Are we held to Ransom by On Line Companies?
Love Love Love Tech. Love Gadgets. Love the new iPhone. Love Apps that allow us to monitor our sleep, wake us, order takeaway, order a cab, order our dry cleaning collection, order our shopping. Love the way in which technology helps us all navigate our ever increasingly busy lives. Loath the way that when it goes wrong, it really does impact our lives. Google - Amazon - JD.com - Facebook - Alibaba - Netflix - Paypal - eBay -Expedia - Adobe are among the biggest online companies in the world. Google’s revenue in 2018 was $121 billion dollars and forms part of our daily online routine. Yet, whilst the online aspect of our lives is a daily occurrence, how often have you managed to get through to Google, Amazon or Netflix when facing an online tech issue? We bank online, we shop online and we book holidays, excursions, restaurants online - it is part of the daily routine, yet issues arise when we try to resolve a problem and speak to a person or human being.
Depending on which demographic group you fit into - Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old) Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old) Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old) Post-Millennials: Born 1997-Present (0-21 years old) - very much depends on how you are used to communicating. Face to Face or over the phone is “old fashioned” - “on line chat” or “text’ is the norm in this century, yet the question remains how do you resolve any problems, get a response to a question that FAQs just do not cover, speak to a person who has the expertise you require?
Face to Face contact and communication is at a premium because man power is expensive and the provision of an exceptional level of customer service and customer care comes at a cost. So how do we navigate this obstacle of being able to “talk” to a human being who can find the solution you need.
Entrepreneur magazine provided some excellent guidance on how to manage the “online customer experience”.
1. Eliminate common questions immediately - A well put-together FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on your website will eliminate a lot of common questions before they clog up your support channels.
2. Respond instantly - Have you ever submitted a support request online and received an auto response stating that someone will be in touch within 24 to 48 hours? This is completely unacceptable. If your customers have to wait an entire day or two for a response there is a good chance they will find another company to do business with.
3. React even quicker on social media - You don’t need to solve the request through social media -- simply reply quickly with a way for them to get fast help. Providing the individual with a dedicated customer-support email address or a link to your customer-support ticketing system will satisfy the initial social-media request and allow your team to properly help the customer.
4. Take customers' privacy seriously - Never ask your customers to provide this information in order to help them. Asking for this information will not only put them at risk, but it will also cause them to lose trust and potentially never do business with you again.
5. Be human - A ballistic and upset customer can quickly change his or her tone if the customer-service representative shows compassion. Your support team needs to have thick skin -- there undoubtedly will be a situation at one point or another that involves an irate customer cursing and out for blood.
If the rep on the other end replies along the lines of, “I’m very sorry you are experiencing this problem, and I completely understand why you are upset, so let me help you correct this problem,” it will calm the individual down and allow your team to resolve the issue.
Any company is up against the ability to place feedback, testimonials, ratings online and through “real time” social media immediately, so a response when it is needed can make such a difference to the customer journey and whether that customer returns or not.