Skills For Adapting Your Customer Support When Crisis Strikes

The key purpose of this article is to make sure that your customer service does not have to suffer even while your brand is registering a fall in business growth and passing through difficult times, as, in a report published by Small Biz Trends, it has been observed that more than 78% of consumers would not think twice before stopping doing business with a brand because of poor customer service rendered to its consumers.

Therefore now is the right opportunity to show your buyers how you can keep them updated, informed, and respected through this COVID-19 Pandemic that is raging globally across the world.

Now, while like several other companies your business may also be facing a switch to remote work and consequently a drawdown in services, nonetheless, you can easily maintain top-quality customer support by adapting some of the support practices to the need of this hour, for which here are a few tips to get you started right away:

Keep Your Team Up-to-Date

In a rapidly evolving situation like the COVID-19 Pandemic and the meltdown of the global economy at large, surely you just might not find enough time to send out a new missive to your teams nearly every day.
However, for providing world-class customer support, your employees need to be updated and remain on board with any developments within your company.

Therefore it is most important that you must have a central repository of documents available company-wide, like an easy to use CRM software which will help decrease the amount of time needed on making announcements while keeping every employee updated simultaneously.

It must be a business growth solution that can ensure online accessibility of documents and update regularly with any new changes, which can be at this present times even considered as your company’s manifesto for internal crisis management, much like something that you can point to at all times when concerns or questions arise regarding supporting your customers in these dire times.

This best path to follow right now is not to think of this manifesto as the be-all and end-all for your crisis communication strategy but treat it more like an internal resource you can point to and continuously update.

However, when any major updates occur, make sure that you also send a company-wide email to alert your staffs to the new information and create an avenue for any concerning parties to put forward their thoughts with you or other managers in your teams, especially now that you are shifting to telecommunicating with the employees of your teams.

Double-Down on Customer Relations

Always remember it takes only one single instance of poor service to lose a customer, something that businesses simply cannot afford in a period of crisis like the one we are passing through now.
More so when there are several companies who are ready to carry the customers even through these difficult times.

Right now external communications like email updates can assure the customers that you are trying to do your best to operate as usual, but before sending your emails make sure that you are up to the task when the customers need to get in touch with you for their services.

Now, in times of crisis, there can be an inflow of a very large volume of phone calls and support tickets that can happen due to consumer uncertainly or large-scale changes in the ways the used to lived, worked or shopped during the normal times.

Hence use a customer relationship management software like Salesforce or even any other Salesforce Alternative CRM solutions mostly preferred by SMBs which can make you remain prepared to accommodate this increased load of incoming calls.

As in these present circumstances investing in customer support staffs may be counterintuitive, since most companies are trying to scale back operations, hence this might be right opportunity to engage your support reps in advanced customer support training while assessing your brand’s knowledge base assimilated inside your easy to use CRM software’s database and find if any information is lacking that needs to be updated on an urgent basis.

Additionally, apart from updating answers to the issues about new features or services you may have rolled out, keep in mind questions that your consumers may ask in response to this COVID-19 Pandemic, and so creating a few new FAQ’s related to this COVID-19, Social-Distancing and Pandemic may also prove helpful while revamping your tactic for allaying customer concerns.

Reconsider Social Media

Even referring to the pre-Pandemic times it was estimated that more than 90% of businesses nowadays use social media strategies for marketing their brand, apart from conducting recruiting and performing other communications needed for business growth.

However, as one of the most popular vendors of CRM for small and medium business and startups, we have often seen there are several businesses which run social media accounts that are updated infrequently or are entirely mismanaged, grossly promotional or just plainly ineffective.

This is because there are several managers and executives employed in many companies who assume that by simply having a LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter account they are already in front of their potential customers who are interested in buying their offerings.

Nevertheless, the truth remains, without proper social media engagements, no one can stand tall in the social media platforms.

Moreover, another major advantage any business would be foolish to overlook at the moment is that Facebook posts, Tweets, LinkedIn blogs, and even videos on YouTube can be produced quickly, allowing brands to respond to events almost instantaneously.

Hence entrust someone in your organization to take up the responsibility to amplify your brand’s social media strategies.
This is because amping up your social media has a number of noted benefits.
For example, any lead generation program that you run on social media can be done at a little cost, apart from providing your business a chance to expand its reach and engage in conversations with your followers relevant to your industry and thereby establish yourself as a thought leader within your marketplace.

However, while you make your announcements in social media, they must be vetted properly by your internal staffs.

Hence if you do not want to leave your partners, prospects and customers questioning how you are handling this crisis, take a new look at your social media accounts with an eye how you can use these platforms to create your message, solve questions and concerns raised by your customers and thereby use it as a powerful tool for your crisis communication strategy.

Finally- Reach Out To New And Old Acquaintances

Even though thus far, this year has been defined as a layoff, and a slowdown for nearly every business in all markets across the globe, nevertheless, more than any other time in recent history, 2020 is making workers at all levels experience a new availability of free-time that was foreign to all employees who were accustomed to a 9-to-5 grind.

Therefore for even those who are fortunate enough to continue working through this Pandemic, must evaluate which of our tasks and duties are most important and thereby use ideas and insights that were not even under consideration as recently as last year.

In other words, now is the time to reconnect with your business acquaintances that you have lost touch over the past months or years, as there is a great deal of potential in reaching out or just touch base to let someone know you are available to talk, which is enough to keep your business on their radar.

Hence reestablish contact with your old customers and other close contacts by looking inside the data stored in your CRM database and create a wider network to share potential game-changing ideas and information with your old and existing consumers of your offerings.

We all have lost past the days of Rolodex, so log into LinkedIn and start creating a new network of allies. Additionally, if you have someone’s number, remember a quick call can be worth more than a dozen emails, since now is the time to let all your contacts know that you are making an effort to stay connected in a time of social distancing.

Conclusion

Do not panic.

Today all businesses across the globe are searching for answers.

While some are looking at the 2008 recession as guidance, others are going back as far as the 1918 Spanish Flu as a historic example- as the moments we are living now is largely without any precedence.

Therefore, businesses that wish to make a dent in this recessive market must encash this moment in 2020 as an opportunity to grow (particularly if you expect your competitors to recced) by focusing on values and return to your brand’s mission statement by reassessing your 2020 plans, if you do not want your business to get swept away in the currents of change.

Let firm guidance and steady leadership act as a balm to your employee’s nerves.

Remember as a lack of information during a crisis can cause concerns.
Hence it is only with the right plan in mind that is tailored to your industry you can weather this storm and find opportunities to create new partnerships and make your customer service stay the course and thrive in response to your guidance by adapting to the changes in this Pandemic times.