Navigating through the ever-changing digital marketplace with CRM tools
A true story of a horrible customer experience
I called a web hosting company to express extreme disappointment in the way a client account was handled. The CSR on the other end repeated my problems back to me, expressed that the solution they pushed onto my client was a better one (and much more expensive) and that I should keep the changes. He worked hard at expressing to me his high level of hosting knowledge and experience to justify what they did. Mindblown, I expressed my disappointment and asked them to return the account to the original services ordered. When I felt threatened by this guy, my distress increased.
I was then told that he didn’t like my tone of voice and that he didn’t have to continue to speak to me. He returned service back to the original hosting plan, refunded the $200 difference back to the client’s account, and then began to try to upsell me products and services to absorb the $200 credit. I was furious.
Result: I will NEVER choose this hosting company for my clients who need to host a website as their company is blatantly predatory. I will move client accounts from this hosting company to one that I trust. And most importantly, I will tell this horror story to everyone I know, recreating the experience and discouraging sales.
Do You Have a Plan for Your CSRs?
Customers make or break our ability to grow our business. Customers have expectations and are vocal. They are using digital platforms actively to share their opinion on brands they use– good, bad or ugly, and digital technology is fuelling this change.
It’s shocking to see how American businesses lose trillions of dollars every year due to dissatisfied customers. One unhappy customer can bring down your sales exponentially. Here are some statistics on customer experience:
• Every year, businesses lose $35.3 billion in customer churn due to preventable CX issues, such as fair treatment. (CallMiner)
• 83% of executives noticed that unimproved CX gives out considerable revenue and market share risks. (Forbes / Arm Treasure Data)
(AUSSANT, 2021)
• 54% of consumers concluded that customer experience at almost all companies needs improvement. It’s a big experience gap. (PwC)
So, how can businesses manage customer expectations and brand delight? It takes a plan and intention.
Managing the CSM Process
To start, a well-defined system or a process goes a long way in managing the customers and their changing choices. Customer service is your first defense to changing a negative into a positive. It may seem like an easy task at the start – you have few customers and most likely are people you know. You can go around giving extra attention to them and giving one-on-one responses to any issues. Eventually, you are tasked with other things and pass the customer service torch to someone else.
It’s a smart business move to put a customer service strategy right at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey. It will not only help your business maintain, exceeding customer expectations means growth. There are many customer service software and tools available and it’s the best way to create a conduit for service excellence.
Get Your Team on Board
It’s vital to get the meaning and role of customer service management right. Conduct regular team meetings to discuss company goals and brand culture. In a simple definition, customer service is a direct interaction between the customer and a brand’s representative. Anticipating questions and problems gives your brand the opportunity to create the “right” responses.
Customer service management can be a set of automated tools to track and oversee all customer interactions optimally. CSM tools manage various aspects of customer experience across different channels, including digital platforms.
In a digitally advanced world, customers are demanding round-the-clock service that is seamless and efficient. No brand can have unlimited customer service teams working 24/7. In an analysis concluded by Forrester in 2018, companies will have to include CSM in their marketing strategies to reach out to their growing customer base and meet demands.
Which CRM Tool to Use?
Don’t get lost in finding tools to automate tasks to make daily customer-related operations effortless. As marketers, we know that there are a plethora of tools available for managing the customer journey. Some are good and some are great.
Small businesses or start-ups have little to no budget for marketing. What tools are available to encompass the needs of a small business owner and can scale with growth? I started my business using Constant Contact and I’ve never looked back. Constant Contact is affordable and easy to use and is a suite of marketing tools and information.
This robust marketing platform enables business owners to launch and monitor various business campaigns – website designing, eCommerce, search engine optimization, email marketing, event marketing, surveys, social media marketing, and much more. They have easy-to-access metrics to give you instant feedback on your efforts. Instead of having individual tools for each of these tasks, a business can invest in the Constant Contact tool to accomplish all these important management tasks.
Invest In a High Return CRM Tool
Constant Contact offers a way to create lead funnels and content delivery systems that strategizes and optimize the customer experience. They have live Customer Service Reps that seek to create a great experience for you.
When looking for a marketing tool, these things rate high with business owners. The Constant Contact Customer Service Team is the refreshing difference in my digital world. Consistency with the brand and rising to meet my changing needs in the world of business ownership is why I am a brand ambassador for them.
No customer wants anything to do with a brand that doesn’t treat them well. PwC, in its future of CX report, surveyed 15,000 consumers. The survey concluded that 1 in 3 customers would leave a brand they loved after a bad experience. Over 90% can discontinue their association with the brand after two or more negative interactions.
Customer experience is the new battleground for business, and we are ready to help you be fully equipped to win the good fight.
About Innovate Social Media
Innovate Social Media is a people-first, brand development, and growth agency. We are diversity and inclusion marketers that consider every demographic a demographic of value. We create sales and profit opportunities for our clients that create value for theirs. Every person on our team is a Certified Constant Contact Solution Provider. We believe in what we do, and we want to help new business owners and legacy businesses figure out the complexities of being found on the internet. If you’d like more information about digital marketing and customer relationship management, visit our website at innovatesocialmedia.com
Work Cited
AUSSANT, P. H. I. L. I. P. P. E. (2021, June 1). Top 40 customer Experience statistics to know IN 2021: EMPLIFI. Emplifi. https://emplifi.io/resources/blog/customer-experience-statistics
