As consumers become more selective about the brands they trust, it’s clear that organizations must promote transparency in order to build customer loyalty.
Appealing ads and catchy slogans are no longer enough to capture people’s attention. As consumers now have instant access to all kinds of information via the web, their buying motivations are also changing. While their main considerations are products’ utility and relevance, they stick to brands that strive to be honest and socially responsible. Promoting corporate transparency, therefore, has become a crucial mission for every company.
All these are backed by research. Earlier this year, a study by tech firm Label Insight revealed 94% of consumers are likely to champion brands that commit to full transparency. Furthermore, 81% would be more willing to try an entire array of products from companies they consider reliable. Although the study focused on the food industry, the key results are applicable to every organization aiming to foster customer loyalty.
Upholding transparency as a business philosophy boils down to two main principles: ethical processes and effective communication with customers. You need to pay equal attention to both aspects to create a trustworthy organization.
Ensuring that you’re adhering to ethical processes requires stringent internal management. On the other hand, you can only devise the right communication strategy using a combination of robust marketing and customer service approaches.
Partnering with the right call center can thus help you move toward the right direction. As the frontline organization that directly interacts with your target demographic, they play an important role in fostering meaningful customer relations. Here are four ways by which contact centers enable brands to promote transparency.
1. Disseminating the right information
Consumers want to know not only a product’s functions and features but also its entire history—where the materials were sourced, how it was manufactured, and what policies and values shaped the production process. This lets them verify whether they can trust a company.
Handing all these details to your customers upfront is one way to secure their confidence. With the aid of your customer support agents, you can be sure that all the relevant details about your brand and products are well-communicated to your clientele. This way, you can provide customers all the information they need to make decisions that suit their personal values and advocacies.
2. Responding promptly to queries
To catch all messages from customers, contact centers manage several touchpoints at once, allowing them to provide fast, hassle-free support. Leveraging an omnichannel strategy demonstrates a brand’s genuine desire to communicate with customers about all kinds of issues and concerns. By responding promptly to people’s complaints with accurate solutions, you can build meaningful customer relations while boosting loyalty.
3. Enhancing customer interactions
Enhancing interactions isn’t just about leveraging multiple channels and responding to customers’ queries quickly. If agents consciously strive to be transparent every time they talk to customers, their conversation instantly improves. Honesty, openness, and a genuine willingness to assist customers are some of the most desirable traits that call center agents can have. These are also the same characteristics that will allow you to communicate effectively with your clientele while nurturing trust and understanding.
4. Managing PR crises
Transparency is crucial when dealing with public relation disasters. These are instances in which you must demonstrate to customers that you can be trusted regardless of your shortcomings. Remember, any negative issue about your brand can go viral in an instant, thanks to social media. So when bad news about your brand and products start spreading, your customer support provider must be prepared to handle an onslaught of complaints from consumers.
The best way to handle a reputation crisis is to be honest. Admit your lapses, but let customers know that you’re doing all you can to eliminate the problem and minimize the inconvenience they may experience. During these situations, you’d be relying heavily on your contact center agents to reassure your worried customers and appease the frustrated ones.
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