On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by Vikas Bhambri, Senior VP Sales at Kustomer – a New York-based Omnichannel CRM platform. Kustomer delivers data from multiple sources through a single customer-view, allowing companies to deliver consistent and personalized customer service.

Most eCommerce and DTC companies need repeat customers to be successful. Yet a majority of these companies fall into the trap of only targeting new customers. ECommerce adoption may be at all-time high, but that is also driving up the (dreaded!) cost of acquiring (CAC) new customers. An unsustainable cost of acquisition is one of the leading reasons why startups fail. Maximising the Lifetime Value (LTV) of existing customers is a real focus as eCommerce continues to boom. This is where customer experience (CX) comes in.

Realising that CX is crucial is one thing, but getting it right is a different thing altogether. Growing adoption across all digital platforms is changing the ground rules and expectations of CX. There are multiple facets to an effective CX strategy. Getting it right is no longer a good-to-have, it can be the difference between success and failure.

Kunle and Vikas discuss the pillars of every effective CX strategy, where to start and how to scale your CX strategy. Whether you are an established brand or a small business, there are great takeaways for you in this episode!

Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,

• You must be available where your customers are (i.e. Everywhere!)
• Well developed self-service resources can nip problems in the bud
• Support reps must be empowered, informed and empathetic
• A disjointed multi-channel approach can cause confusion and hurt your brand
• Having a unified feed for data from all your channels is a gamechanger

 

Covered Topics:

On today’s interview Kunle and Vikas discuss,

• 3 Pillars of Customer Experience
• Omnichannel vs Multichannel
• Empowering customers and support reps

Timestamp:

• 07:05 – Kustomer’s journey with DTC brands?
  • Working with DTC/eCommerce companies across multiple industries
  • Huge growth in adoption over the last 9 months
• 10:21 – Why CX budgets are rising in companies across the board:
  • The Cost of Acquisition has risen
  • Profitability from a customer starts with the 3rd purchase
• 12:12 – The big 3 Pillars of CX:
  • Be where the customer wants to be (i.e. Everywhere!)
  • Well developed Self-service options are critical
  • Customer service reps must be empowered, informed and empathetic
• 14:29 – How should DTC companies develop their products with CX in mind:
  • Get your audience behind you (influencers / celebrity endorsements)
  • Appeal to the buyer’s emotions – Is your product eco-friendly? Is there a charitable angle?
  • Build a subscription model
  • Increase convenience
• 19:50 – Most common customer engagement channels:
  • Chat, email and SMS are now default options
  • Social media depends
  • Voice is still relevant because of “Old-school” customers and urgency factors
  • Your audience dictates which channels you should focus on
• 24:10 – Why multichannel can lead to “Agent collision”
• 28:50 – Framework for Self-serve options
  • Knowledge base / FAQs are the most basic requirements
  • A good starting point is reviewing your most common inquiries
  • Avoid Whizmo by being transparent about order details
  • Chatbots can be used to answer questions and empower customers
• 32:10 – Creating the best customer reps
  • Having outdated tools sets up your team to fail
  • Reps should have easy and instant access to customer data across all channels
  • Empower reps to resolve problems on-the-spot
  • Training from day one
  • Focus on wellness of your team
• 36:50 – How to improve wellness of your reps
  • Scheduling mandatory wellness breaks
  • Having resources for reps to relax and learn
• 38:30 – Tips for managing CX during holiday sales:
  • Focus on building a long term strategy
  • “eCommerce and DTC will be front and center in 2021”
  • Use your data to improve CX that will bring returns in the future
  • It’s time to overinvest in headcounts
• 45:40 – Why the biggest brands are doing their holiday sales now?
• 47:00 – This is not a temporary normal – this IS the new normal

Takeaways:

• A truly Omnichannel approach is a soon-to-be norm
• Your CX strategy should empower both customers and employees
• Reviewing your most common inquiries is the best starting point

Links & Resources

• LinkedIn – Vikas Bhambri
• Kustomer – Twitter
• Kustomer – LinkedIn
• Kustomer – Facebook
• Kustomer – Instagram

Tweetable Quotes:

“True omni-channel is the ability for a customer or Brand to start and continue a conversation while switching channels.”

———–

SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by: