RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
Delta forced dramatic changes across the customer service industry, with impressive results. We celebrate the businesses that rose to the challenge
was the year companies across the service industries were forced to hastily adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 has witnessed a measured focus of consolidating, strengthening and rebuilding customer relations to navigate the new virus-wary business and economic landscape.
The Delta outbreak, that appeared on Australian shores in late May, lead to fear, lockdowns and disruptions – and a widespread urgency for Australians to get vaccinated. As we waited for the double-vaccination rates to climb, customer service at all levels of the business community – from corner stores to SMEs and multinationals – introduced new operating models that are better suited to a new post-pandemic world. The hastily rolled out trial-run of 2020 matured into the sharpest delivery of customer service practices we’ve ever seen. So seamless are these new models, that customers of those companies setting the benchmarks have never been happier.
Customer service departments across Australia have navigated dramatic changes, with many teams no longer working in large call centres or shopfronts with their peers on hand for support. Instead, these professionals have worked from home where all aspects of the customer-business interface – from staff-motivation and new technologies to staff-performance and customer satisfaction rates – have enjoyed
success and growth. Office cubicles and showrooms moved to the kitchen table, study or bedroom-based desk. For many businesses, the dramatic shift from face-to-face interaction to online platforms progressed seamlessly. As pandemic numbers began to peak outside, their customer service teams continued to assist customers through phone calls, social media, online messaging live chats, SMS and even video. Customers are more comfortable than ever when using these channels, with many even preferring self-service over human contact – as long as that service is fast and efficient.
With the collapse of off-shore customer service call centres, a new generation of workers – school leavers, long- and short-term unemployed and ex-retirees – have entered the local customer service industry with enthusiasm and new skill sets.
These local teams also provided community service assistance, helping customers navigate the lockdown restrictions, solving the problems that they themselves faced. Tips were shared on where to get vaccinated, which streaming movies and TV shows were worth watching, and what board games they’d dusted off to avoid the boredom of lockdown. They also listened to stories of despair caused by family separation, illness and everything else that the health orders impacted. Stories were shared,
“The single greatest way a company can distinguish itself from its competition is by the level of service it offers”
solutions suggested, and customer loyalties cemented.
As a result, the customer service trends of 2022 and beyond won’t just be about getting ‘back on track’ after this period of historical disruption. Companies need to be willing to recognise that just as the landscape has changed in the pandemic era, so too have the needs and expectations of their customers. The road ahead will remain just as challenging as companies come to learn and adjust their business settings to the everevolving needs of their customers.
Those needs, regardless of the financial value of the transaction, remain unchanged: customer service focused on making the customer feel respected and valued while providing a satisfactory solution to their concern. That outcome needs to consistently exceed the customer’s expectations – regardless of the channel through which it’s delivered.
“The single greatest way a company can distinguish itself from its competition is by the level of service it offers, and the higher level of service you offer, the more successful you will be,” says Nancy Friedman, president of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training in the US. “Companies spend thousands of marketing dollars trying to convince us to buy their products, but if customer contact is not handled just right in a store, at a call centre, or on the web by customer service representatives, all that money is wasted.”
The satisfaction and loyalty of customers is not an easy thing to capture and keep. Those companies that succeed in building and maintaining strong customer loyalty have a truly valuable business formula, but at the same time, are adaptable enough to deal with changes in the landscape.