Omnichannel Customer Service and the Small Business

A study by ClickZ found that customers are 58 percent more likely to tell others about their customer experiences today than was they were five years ago. An important enabler and outlet is the social sphere, which gives consumers and businesses alike the ability to reach hundreds, thousands, or even millions of individuals.

The New Millennial Landscape

As Millennials comprise a larger and larger percentage of the population and workforce, their assumptions and ideals are changing about how companies engage with them. It isn’t simply a phenomenon related to online businesses; it is just as applicable for businesses that have traditional customer relationships.

“Millennial” customers expect their vendors to engage with them through digital channels. Further, it isn’t merely one engagement channel, but rather an omnichannel approach that includes email, the web, social media, among other channels.

Omnichannel Customer Service: It’s for Small Businesses, Too

Many small businesses think customer service only pertains to midsize companies and enterprises. After all, they have one-on-one personal relationships with their customers who often have the CEO’s smartphone on speed dial. Yet this is the furthest from the truth, particularly with the demographic and technological changes sweeping across the economic landscape.

With this in mind, let’s return to the topic of Millennials. A recent survey found that over two thirds of them value customer service experiences when they are able to answer a question or solve a problem related to that company without having to talk with a customer service agent.

The study also uncovered that Millennials want to engage with companies on their own terms—whether through digital or human interaction. Small businesses that fail to offer their customers multiple engagement channels place themselves at a competitive disadvantage and may even put their customer relationships at risk.

Davinci Helps Fill the Customer Service Void

Davinci offers customers a portfolio of services that enable them to engage with their customers when and where they want. The new customer service reality also dictates that companies engage with customers through multiple channels—both with live human interactions and digital interactions. Here, Davinci has its customers covered on both fronts.

Live human assistance. As it simply doesn’t make financial sense for most small businesses to hire a dedicated—full time or part time—personal assistant, Davinci created our Live Receptionist Services. Each client gets a virtual receptionist team that functions as a virtual assistant, answering each call with a personalized greeting and screening and transferring all calls to a representative designed by the small business on a schedule they control. In addition to various administrative tasks, our Live Receptionist Services team also handles appointment scheduling, answers customer service questions, makes outbound calls, and even processes orders.

Digital engagement. Customers increasingly want live digital support from a company’s website, all without the need for a live human interaction over the phone. With Davinci Live Web Chat Services, small businesses get a dedicated virtual team of Davinci digital professionals who do everything from answer customer questions and resolve service issues to engage with prospects, educating them on the customer’s business and product offerings and helping to expedite the sales process.

An Exceptional Experience Leads to Advocates

Davinci embraces the entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses and welcomes the opportunity to serve as a partner and facilitator to their success. After all, we’re entrepreneurs ourselves!

Great customer service occurs on multiple fronts; it isn’t one and done and conducted over one engagement channel. Davinci thus thrives to help our customers deliver consistent, compelling, and relevant services to their customers. Exceptional experiences result, and delighted customers become brand advocates.

Creating brand advocates has an immediate and tangible impact to bottom-line results. Happy customers are more likely to advocate about their experiences—and they are more loyal. They also ask for customer service 62 percent less often than other customers. Indeed, it doesn’t get much better than this: deliver great customer service, and the result is more customer advocates and fewer service inquiries.

Savvy companies understand that customer service is at the core of customer experience. They also recognize that customers demand human and digital engagement options. Davinci is here to help our customers achieve exceptional results on both fronts. Contact us today to find out more about Davinci Live Receptionist Services and Live Web Chat Services.

Make sure to watch for our upcoming posts on Live Receptionist Services (“The Virtual Live Receptionist: Available and Knowledgeable”) and Live Web Chat Services (“Live Web Chat: Personalized Digital Service”). Or simply sign up for our blog and receive notifications whenever we have a new post.

About Coco Quillen

Coco is the Chief Operating Officer at Davinci Virtual Office Solutions. She manages the strategic development and operational implementation of services for Davinci. She works closely with all teams to ensure customers are well taken care of.