While the world may be gripped by fear and panic, it is now more than ever that companies need to keep customer experience [FURL]https://www.interactrdt.com/cx-customer-experience/[/FURL] at the centre of their focus. Agile business innovations are a necessity to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. This means pushing the boundaries of creativity. It means questioning the status quo on how to engage with customers..
Adapt Quickly for Customer and Employee Experience
For business, this implies a serious need to adapt quickly to changing situations resulting in changing customer needs. Businesses have to listen and act with empathy to assist customers feel safe and secure amidst a pandemic that brings uncertainty and insecurity to everyone. Agility may be defined as the ability to respond rapidly and adapt to changing circumstances in the market and environment in the most cost-effective ways without losing drive or vision.
According to Blake Morgan, customer experience futurist and author, the most customer-centric companies have a good balance of 4 important principles: innovation, environmentalism and sustainability, employee experience, and customer centricity. During this time, we see the importance of all 4 of these attributes as companies need to innovate while being mindful of our current environmental and social (or lack thereof!) conditions.
Now more than ever, companies need to support their employees through these enforced “work from home” times and demonstrate a caring positive relationship with their staff.
Be Emotionally Agile
Agility is not only important in terms of operations but also emotionally. According to renowned psychologist Susan David, Ph.D, organizations today operate within unprecedented complexity resulting from many forces including technology, globalization, and strong competition. At present, organizations are also feeling the added impact of the Covid-19 crisis. All these pressures require companies to offer swift responses.
However, “organizations themselves can never be truly agile unless the people who work within them are agile -specifically emotionally agile.” Says David.
Emotional agility also plays a vital role in customer engagement. Now more than ever companies need to listen with heart to customers to learn their new needs. One might question whether or not customers even know what they want and need at this time? Perhaps another role of business is to help customers identify their needs and create awareness of these needs.
Empathetic Communication Builds trust and Loyalty
Communication is always key. With so much uncertainty around what to say, “it is imperative that companies communicate with customers, investors, suppliers, business partners, and employees to share compassion, show responsiveness, and demonstrate strong leadership”. (Kylie McMullen and Julia Smith, Finch media for The Globe and Mail 17 March 2020)
In order to communicate effectively, stakeholders need to listen first and then respond with deep levels of empathy and compassion in order to truly understand their customers’ and employees’ perspectives and what they need to feel safe and reassured. Compassionate communication especially during times of stress builds trust and long-term commitments.