The ideal consumer shopping experience in 2017 is engaging, fast, interactive, and convenient. Customer service has evolved in order to meet the demand from consumers for a more efficient and considerate service. The individual consumer has never been more important. The customer’s expectation for significance has driven companies of all sizes to improve their customer service methods. Here are a few innovative ways companies are providing excellent customer service.
Crowdsourcing ideas
Crowdsourcing is gathering input from a mass of people. The internet has added incredible leverage to crowdsourcing, allowing millions to share and give information to a cause. MyStarbucksIdea, a website created by Starbucks to learn more about what their customers wanted from their experience was created in 2008.
Almost a decade later, Starbucks has implemented over 300 customer-generated ideas into their business. Some of Starbuck’s most iconic features have come directly from crowdsourcing ideas from customers online. The splash sticks that go in the lid holes, ‘skinny’ style drinks, and even cake pops were all ideas deposited into MyStarbucksIdeas by customers who wanted something different from their experience. Millions have subsequently benefitted from their implementation.
You can implement crowdsourcing ideas for your business by asking for feedback from your customers via telephone, an online form or a survey. Comb through the suggestions and focus on the ideas that are mentioned the most often. You may want to reach out to these customers in order to get a deeper understanding of the issue at hand.
Amazon Mayday
An article about customer service innovation wouldn’t be complete without including Amazon. CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos is insane about customer service. His unbelievable passion is easy to see in Amazon’s live tech support feature for Kindle called Mayday. The ‘Mayday’ button is a single-click support of a live tech agent on video for Kindle HD products. Kindle HD users can access almost immediate video customer support 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
According to numerous surveys, 73% of consumers prefer live chat compared to 61% for email and 44% for phone. Consumers are more likely to utilize live chat because they don’t need to input personal information via a form.
You can adopt something similar by adding a Live Chat option to your website. Getting an immediate answer to a pressing question can sway the purchasing decision in your favor.
Offer An Innovative Return Policy
Some consumers may be hesitant to make an online purchase but a solid return policy can make all the difference when it comes to gaining trust. For example, German Slippers offers a 50% discount on a second pair of slippers if the first pair doesn’t fit. The customer keeps the first pair which can be donated to charity or gifted to a friend or family member.
Gain trust of online shoppers by publicizing and pointing out your return policy to prospective buyers. Make sure your return policy page is clear in your website’s navigation and link to it from your social media channels.
Consumers depend on customer service to know what they should think about a company. Millenial consumers in particular view a business and its product as the basic component, measuring their overall value and quality on their experience, engagement, and apparent significance to the people in the company.
Customer service has never been more important than it is now, and these are just a few of the most innovative ways companies are using to provide excellent customer service.
