Coping with the new normal!

Covid-19 brought so many things with it- like lockdowns, regulations, and shutdowns. Along with the far-reaching changes that altered our day-to-day lives, the pandemic has affected the purchasing decisions of customers too. These changes in consumer behavior and decisions can be challenging to business owners and industrialists.

As we all try to find balance in this new normal, it’s important to adapt and switch to a better customer strategy. We know how the pandemic has hit the business stores and purchase rate. We have seen how the definition of ‘online’ expanded as all of us were forced to stay indoors. So, online presence is inevitable for every business, now more than ever.

What does ‘online presence’ mean to your business?

Well, the first thing that came to your mind may be a website for your business. That’s a basic requirement for every business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t even have a proper website when customers today expect a lot more than a website. To keep your head above water, it’s crucial to have a properly functioning website and a regularly updated presence on other channels of communication.

Customers want the businesses to be available on multiple platforms according to their choice. Defining your ‘online presence’ depends on the type of your business and the nature of your customers. It’s not about just having a social media account or a website. It’s about actively engaging with customers and regularly updating your content and strategies to meet the expectations of your customers.

It can seem like a Himalayan task to you, but tools like Cloodot are here to help you with your customer interaction and reputation management. So, worry less and start making a change.

Updating your status

We can go on and on about how uncertain our present situation is. We can’t be sure about anything at all. This uncertainty has influenced the customer values and decisions as well. Imagine a person who drives up all the way to find a shop that is closed or someone unsure about whether the business is currently offering delivery services. Amidst all this chaos and confusion, isn’t it our responsibility to provide updated information about our status?

Knowing that we no longer provide a certain service or that we have switched to another way to abide by the regulations will help the customers a lot when they consider buying a product or service. The best thing you can do is to update your status on platforms like Google My Business so that the customers won’t have trouble finding it.

This is not only to increase your reputation but also to help a confused customer. Providing your details, contact information, and status will increase your authenticity and reliability for sure. Rather than feeding to the uncertainty, choose to update exact information on the available customer services at a particular time.

Connecting to customers 

In this era of digital transformation, competition has acquired a different shape and it’s hard to stay on top if you’re not aware of what customers need. That’s where connecting to customers comes into the picture. We already talked about the importance of an active online presence for a business to thrive in these times. You need a multi-channel presence to reach out to your customers anytime.

In other words, you must be easily available to your customers at whatever time, channel, or device they may choose. You will have to reply to their queries and address their grievances on time. It’s also about nurturing leads and providing an excellent customer support system. If you stay in touch with your customers and understand their needs and expectations, it will be a lot easier for you to make positive changes in your business. Well, you don’t have to think hard to know that this is not an easy task.

Still, you can’t discard this based on the time and effort you need to put in. Connecting to your customers across multiple platforms is worth it. Plus, you can always ease yourself with the help of an all-in-one customer interaction suite like Cloodot.

Time matters 

We just send a ‘hello’ to a friend who is miles away from us and we hear back from them in seconds. We are all surrounded by instant messaging and it’s all a matter of seconds to us. Customers also expect timely responses from businesses when they place an order or just ask a question. If you take a longer time to respond to them, they may choose your competitor over you. To stop this from happening, you need to be alert and must assure that you’re updated.

A timely response is an important factor in customer satisfaction. If a customer is unhappy with your product or service, addressing their concerns as fast as possible helps you in mitigating the damage. It may even result in regaining the confidence of the unhappy customer. All these considered, the customer must feel that their concerns are addressed appropriately in much less time.

Time matters most when you ask for a review for it is most likely for a customer to leave a review before they leave your premises when the experience is still on top of their head.

Building an overall customer experience 

Do you know what brings a company to the top even if the products or services they offer are similar to many of their competitors? It’s the customer experience. Customers today prefer a personalized and wholesome experience. That’s why how your business treats customers becomes crucial to your growth. You have to present a seamless customer experience that expands to multiple platforms.

We saw why you have to adapt to a multi-channel setup in this digital era. However, the effort you’ve put in to create such a world-class experience might be pushing you back. But what if you can find all of these conversations in one place so that you don’t have to jump from a channel to another? Cloodot offers you such an all-in-one inbox with so many tools to help you in responding to your customers on time. This way, you won’t miss any messages or reviews from your customers and your team can collaborate to create a better customer experience.

Switching to a better customer management tool enables you to stay on top by redesigning your customer experience. Most successful brands have already partnered up with customer interaction management software to fit the changing standards.

Covid-19 has permanently changed our market and economic condition. We know how hard it is to sustain your business at such difficult times, but there’s no use in blaming the situations that we’re in. That’s why we have to take action to adapt to the new normal and to keep going. Customer interaction must be in the center for our business to stand upright. How your business engages digitally with the customers is going to determine the growth of your firm. The business firms, which adapted to the newer technologies and tools, are less affected by the pandemic than others are. All you’ve to do is to focus on your customers above everything and to take steps towards better customer interaction management.

More resources should be devoted to nourishing your relationships and increasing customer satisfaction. You’ve to maintain constant communication with your customers to thrive in these times. By implementing changes according to the altered situations, you can stay ahead of the game. Offering a unique customer experience starting right when someone visits your website to the completion of the purchase is going to get you more customers. That’s how you stay as their no.1 choice, despite the situations. The pandemic has shown us, among other things, the importance of staying connected and updated.