Nothing is more important than your customers. That can't be denied.
Another thing that you can’t deny is that your customers are everywhere on the Internet today.
They're viewing your targeted ads, learning about you on social media, and receiving your email newsletters to get the latest updates on your brand.
That’s why it is exceedingly important to create a cross-channel experience for your customers across various marketing channels.
In fact, 67% of customers say their standards for good customer experiences are higher than ever. Therefore, the need to kickstart your cross channel customer service is more prevalent now more than ever.
Cross channel customer experience entails merging multiple channels to seamlessly engage your customers and provide a top-notch customer experience.
With some great tips and tricks up your sleeves, you will be able to engage your target audience, boost sales, and retain more customers.
The four tips below can help you create a seamless customer experience across all marketing channels.
1. Monitor your objectives and performance
According to statistics, over one-third of CMOs do not have a reliable measurement technique to monitor their cross channel marketing efforts.
Naturally, if you're not measuring and evaluating the results and outcomes of your customer service efforts, then how would you know whether it is effective? Or whether you need to change your strategy?
That’s why we suggest creating a mission statement. Begin with your goals, why are you creating a cross-channel customer experience in the first place? What results are you expecting? Every brand has its own goals. Some companies want to boost their retention rate. Others desire to acquire new customers.
Make sure that your customer service mission statement is easily measurable and actionable.
Don’t forget to include the following points while creating your mission statement:
When you have the answers to these questions, you'll be able to discern how your cross-channel customer service is working out.
Be careful of coming to a conclusion based on a single measurement. Focus on all the metrics and draw your conclusions according to a holistic approach.
2. Prioritize the needs of your customers
We understand that your main goal is to sell your product. That said, you don’t have to be too obvious about it. Your prospects and customers will not purchase from you unless you put their needs first. Your customers should know that their problems are imperative to you, and your main focus is to cater to their needs and issues.
Regardless of the size of your organization is, it's easy to lose sight of the needs of your audience.
Customers know whether you're prioritizing their needs or not. If you don’t value them, they won’t think twice before moving on to greener pastures.
Make sure that you follow through the following key points:
When it comes to customer service, adopt a customer-centric approach and always focus on making decisions keeping your target audience in mind.
That said, communicate your brand message along with your customer service strategy. Again, your brand message should revolve around the needs of your customers and specifically target your audience.
3. Live-up to their expectations
You have created a mission statement to monitor your performance. Your brand message and sales pitch cater to your customers' needs. You are on the right track, it seems.
However, all this is no use if you don’t follow up with your promises. Your mission statement needs to be actionable. You need to simultaneously create an implementation strategy while noting your customer service goals and objectives.
For instance, you can’t promise to deliver 24/7 customer service and then not deliver on it. Breaking promises is bad for your reputation. Whether it's your blog or social media platforms, abide by what you promised when you first acquired your customer.
There are some aspects of cross-channel experience when you have to stay wary of delivering more than you promised as well. For example, your opt-in form promises that you will deliver the newsletter to the subscriber’s inbox twice a week. This means that you have to strictly follow through this - you can’t deliver your newsletter on a different schedule.
4. Remain consistent and transparent
Cross-channel customer experience can be tedious, especially for small businesses. However, if you're engaging your customers using omnichannel service, then consistency is key.
It is not like your one-time viral campaigns. If you abandon one of your channels for even a few weeks, you will be surprised to find out that many of your customers have abandoned you as well. Omnichannel marketing requires a lot of perseverance. Results might not begin to show in the first few months, but your efforts will eventually bear fruit. But remember that consistency is the key.
Along with consistency, offering transparent customer service is also imperative. Avoid hidden clauses that will make your customers feel let down in the end. Mention everything you are planning to offer clearly.
Moreover, take responsibility and accountability for the things that went wrong from your end. This alleviates trouble and helps create trust and loyalty, which eventually leads to a great buyer-seller relationship.
Wrap up
While you're building your customer service strategy, don’t forget that every channel matters. Your customers are present everywhere. If you are not going to engage them on a particular channel, your competitors will. So, it’s a great idea to create a seamless cross-channel customer experience.
Experiment with the four steps mentioned above to ensure you reach your target audience, communicate your brand’s message and collect customer information. While you are at it, don’t forget to personalize your message and the campaigns that you run.
Parth Mavani is nurturing his future at Socialmediadominates.com as Chief Marketing Officer. He loves to write on latest Trends and technology related blog. In his free time, He loves to roam on endless roads
