A Beginner’s Guide to Customer Communication

Companies are learning that they need to invest heavily in customer service if they want their business to be successful and grow. Because of this, many top companies are increasing their focus on customer communication. The results are visible, as more than half of consumers surveyed by Zendesk Trends Report 2023 reported improved communication and support experiences from businesses.

Running a successful business means having smooth, efficient customer communication workflows in place. Every company should have a plan for customer communication management or CCM. When a company creates a standardized approach to meeting customer needs, it can create more consistent positive experiences. With a plan in place, your customers will receive an equally positive experience whether working with someone in sales, marketing, or customer service specifically.

When working your CCM processes, you want to make sure your sales team has access to the knowledge and tools they need to keep your customers engaged and happy. CCM software can get all your customer communications organized in one central location. This means collecting messages and inquiries from multiple channels such as emails, texts, and social media.

CCM solutions like Podium can help you organize customer communication and improve the efficiency of all your teams. For instance, by directing all customer inquiries to one unified Inbox, agents can easily access data and improve speed-to-lead rates. In turn, the shorter response times help sales teams close more deals. Whether you are working to respond to prospects more efficiently or need help with streamlining customer support workflows, Podium can help you get organized.

What Is Customer Communication?

How companies interact with their customers at each part of the customer journey is what we call customer communication. Regardless of the stage where the customer is, how you communicate with them sets the tone for how they perceive your brand. Whether it is a marketing ad that draws them in or when you follow up with them after they have made a purchase, communication skills matter.

It is important to use clear language when you interact with customers, so they don’t misinterpret the message you’re trying to get across. Use appropriate language to build rapport with your clients so you can develop a positive experience and, therefore, trust.

Improving customer communication management also means using the right tools, channels, and strategies to engage with your potential customer base effectively. Some of the most common communication channels used by customers and sales and customer service reps are phone and email.

Businesses are also increasingly offering services via chat and text to facilitate faster, more efficient communications with leads and customers. The fact that businesses that use text messaging for customer communications are more than 200% more likely to report success makes SMS an excellent channel to explore.

To ensure customer success, your brand should communicate on as many channels as feasible. More importantly, you should make sure that you use the communication channels that your leads and customers use most often. By meeting consumers where they are, you can significantly improve the customer experience and encourage brand loyalty.

Why Is Customer Communication Important?

Having a customer communication strategy is critical to running a successful business. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is as simple as calling your customers back and interacting with them pleasantly when they are using your services or making a purchase. It is how you interact with each customer that matters during each part of the customer journey.

Quality customer communication is an integral part of building your company and developing your brand. Statistics indicate that 75% of consumers are willing to spend more with businesses that provide a positive customer service experience. Additionally, 30% of consumers state that poor communication drove them away from a business. Here are just a few reasons why quality customer communication is important.

Builds customer trust and loyalty

When you meet customer expectations, they start building trust in your brand. By regularly communicating and responding with customers, you encourage loyalty between your customers and salespeople. Making sure to greet visitors when they enter your dealership or jewelry shop or come to a website is part of this process. But so is asking pointed questions that help to identify pain points so your customer service reps can reduce resolution time.

This attention to detail helps your customers understand that their experience is important to your business. It will go far in boosting customer engagement, developing customer relationships, and providing you with the customer data you need.

4 Examples of Great Customer Service Communication

Mastering the art of customer communication sets you apart from competitors in your industry. Many brands become well-known for their specific communication styles, which greatly resonate with their consumers. Take a look at these successful businesses and some of the ways they have set their customer communications apart.

1. Zappos

One excellent example is Zappos, one of the biggest clothing and shoe brands in the world. Their customer service and communication methods are so well-known and effective that many case studies have been made about these strategies. The screenshot of an email from a Zappos rep shows that, with the right tone and language, reps can turn a negative customer experience into a positive, memorable one.

Anyone who reaches out to the company knows exactly what they will get. The company offers 24-hour human support and unlimited call times for customers. Contact information for customer service and support can be easily located, too.

2. Amazon

Several things about Amazon’s customer service set it apart from its competitors. The company is well-known for being a relentless advocate for its customers. Amazon also relies on its associates to make quality judgments and they trust customers. In disputes, the customer always comes first, and this has significantly helped encourage customer loyalty to the Amazon brand.

Amazon’s email marketing materials reflect how the company prioritizes the customer experience. The email has a similar look and feel to the Amazon website and uses concise, straightforward language combined with clear calls to action. Customers can also perform actions, like adding books to their Wish List, right from email messages.

3. Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton chain of hotels has built its brand around the care and comfort of its customers. The company has made it a mission to provide the highest levels of personal service and facilities.

The company achieves this by investing in training its employees in effective customer communications. They have also empowered their employees the ability to spend up to $2,000 to deal with customer issues without asking for management.

4. Drift

The chatbot software Drift is well-known for its casual, easygoing emails. The brand connects with customers by using friendly language in their emails. The email doesn’t take a formal tone; instead, you will see, “Just wanted to say hey,” and “Talk soon!” The company has worked hard to develop a casual tone for customer communications and it works well for their brand.

A Customer Communication Solution for Small Businesses

Software like Podium can go a long way in streamlining customer communication workflows, which can, in turn, help you convert more leads and make more money. Podium’s Lead Drive features, for instance, gather customer inquiries from different communication channels and put them in the Podium Inbox.

With these features, you will never miss another message from any communication channel, because everything will be neatly organized in one location. The Podium Inbox will make it easier for sales and customer service agents to access lead data, while Lead Drive’s AI features can automatically and immediately respond to leads.

Also, Podium’s conversational AI is outcome-driven – it doesn’t just respond to inbound leads it guides conversations toward a specific goal, such as a sale or booking. Unlike other AI systems that focus on providing correct responses, Podium aims to drive specific customer actions to grow your business. Transform your business with Podium’s AI Employee. Get a Demo Today.

These features can help you convert leads into paying customers and ultimately drive more revenue for your business.