a little stupid.
Mom Lily posted letters on her blog, they became a viral hit. The client in this case, of course, was right and discovered an unusual opportunity to do something fun, the supermarket, of course, changed the name of the bread.

What else can be done? To be an authority: writing blogs that showcase your knowledge and experience in your field will give your brand credibility. This is valuable. Show that you understand your customers: Open two-way communication channels. Try to understand their needs, desires and desires, and then show them what you understand. Respond to reviews: stay active in the comment sections, apply their reviews to your product or service.

Social and digital progress haму launched a brave new world in which customers expect brands to participate on their terms, at any time and through different communication channels. Some companies do not keep pace with the development of consumer behavior and expectations, and as a result they degrade, and over time lose their relevance and market share.

Experts estimate that 89% of consumers changed brands due to poor customer service. In the second part of the article, the POPSOP team is going to tell about reputation, negative user experience and will reveal the cases of Zoom, BMW and other large companies.