In a time of scarcity, people will value the important items and aspects much more. When it comes to a business, if your customers are under stress and find themselves with a wide variety of aspects that they must contend with on a regular basis, then you must ensure to improve your experience.
Remember that you may not have any issues within your respective business but if customers are generally frustrated and stressed out due to factors ranging from the pandemic to other aspects, then your business should not be another stressor.
But the problem for many businesses, even in the face of a pandemic, is that they may leave customer service alone and place it at a lower point. They may not respect it as much and instead focus on other aspects that can immediately bring in revenue.
But the problem here is that if you disregard customer service, you are disregarding your relationship with your customer. The customer and the lucrative relationship you have with your valuable customer brings in the revenues and helps you grow your business. As such, it would behoove you not to forget about your customers and to treat them with respect and show them gratitude for frequenting your business.
The Value of Customer Service in Times of Stress
For instance, you might have an experience of going to a bank and realizing that it is about to close. You want to make a deposit but realize that the lobby is not open. So you drive up to the outside lanes and then seek to make another attempt at depositing funds. Then you notice that there is no one there.
This is a profoundly frustrating experience, especially because you want to interact with the teller and conduct an important transaction. But the teller may respond by saying that it is merely a company policy and not to provide any responses that help you see why you bank at a particular organization.
This type of frustration is present at the bank, on the phone with customer service agents, and with other representatives at other places. It does not help you to keep customers because customers do not feel appreciated and may want to go elsewhere to address their concerns.
But customer service can serve as a respite, as somewhat therapeutic and a breath of fresh air in tough times. Customers can express their frustrations, solve problems, and move forward without any issues. It also serves as unconventional influencer marketing as your interactions create impressions that last.
Do Not Turn Bad Situations Worse
Various aspects of life and policy can create issues for your customers. But if you also present the same level of friction in their lives, a service that they pay for in some form or fashion, then that can be a significant problem. If more interactions with your business are a friction point, why would they want to keep your business relationship?
Businesses that realize that COVID-19 presents opportunities to provide more frictionless customer service experiences are future facing.
These businesses are looking at how they can get better and innovate as opposed to doing the least for themselves and their customers. The truth is that customer service is essential in the present era. As more people must social distance, minimize interactions, and repeat similar routines, each interaction outside of the norm is even more prized.
