Customer experience in (post)COVID times – nice to have or must-have?

COVID-19 has certainly changed much in the economy, social behavior, and perhaps even our way of thinking about the world around us. Many of the predictions made by experts, futurologists, scientists, and writers should either retract their visions or write new ones.

However, I see that some people and companies during COVID-19 have adopted an approach similar to that from American crime movies, where a policeman catching up with a criminal shouts: freeze. To which the latter freezes. And then, of course, the right to silence, lawyer, handcuffs, etc.

Before COVID, many companies were racing to improve customer service quality. Today, some companies have adopted the strategy:Dear Customer, be glad that we want to serve you at all." Whether "My way or highway".

Is this a good strategy? Absolutely. is not the best at building customer experience (customer experience).

COVID has obviously frozen the operations of many businesses. Indeed, even talking about any service at that time makes no sense. But that time is over. Hopefully, forever. It remains crucial to focus on the following issues:

1. Customers still expect excellent service. As we unfreeze operations, it is necessary to ensure even better customer service because, as we return to some kind of normality, customers will expect an even better level of service and will not really appreciate the fact that we managed to 'fill' all the shifts, even though many employees are afraid to go to work at all.

2. Human service has become even more important. Direct service in brick-and-mortar retail has just become incredibly powerful. While crowds of customers once streamed through shopping centers and stores, now there are fewer of them. This means that every customer must be served not only well, but excellently. A common argument from employees –There was a queue, I try to serve as quickly as possible so that customers don't have to wait' is no longer credible. Therefore, guidelines regarding standards should be treated even more restrictively.

3. E-commerce will not cover all trade. E-commerce has exploded. Some of us fall into the trap of thinking: why bother if e-commerce will cover everything? Not true. Not all products, not all customer segments, and not in every context will sell online. And if they do, the entire customer journey (customer journey) along with filing a complaint on the hotline and contacting a friendly or unfriendly courier will gain more power. It will influence the customer experience (customer experience).

4. Numbers don't lie. If, before COVID, 100 customers were shopping in the store daily, and additional sales of, say, PLN 10 were made to 10%, a simple formula shows: 100×10%x10 PLN, the additional revenue is PLN 100. If after COVID there are (optimistically) 40 customers buying daily, the same values are: 40×10%x10 PLN = PLN 40. This means a negative difference of PLN 60%. Of course, you could give up and say there's no chance of returning to the previous cart, customers aren't interested in new products, etc. Or you could adopt the opposite strategy. Since they're coming less often, you should make the most of this time – talk, advise, take care of the customer and fight for more sales. Build good customer experiences.

I am absolutely convinced that what customers need now is even better service, the introduction of anti-Covid solutions – not just disinfectant at the entrance, but the ability to talk on many topics and constant monitoring of the level of customer service.

Now more than ever, reliable monitoring of customer service is needed, whether in the form of mystery shopper surveys, NPS, or observations. We also need strong support for employees to ensure they understand how to interact with customers in light of COVID and how to address their concerns.

All this to make each of these smaller store visits truly special. But also to avoid situations like:

• When a customer returns a product and is told it's impossible due to COVID, there's no further explanation or justification. It leaves a bad impression.
• The employee in the store does not use a mask.
• There is a shortage of gloves and the workers do not offer any other protective solution.

A strategy based on the principle: Monitor – Highlight – Support – Communicate is even more relevant today. And companies that adopt this approach as MUST BE, and not Nice to have they will improve their results much faster.