An airtight customer relationship management strategy is key to the long term success of any business, small medium or large. Digital media has opened the doors to a new wave of CRM strategies, some heavily dependent on social media platforms. Its narrow thinking to view CRM as customer service when something goes wrong, instead CRM needs to tie in completely with the mission statement of a company, keep in line with a companies branded tone of voice and constantly adapt to environment and trends. Social media platforms have revolutionized how people seek help, but also how they communicate with a brand. This public open dialogue if managed to the best of a companies abilities can transform them from a faceless brand to an addition to a users favorites.
First lets look at some stats on customer service and later we’ll look at the CRM brand voice.
42% of service agents are unable to efficiently resolve customer issues due to disconnected systems, archaic user interfaces, and multiple applications.
45% of US consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not addressed quickly.
89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor cu
stomer service.
Consumers are 2 times more likely to share their bad customer service experiences than they are to talk about positive experiences.
A customer is 4 times more likely to buy from a competitor if the problem is service related vs. price or product related.
70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.
55% of consumers would pay more for a better customer experience.
(See more really interesting customer service stats here! Some US some global.)
These stats show the key areas that need attention when considering a customer service element to a CRM strategy. Updated technology, clear user interface, easy access to information and assistance can make or break a company. If a users experience is negative in any of these fields they are likely to loose that business completely and forever! Consumer tolerance is low. I’m sure we can all relate to this, when you buy goods or services its expected one should get what they pay for and having hassle dealing with problems leaves a bad taste in anyones mouth, eager to let everyone know all about it. Not necessarily equally as effective as the stats above show, but a positive customer service experience does ease any unhappiness a consumer has and can lead them to recommend the company. People will also pay for a better experience. If how a user feels is taken into consideration with design, technology and interaction the proof is that people respond to that and return their custom to the company.
So what else is involved in a proper CRM strategy, especially a digital one. How a company is perceived, its brand face and its tone of voice is also included in its CRM strategy. A fantastic example of this is Ryanair. Pioneers for adopting an online process, innovators in their own way for flaunting their lack of customer service in the face of the public eye, selling themselves as a rock bottom, dirt cheap airline. Nut now they are now seriously considering their CRM strategy on and offline to compete in the heavy weight market that is airline traffic.
The new CMO of Ryanair Kenny Jacobs puts it, ‘we have incredible brand awareness, so the job is to communicate that we’re making changes and improving the service…Once we’ve improved the product and the service we’ll aim to use digital such as the website itself, email, retargeting and display to communicate our prices’
Improving how the company is perceived by consumers, how it speaks to them and how it gives them added value on their purchase and experience will be the determining factor in the longevity of the airline. Its one thing to adopt technology as Ryanair did by launching its cheap ticketless flight system online in 2000, but to ignore the fact that other airlines would eventually catch up with their low-cost offers was a terrible shortsightedness that may have caused the alienation of huge potential customers. By paying attention to the online trend of effective customer service and positive brand tone of voice Ryanair have the opportunity to target a new wave of tech savvy consumers.
Digital Nativez 