If you primarily utilize online channels to communicate with your customers, it can be easy to forget there’s an actual person on the other side. After all, all you see is words on a screen. You don’t hear their voice, and you don’t see their face. Failing to treat them like they are real people is a mistake though. So how do you prevent this?

Personalize Each Interaction

It can be easy to get into a routine when talking to customers. After a while you tend to get a feel for what sort of problems customers are likely to bring to your attention and what your response options are. Using online channels is no exception to this. To avoid becoming robotic, find a way to put your own unique touch on your conversations. You might start by using their name in your conversation. Just make sure you do it right though, or it might backfire.

Ask for Feedback

You can improve customer experience by getting regular feedback after each interaction. If you aren’t sure what direction to go in to improve your interactions, this is one of the best things you can do. No one is going to have a better perspective on how your customers feel their interactions with you went than the customers themselves. Keep in mind that if you’re going to ask for feedback you need to take the time to do something with it. You probably won’t be able to take action on all the feedback you receive, but if you notice a common theme that keeps coming up you probably have something worth taking action on.

Be Polite

This should go without being said, but with the prevalence of internet trolls and how rude people can be when sheltered by the relative anonymity of the internet, it seems everyone can benefit from the occasional reminder to be polite during online discussions. Even if the customer isn’t being polite, you still need to be. Consider it a mark of professionalism, if you will. Everyone wants to be treated with dignity. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, you definitely shouldn’t say it online.

It’s important that you take steps to ensure that you treat your customers like they are real people, even in your online communications. Failing to do so can cause your customers to leave you for your competitors. Personalize your interactions and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Above all, be polite. Your customers will thank you for it.

We can help you to communicate with your customers by helping you to create a great marketing plan. Start by booking a call with us!