What are liquid customer service expectations?
Long gone are the days when “Great Expectations” was just a Charles Dickens novel.
In the past, competition in business was primarily defined by companies selling products or services directly comparable to yours. However, the landscape is changing. Now, it’s about how well businesses are meeting or exceeding customer expectations, shaped significantly by their interactions across various sectors.
Today’s customer service expectations are influenced not just by direct competitors, but also by experiences with companies from entirely different industries. Tech giants like Apple, Airbnb, Uber, and others have redefined what an excellent customer experience looks like. They’ve set a new standard not just within their own industries but across all business sectors, introducing us to the concept of experiential competitors.
Let’s delve into the liquid customer expectations definition: This concept implies that customers’ expectations are fluid and extend beyond industry boundaries.
For example, a guest may expect the check-in process at a local hotel to be as seamless as their experience at a major airport like LAX. If a business fails to deliver an efficient, hassle-free experience, customers may associate that negative experience with the brand, impacting their perception and loyalty.
In essence, businesses today are competing in a field where exceeding customer expectations is vital, irrespective of the industry.
The definition of customer expectations has broadened, encompassing the best experiences customers have had anywhere. For any company looking to stay competitive, it’s crucial to understand this shift and strive to create customer experiences that are not just good for the industry—but are outstanding on a global standard.
Mastering Liquid Expectations: A Guide to Exceeding Customer Expectations
Self-service and AI-assisted support:
Meeting and even exceeding customer expectations often starts with self-service and AI-assisted support. Customers generally believe that finding solutions themselves is quicker than contacting customer service. However, this can lead to frustration if self-service options are not up to par. According to a Nuance study, 58% of customers cannot resolve their issues through self-service.
Investing in agent expertise:
When it comes to customer expectations, the competence of your agents is a key factor. If self-service tools don’t cut it, customers expect your agents to effectively step in. The ability of agents to resolve issues efficiently plays a huge role in exceeding customer expectations. Training your agents well is not just an operational expense; it’s an investment in meeting customer service expectations.
Human-to-human connection:
Despite the advancements in AI and automation, they can’t fully replicate the impact of a genuine human interaction. In many cases, customer expectations include the desire for empathy and understanding that only human agents can provide. This human-to-human connection is vital in building trust.
Responsiveness:
A Stella Connect survey shows that response time matters most when it comes to customer service. Consider investing in agent tools and training that resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently and keep customer effort scores low.
Adopt an omnichannel customer experience:
Omnichannel support provides a seamless journey and offers a unified experience to each customer. Every customer service channel is linked, data is centralized, responses are streamlined, and customer effort is reduced.
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Takeaway
At the end of the day, your customer is comparing the experience you deliver with all other service organizations they interact with, not just your industry competitors. Investing in your agents and technology is your best step toward meeting customers’ liquid expectations. How do you compare with today’s tech pioneers?
FrontLogix provides intelligent, trained, and equipped representatives alongside automation solutions to pick up the conversation at any point. We’ll also help provide an in-depth analysis of your customer’s decision-making process. Together, we’ll understand their choices and suggest ways to optimize and improve to meet their needs better. Get in touch.