Guided CX Insights

Change is hard. This is no less true in customer care than it is in any other aspect of life.

Customers are still human beings. Sometimes, in this day and age of mountains of data, it’s easy for companies to lose track of that seemingly obvious fact.

Part of my job is to research customer service, online commerce, and the ongoing technology investment required for retailers to make the jump from offline to online. You see it everywhere from customer service agents to the customers themselves – we’re truly on the verge of amazing change.

The pandemic has been a driving force for change in the way we live, work, and interact with one another. Most customers have drastically changed their expectations, and brands must step up to meet the need or risk being left behind. In the post-pandemic landscape, companies must adapt their customer service, marketing, and digital experiences to meet the heightened demands of consumers.

There’s no one ingredient to cultivating customer loyalty. But a lot of it comes down to a simple question: “How hard are you making them work for what they want?”

You don’t know much about the person visiting your website. With all of the hours we spend on market research — understanding customer needs and preferences and pain points — it’s easy to forget that. But inevitably, we only end up with a portrait of the people we want to engage with — and most of the time, that template rarely fits to the actual, unique individuals that are our customers. Why does this matter? Because that gap between customer persona and real person can be a big one. Companies that forget there’s a difference can end up selling to the persona and missing the biggest opportunity in digital: making the whole experience feel human. And succeeding there starts with empathy.

Customers crave friendly, informed service. I know this, because I’ve worked the front lines in Glance Network’s customer service department. The relationship I have with our customers is of the highest importance to me, and we strive to provide excellent customer service that exceeds basic standards. That attitude is reflected in the rave reviews we’ve gotten from our customers in return.

With everything going on over the last three years, you may have missed it—but the “digital customer experience” is now basically the entire customer experience. And that’s catching some companies off guard.

Originally published in CRM Xchange By Tom Martin, CEO, Glance April 27, 2021