Blog

Stephen Wunker shares a few key tips to help develop a customer experience strategy that is effective during times of crisis

If the customer experience for your company hasn’t changed in the past year, you are unusual. In industry after industry, from consumer goods to B2B technology, the distancing, fear, and economic turbulence caused by the coronavirus are affecting the sales process, customer selection criteria, the way products and services are consumed, and even what customer service means. Designing experiences for the coronavirus world is a fundamentally different proposition than what people responsible for CX were doing just 13 months ago.

A Pressing Need To Keep Customers Loyal

With the economic fallout from the coronavirus broad and durable, it’s more pressing than ever to keep your customers loyal. Their relationships with companies – be they restaurants or IT service vendors – may well consolidate as a result of the crisis, and you want to be one of their chosen partners going forward. Four steps provide a roadmap to do so:

1. Determine What Changes Are Occurring In Key Jobs To Be Done

It’s critical in a crisis to understand what underlying motivations – or Jobs to be Done – are driving customers’ behaviors and preferences. The Jobs approach is a powerful way to think broadly about your business and how you might be relevant to people in ways you’ve barely considered. If there was ever a time to use these methods, it’s now.

For an example, look at restaurants – one of the industries most challenged by COVID-19. The Job of impressing a date is no longer relevant. Rather, restaurants that are still operating can target contemporary Jobs such as staying healthy while in confinement and feeling like a good parent. Step back, determine what’s driving priorities today, then chart which of these Jobs might relate to your business. Start by being expansive; you can winnow down the list as you proceed.

Key points include:

• Map the customer’s current journey and potential leverage points
• Consider new approaches and opportunities
• Get inspired by what others are doing

Read the full article, Customer Experience Strategy In Times Of Crisis, on Newmarketsadvisors.com.