Exactly! That was that, where one takes care of the wishes and needs of the customers and tries to solve their concerns quickly and uncomplicatedly. That was the idea and often also the practice.
Then Covid came along and drove digitization forward. Customer portals were expanded more strongly with the aim of further increasing the service offering for the customer. The customer can now help himself quickly and easily. To do this, however, processes had to be adapted and automated so that customer contact could take place online. It's great to be able to do everything by mail. But where is the human process component in this development? The answer is self-evident. MISSED. Corona and the lockdowns have intensified this considerably. Companies are increasingly cutting themselves off from their customers and can only be reached electronically. The employees are happy. Thus, less customer contact is legitimized from above. On the other hand, huge sums are spent on optimizing the customer journey, i.e. improving the customer experience during the purchasing process. OMG!
But it would be so simple. Let's look at our company from the customer's point of view. As a human being, and let's forget about the processes for a moment. Then it should become clear that we can't dispatch customers with disinterest and studiet phrases and then still expect them to be positively disposed towards us afterwards and possibly even write this in a positive feedback. Every day we experience how far away companies are from their customers, being driven by processes. It is absolutely grotesque when, for example, the sales department can no longer be reached directly by the phone.
But where does it start? That's right! In the mindset of the company. And throughout the entire company! Instead of designing processes that bypass customers through service automation, focus on direct customer communication and, above all, on service excellence. Then you will gain one thing for sure. More and more closeness to your customers.
Be great and stay healthy!
Yours, Steffen Kühnel
