Over the years, a lot has changed in the business space. What hasn’t is the fact that consumers still want to be treated well and be heard. This forms the very foundation of the so-called customer experience. Understanding your customers’ wants and needs and acting upon the insights derived from their online communication makes your company future proof. And, in light of the recent events, companies have been confused about how to handle the situation during the pandemic. Social listening and consumer insights help you gauge the public mood and more. According to a study by Futurum Research, 57% of the participating companies reported that they needed to reconsider their business model in the wake of COVID-19. Tracing consumer experience insights can help you stay ahead of the competition in this scenario.
What are Consumer Insights?
It is a deeper understanding of how your audience is receiving information and how they are reacting to it? And more importantly, can we make assumptions about the market’s needs based on this understanding? If a customer isn’t satisfied with a product or service, they are most likely to specify the pain point. They either do this on social media (which can count in as a negative review for you) or they could tell this to you on your feedback form.
Whatever be the case, collecting good quality data can get challenging. People on social media may talk about your product or service and not mention your official handle. If you are sending out feedback requests, some may not take the time to fill up a form for you. Social media monitoring and listening are of real help here. It is how we trace the shifts in customer experience trends of late. Let’s take a look at the 4 customer experience-related insights that will help you stay in the business post- COVID-19.
1. Consumers are Ready to Pay for a Better Experience
If you think you have a loyal customer base who would never give up on you, think again. A PWC study reports that one in three customers (32%) say they will walk away from a brand they love after one bad experience. So unless you have been selling toilet paper in the USA during the pandemic, chances are your business will see a dip if you do not listen to your customers. And, customers expect a premium experience when they are paying for a service, especially people who have had a loss of income in recent days. According to the same study, 86% of consumers are willing to pay for superior consumer experience. And 49% of buyers say they made an impulse purchase based on a personalized experience.
2. Most Companies are Competing on the Basis of the Experience Provided
Gartner says more than two-thirds of marketers responsible for customer experience compete on the basis of customer experience. A consumer wants a proper implementation of the customer experience you are promising. Imagine yourself as a consumer of a product or a service. You try to inquire about a specific feature but get lost amongst vague answers from a chatbot or a myriad of other webpages. Customers are often looking for quick answers and not an automated response from a chatbot.
3. Providing What Matters the Most
Speed, convenience, help from your employees, and an easy & friendly servicing gateway are the most valued among customers, Each of these hits a level of 70% importance. The brands that prioritize to improve on these factors are taking the help of technology. AI and machine learning-based listening tools provide you with benefits by reading into online conversations. Drawing insights pertaining to these areas helps you formulate strategies to improve the functions mentioned above.
Delivering good customer experience has always been important and will become imperative in the post-COVID-19 world of business. People are willing to pay but they expect brands to go beyond the usual and deliver a friction-less, speedy transaction that can be guided by AI tools. And yet a certain human touch can be infused into all the automation so your customer gets to see the human side of your business too.