5 ways you can improve your online experience for remote customers
We’ve all felt like throwing our laptops out the window at some point in our careers. Like that time you spent 20 minutes trying to connect to a video conference call or the time you tried to complete an online form only to give up, print it and then fill it out the old-fashioned way (yes, using a pen and paper).
When you’re trying to connect with a business or get a task done, like sharing documents, it can be extremely frustrating when things go awry. Even the littlest hiccup in your online experience could lead your customers and potential customers straight into the arms of one of your competitors. That’s why it’s so essential every business understands what makes their customers tick and when they need a little extra help.
In our post-pandemic reality, people expect businesses to be accessible online without degrading the customer experience. That means simple and easy to use online experiences that respect your customers’ time and energy. And there are a few ways you can do it.
Makes things as seamless as possible for your customers
If you haven’t already, map out your end-to-end customer journey, starting with how your customers might find you right through to the point of purchase and even beyond. Identify all the areas where you can make improvements or move things online.
Some examples that could streamline your experience:
- Make it easy to book appointments
- Set up virtual meetings
- Send automatic reminders
- Use secure document sharing
- Collaborate with customers virtually instead of in-person
- Capture customer information in real-time
- Have a user-friendly website
Allow customers to easily connect with a human when they need extra support
Most customers who search for information online but come up short, then look for a phone number. Businesses wanting to reduce calls often force customers to self-serve. Even when a customer just needs to speak to someone, they hit a dead-end trying to find a number to call.
Sound familiar? Then you know how frustrating a bad experience can be.
If your online experience isn’t up to scratch, it could be one of the reasons you’re missing genuine opportunities from customers who really just need your help. That’s why it’s so important you make it easy for your customers to connect with you when it matters.
For example, suppose you’re a mortgage broker and you know your customers usually have questions when they are completing an online application form. In that case, you might want to consider adding ‘book a chat’ functionality so they can schedule time with you.
Adopt new technology to make things easier
Perhaps your office still uses paper contracts, or management is stuck in the dark ages and only meets clients face-to-face. Why? Because it’s always been that way. That kind of answer just doesn’t fly with customers in the era of smartphones when anyone can do (almost) everything on the go.
Your customers are finding new ways to simplify their life every day. You can order groceries to be delivered to your door, download an app that helps you stay focused or skip the gym to do a virtual class at home. All things that give back time, a commodity that’s sought after.
You need to adapt to keep up with the ever-changing environment as a business. New tools pop up every day, designed to make work life easier for you and decisions simpler for your customers. And your customers will thank you for it, especially when they see how smoothly engaging with you is. Find something that works for you and your business.
Personalise interactions wherever you can
Today, personalisation is more than seeing your name in the subject line of your favourite brand's latest e-marketing campaign. Customers want to feel like businesses are listening to them, understand their needs and can help them reach their goals – that might be getting the right home loan or working out the best tax structure for their investments.
There’s no one size fits all. Personalisation is a way for businesses to deliver a unique experience based on what they know about their customers. By collecting and effectively using customer data, you can have more informed conversations and create digital experiences and marketing campaigns that feel relevant, timely and resonate with your customer.
For example, suppose you’re an accountant who needs to collect a lot of documents and forms to do your job. In that case, you might want to create a personalised online checklist that you and your customer can use to keep track of what’s left to do. And send reminders when things are due or a little late.
Create a feedback loop and action on it
Feedback is important not just for businesses and their employees but for customers too. It’s how you know what’s working and what can be improved. And for customers, it’s a way for them to feel heard and engage with your brand.
Not all feedback is positive, but that’s not a good reason to skip feedback altogether. Allowing your customers to provide feedback during the customer journey and then actioning it will help you improve your existing services and improve your customer experience.
Here at Expertli, we actively seek customer feedback from all our customers. Those customer-led ideas and product enhancements then inform our backlog and future features. We’ve created a better-than-in-person experience using real customer problems that enables you to build relationships with customers and help solve their problems from anywhere in the world.
Our virtual workspaces allow you to chat face-to-face and collaborate with your customers. It also boasts bank-grade security and safe document sharing.
Ready to drastically improve your sales process? Chat with the Expertli today or request a free demo.