Surviving Business in this Digital Age
As a species we had to hunt, gather, find a mate and be aware of our surroundings to survive. Now we can sit behind a screen and achieve survival. Ordering groceries and take out directly to our door, making money through online stores to pay our way, and even finding love, all from the comfort of our homes.
Society may have made us more civilised from those caveman days, but the evolution of the internet has left us demanding more in the smallest time possible. This means that modern customers can provide a challenge for most businesses and they have to adapt to the online marketplace for a chance at survival.
There is more choice available to consumers and with this comes the freedom to shop around. One month they can purchase from one business flitting to another the next month when they offer a better deal. It is difficult to win customers loyalty, but it is not possible.
Connect with them and make it so easy they won’t want to browse anywhere else.
Step 1
Firstly it’s about making your company accessible to your consumers with exceptional customer service, which can encourage consumers to be demanding!
“Creating a demanding customer means that if your customer were to go to your competition, they would not just expect, but demand, the same level of service that they get from you. Anything less from the competition reinforces that the customer made the right choice to do business with you. In other words, you have spoiled your customer. What may be standard for you is better than the competition.
“The only way a competitor can take your customer away would be to match or go beyond what you have done. […] you will have created a demanding customer and it won’t be easy for the competition to steal him away. Customers get used to feeling special and being taken care of. The competition will find your customers not just demanding, but perhaps a bit unreasonable!” – Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert.
Knowing your organisation is easily contactable if they do have any questions helps to build trust and also adds value.
Live chat is a great way to achieve this. The communication channel is accessible from the website as the consumer browses, instantly connecting them directly to a representative. This helps them gain answers to their questions in real time via text based messages.
A chat box for website can also prove that your customer service is of a high standard, by ensuring that any and every enquiry the visitor has answered is accurate. Your operators may not be able to say yes to everything but by providing fast answers, alternative options and keeping the enquirer notified at every stage helps to satisfy the consumer.
Bad customer service can frustrate an individual to the point that they won’t use that organisation again. Ensuring they are completely satisfied if they reach out to speak with your company can help earn brownie points for later transactions.
Step 2
If a customer is torn between using your company as they have previously had a good experience and trying someone new as they offer a better price, one strategy is to use a price match guarantee. If your organisation is able to match the price of your competitors this can tick all your consumers’ boxes to complete the purchase with you.
However by only doing this when an individual can present evidence that another business is cheaper, means that you won’t have to continue changing prices to keep up and only a small portion of your client base will do this, therefore you can carry on selling your products and services at your original face value.
Alternatively, you could offer a loyalty program to help encourage return business. It may be that consumers can’t get the best deal when they purchase from you, however if they keep purchasing with you in future they can earn themselves a reward, which can outweigh risking going with a competitor for the sake of cost.
Being adaptable is key to survival, whether that’s due to our surroundings millions of years ago, or down to the modern day customer and their changing expectations as a business. Click4Assistance has been helping business survive for over 10 years by proving chat box for website software to improve their customer service. For more information regarding our software call our team on 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.
