The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed consumer behavior in every sector. The new normal for retailers in 2021 and beyond has shifted to more convenient, digital experiences. Retailers are adapting their sales shopping experiences to meet the new digital demand, but business leaders must remember to apply the same digital standard to the post-sale customer experience as well.
The pandemic created a priority on digital-first and omnichannel interactions, and the retailers who have been able to adapt their entire customer journey to this trend have succeeded where others have struggled. As retailers continue to adapt and improve customer experiences, they must remember that customer service is part of the customer experience too. Digital self-service solutions like Visual IVR have emerged as critical pieces helping customer service experiences keep pace with digital customer experience expectations and help retail businesses grow.
Source: McKinsey
“Retailers are adapting their pre-sale shopping experiences to meet the new digital demand, but business leaders must remember to apply the same digital standard to the post-sale customer experience as well.”
Digital is in Demand
According to McKinsey, digital customer experiences have become the new normal for retailers. McKinseyresearchhighlights the importance of meeting the new demand for digital consistently across the retail customer journey, “With more customers now engaging through mobile devices, retailers must ensure that all digital channels are integrated and offer consistent services and experiences.”
Retailers have adapted pre-purchase experiences well, implementing new curbside pickup strategies and mobile shopping experiences. Business leaders must remember that the customer journey doesn’t end with a purchase, however. To meet customer expectations in the post-COVID era, retailers must bring digital self-service to the post-sale experience as well. Innovative modern technology is ready to help customer service, fulfillment, analytics and reporting meet customer expectations.
Source: FitForCommerce
Turn Customer Service into Customer Experience
When customers engage with customer service, they expect the same speed to resolution, ease of use, and 24/7 convenience they get from other digital customer experiences. The customer journey doesn’t end with a purchase. As businesses adapt their shopping experiences to meet customer demands, they can’t afford to forget about customer service too.
Mobile On-Demand Customer Service solutions like Zappix Visual IVR are delivering the customer experiences retail businesses need today. Visual IVR deflects the majority of routine and repetitive customer service calls (like order status, return requests, loyalty program inquiries, and other common calls) from agent interactions to digital self-service. These new, automated, app-like experiences deliver a faster time to successful resolution, lower the average handling time per call, and create better customer satisfaction scores.
Adapt Quickly and Continue Improving
ZappixVisual IVRuses the power of the robust Zappix Studio solution to let even non-technical employees build and publish rich, engaging web-apps within days — a process that would take months work and tens of thousands of dollars to accomplish with traditional native apps and a full development team. The speed of launching Visual IVR projects provides a massive boon to businesses working to implement digital transformation as fast as possible. While other digital transformation projects get off the ground, businesses can already have Visual IVR up and running, taking the first step towards total digital transformation.
“The speed of launching Visual IVR projects provides a massive boon to businesses working to implement digital transformation as fast as possible.”
The final step of the retail supply chain is leveraging analytics and data to create continuous improvement to the customer journey. Zappix analytics track every interaction across Zappix platforms, helping business leaders identify the most productive and powerful experiences, streamline the most common customer service journeys, and adapt the entire customer journey to meet modern customer demands.
Visual IVR and Digital Interactions are the New Normal for Retailers
The new normal for retailers in 2021 and beyond has shifted to more digital experiences for shoppers and customers looking for customer service as well. Retailers must shift customer interactions to easy to use, digital channels to meet customer demands post COVID-19. As retailers continue to improve customer experiences, they should consider using Visual IVR to improve customer service too.
