Since March 2020, customers have changed their buying patterns, and what was once predictable has become a wave of unpredictability. According to recent research from McKinsey and Company, shoppers are taking the art of freethinking to new levels. Three-quarters are experimenting with new brands, and very few – if any – have brand loyalty.
Here are four ways your business can meet customers where they are in a digitally evolving environment:
- Offer omnichannel support and engagement.
In the same McKinsey study, respondents noted that they are more open to omnichannel contact with businesses than ever. Therefore, you may need to put software in place to empower your customer experience teams to seamlessly work with customers via text, email, social media, or within your company’s app.
Being present and available on multiple channels enables you to ensure that users feel as if you understand them, fostering long-term loyalty.
- Re-structure your target customer profiles.
If you have not relooked at your customer profiles since before the pandemic, you will need to readjust your focus. Customer buying patterns and attitudes have changed dramatically, and revisiting them will benefit your business significantly.
Customer profiles help you drill down into the consumer mindset, enabling you to understand buyers’ needs better. You can make yours as specific as needed. Some companies generate full-fledged, particular target customer profiles, while others prefer to have more generic ones. Regardless, make sure you dust yours off because the chances are strong that they’re outdated.
- Empower employees to make customer-centric decisions.
Are your team members empowered to take charge if a customer has a concern? True staff empowerment involves both autonomy and guardrails. For example, a worker may have the flexibility to go the extra mile for a customer, but within preordained limits.
This helps you feel more comfortable allowing your employees to use their skills without fearing they’ll go overboard. At the end of the day, the customer will still get a win—and hopefully so will your brand in the form of goodwill and maybe a rave review.
Customers have changed, along with the way the world operates. That doesn’t mean your business can’t still belong. Consumers are amazingly open in their willingness to interact with new companies. Make sure you exceed their expectations with phenomenal first and lasting impressions.