SEO BLOG

While your marketing professionals can help you build your brand and reach more consumers, how you treat those consumers when they come knocking is entirely up to you.  Your customer service programs should reflect the ideals of your company but they are always an area that could use consistent improvement.  With the Coronavirus pandemic affecting every aspect of daily life, it shines a bright light on holes in our service protocols that need to be addressed.  We’ve spotted a few key areas that should be implemented during Covid-19, improved upon and strengthened long after.

Shared Knowledge – Your systems could always use better responses.  Whether it’s implementing a new protocol or correcting glaring issues for your customer service reps, now is the time to band together as a business and figure out how you can streamline and improve processes.  Make sure everyone shares their experiences – from managers and senior staff to phone reps and chat agents.  The point is to identify weaknesses that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed and strengthen them to hold steady in the future.

Take Care Of Staff – This should be obvious but you’d be surprised how little you may be supporting your staff.  It’s become even more obvious in this disaster that we need to support our support staff on a whole other level.  Make sure they feel valued and that they are heard while you make yourself available to them through emails, texts, phone calls and vid chats.  It isn’t enough to have the appropriate tools to engage customers or the shared knowledge to make the consumer experience better – your support staff needs positive reinforcement and to feel appreciated.  Offer weekly games for rewards, such as a riddle that needs to be solved, and be sure to let them know how they help you do better and do more.  By keeping your support staff encouraged and safe, they can provide much better service to your customers.

In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, make help easily accessible.  Implement protocols and safety precautions so they feel less exposed and more secure whether they work from home or come to the office.

Reach Out To The Community – Let’s face it, your customers need help.  While it may seem obvious during the pandemic, it applies at all times.  People may not remember what you say but they sure remember how you made them feel.  Your company should be promoting aid opportunities or engaging volunteers to help in the community and with charity organizations.  Getting out there and giving back is an important ideal your company should uphold so the community feels that your brand is there for them.

The Future Plan – Every business in nearly every industry has a plan for the future.  This is your contingency plan for how the business shall run in times of disaster or when x,y and z occur.  Things such as natural disasters, working from home, employee relocation, working overseas, metrics reporting, etc. are laid out and fine-tuned to keep your business from sinking.  If you don’t have one or haven’t paid attention to it in awhile, now’s the time to get cracking on securing your brand’s future.  Even if you DO have one, you should be adding or refining it regularly to cover all bases and ensure the stability of your company.  This is crucial for customer service because you need a plan in place no matter what happens to aid your customers in order to keep everything from turning into a hot mess and leave your customers feeling abandoned.

The backbone of your business is customers so customer service and marketing should be a major focus for the longevity of your brand.