This holiday season is going to be much different than in years past. With the current pandemic and social distancing orders in place, there will not be large family gatherings or office holiday parties this year. Instead, families will be spending time with their immediate families at home, shop online, and have virtual holiday parties.
Businesses are also feeling the effects of this very different holiday season. Despite a year of uncertainty, the holiday season is still a special time for most of us. People are looking for new ways to show their loved ones that they care. Businesses are no different. Now more than ever, they are adapting their customer experience strategy to show customers gratitude and ensure them that business will remain constant while everything else may seem uncertain. Here are three customer experience strategies you should consider to show your customers you care with the holiday season here.
Get Simple
The holiday season is one of the most hectic times of the year. Between zoom meetings, end of year tasks, deadlines, and time off, it may seem impossible to juggle it all. To add to all the typical holiday stress, now they have the pressure of a global pandemic on their backs. This year, simplicity is more important than ever in the customer experience arena. Omnichannel and self-service options have become key differentiators. People want convenience, easy access, and simplicity in their more complicated lives right now. If you're able to, expand offers that allow your business to make life more simple for your customers. Whether that be curbside pickup, digital options, or flexibility solutions, doing so will show your customers how much you appreciate them.
Make it Personal
Many businesses will send out holiday cards towards the end of the year. However, not all take the time to write personalized, handwritten notes to customers. Taking this extra step makes all the difference in showing your customers you care and are thinking of them.
The same thing goes with customer experiences. People want and expect businesses to personalize their journey and meet their needs based on their unique engagement. Beyond just relevant search results, customers seek services that will guide them from one point to another. For example, in eCommerce, businesses should leverage data to access a customer's past transactions and adapt product recommendations based on customer interactions on their platform. This can serve as an advisor who understands what the customer wants and offer products they might not even know that they want. Using customer data at every point in the customer experience journey will provide a personalized service that customers expect.
Add a Human Touch
Holiday shopping can be exhausting. From figuring out what to get family members or loved ones to get gifts while sticking to a budget, it can e stressful. Convenient, data-driven digital customer experience helps streamline this process. However, customers also look for individualized care and look to a salesperson to ensure that they are getting everything they need. With high call volumes during the holiday season, customer service agents may feel overwhelmed and not always have the time to foster meaningful connections with callers.
Using AI to manage routine inquiries can free up customer service agents to focus on providing the more individualized care some customers might need. This is key in customer retention. For example, suppose a customer calls a flower company to purchase a bouquet for their holiday table. In that case, an agent can provide insights into a visual display that only humans would understand, which AI handles shipping issues or billing questions that come up in the fulfillment process.
References: Tiwari, P. (2020, November 30). 3 Ways to Demonstrate You Care About Your Customers This Holiday Season. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from CMSWire.com website: https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/how-to-show-your-customers-you-care-this-holiday-season/