It may be time to retool your acquisition strategy

Clients and customers are really just one thing to your business: everything. The last year and a half has been a time like no other and businesses continue to scramble and deploy both new and traditionally strong marketing strategies to retool and move forward in this new and uncertain age. Some research recently released at Financesonline, seems to reveal that customer and client acquisition may need to be retooled moving forward. The following is taken directly from that published report:

  • A recent survey found 91% of customers saying that they’ll only buy from businesses they trust. HubSpot, on the other hand, found that 77% of consumers have shared positive experiences and helped drive businesses (HubSpot).
  • 57% of customers say they won’t buy from a firm whose competitor offers a better experience (Salesforce). Businesses must not only meet customer demands–they should also provide real value to thrive and remain relevant as well.

empowered service agents

  • According to a survey, that 58% of individuals could identify a brand whose customer service was enhanced during and after the COVID-19 outbreak (Deloitte). While this is a boon for brand recognition (and perhaps, loyalty), it has also raised the expectations of customers. This is another challenge that businesses must rise to.
  • An industry study showed that there is great support for work-from-home contact teams. Indeed, 35% of contact center leaders believe that their support teams would mainly work from home (Customer Think). On the other hand, 58% believe that working from home would be partly optional and partly compulsory. In any case, this further changes the way the industry is set up.
  • It’s giving your customers some actual value in customer service (Entrepreneur). That means helping them achieve their ultimate goal, which is customer success. This is why companies are starting to focus on customer success to get ahead of the competition (HubSpot). Successful and happy customers will never leave.

Data-driven customer service

  • More than 70% of consumers are disappointed when they get indifferent experiences (Dynamic Yield). This means that providing personalized service boosts revenues. Understanding the unique needs of consumers is key to winning their loyalty. People are inclined to pay more when they’re offered more personalized suggestions (Customer Think).
  • Be it virtual or physical encounters, service teams should always be on top of any customer encounter. Customer service teams mustn’t offer suggestions just for the sake of making them. Recommendations should be relevant and on point (Salesforce). Vague product suggestions have low personalization value.
  • Recently, the number of live face-to-face customer service interactions is increasing. Video is poised to account for 82% of all online traffic by 2022 (Forbes). Video now provides customer service.

omnichannel customer expectations

  • Customer service video chat is proving to be an excellent option for businesses. It allows face-to-face transactions and offers better security over emails. What’s more, 79% of customers choose live video chat because it offers the fastest response to their questions over other channels (Acquire.io).
  • Providing omnichannel customer service means allowing customers to reach businesses using any platform. A recent study verified the extensive benefits that providing omnichannel service brings (Aberdeen). On the one hand, businesses that consistently provide omnichannel customer service across channels keep 89% of their clients. On the other hand, those that do not offer consistent service can keep only 33%.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer