“Always remember that everyone with whom you have a relationship has an invisible sign on their forehead that says ‘Make Me Feel Important.’ Treat them accordingly.” - Eric Philip Cowell

1. Tackle Customer Experience in
Times of Crisis
“Always remember that everyone with whom you have a
relationship has an invisible sign on their forehead that
says ‘Make Me Feel Important.’ Treat them accordingly.”
Eric Philip Cowell

2. Wondering how to handle Customer
Experience (CX) in times of crisis?
Here are 6 tips to help.

3. Is CX really that important
right now?

4. • The COVID-19 pandemic has had a
significant impact on us all, but especially
those on the front lines, including doctors,
police officers, truck drivers, grocery store
clerks, and other service providers.
• These hard-working frontline workers
deserve our deep appreciation for their
ongoing services and dedication.

5. • How are your own frontline employees
doing?
• The impact on your public-facing
employees is likely to impact the customer
experience you’re able to provide.

6. • Frontline employees deserve appreciation
for successfully managing your brand
reputation and business success during
stressful situations.

7. #1
Offer Emotional Support

8. • Service or sales representatives are going
to be under pressure to address the
concerns of stressed-out customers and
prospects.
• Now those customer training efforts to
encourage empathy and build personalized
relationships really come into play.

9. • Care about your customers? Show it.
They care that you care, too.

10. • The experiences your CX representatives
provide will define customers’ impressions
of the company for years to come.
• Empower agents to help solve customer
challenges by correcting mistakes, offering
options, or being more flexible on policies.

11. #2
Keep Your Promises

12. • During a crisis of any kind – whether it’s a
pandemic or a product recall – it’s critical to
deliver on promises to your customers.

13. • Take responsibility for what you can
control. Find a way to reestablish the
promise of reliability and accountability.
• This need for reliability in crisis should also
be reflected in your brand’s external
communications.

14. • If your business has always worked to offer
personalized service, for instance, now is
not the time to go generic.
• Remaining true to your brand DNA, even in
high pressure situations, helps customers
to feel their expectations are still being
met.

15. #3
Focus on Simplicity

16. • A crisis is not the time to weigh your
customers down with fine print and
conditions to be met.
• Those in need want a simple answer to
their questions or a straightforward
resolution of their issue.

17. • Keep customer interactions simple and
solution-oriented rather than getting into
the details of the internal situation.
• Streamlining processes and ensuring
people get to the right person and right
answer the first time can make a big
difference to customer satisfaction.

18. • A CX playbook or reference can be
invaluable in providing support for your
team and consistency for your customers.
• Anticipate the difficult questions customers
will ask. Then, prepare your frontline
employees with clear, concise answers.

19. • Support your people by putting a crisis
management plan in motion:
• Tell employees about any policy changes.
• Make readily accessible any dates
customers may need to know.
• Develop talking points or scripts that can
help employees navigate the new reality.

20. #4
Be Wary of Automation

21. • As always, you want to strike a personal
note in interactions with your customers.
• While it can be difficult at the best of times
– and extremely challenging during a crisis
– be empathetic, clear, consistent, realistic,
and helpful.

22. • You might need to bring in additional
support. However, be cautious about
automating your response.

23. • HelpScout notes, “While workflows can
really help manage the load, a crisis is
typically not the time to experiment with
automatic responses to customers.”

24. #5
Prioritize the Health & Wellness
of Your People

25. • During the best of times, the hardest part
of a customer experience job is handling
disgruntled people.
• A crisis is likely to tip the balance toward
more upset and unsettled customers who
are quicker to lose patience.

26. • Meeting each of these customers with
professional courtesy, respect, and
empathy can be wearing.
• In a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic,
your employees are also dealing with their
own stressors.

27. • They may be working from home,
alongside children they are trying to home
school, and be worried about personal
issues like whether distant parents are
coping or if they’ll ever find toilet paper in
stock.

28. • Help your frontline CX workers avoid
burnout by prioritizing their health and
wellness.

29. For example…
• Relaxing targets for customer handling to
afford agents more down time.
• Offering more flexible hours.
• Providing an extra day off.
• Making virtual nutrition and physical fitness
programs available.
• Ensuring managers reach out to individual
employees to check in.
• Recognizing and rewarding hard work
across the business.
• Surveying employees to solicit suggestions
for how you can help.

30. #6
Learn from One Crisis

31. • When you come out the other side of a
crisis, your business will breath a collective
sigh of relief.
• Do pat each other on the back and
acknowledge everyone’s hard work.

32. • However, don’t move on so quickly that
you overlook the importance of debriefing
before things go back to “normal”.
• What can you learn from one crisis that
can help shape your crisis management
planning for the future?

33. • Seek input from everyone — customers,
frontline CX workers, managers, and more
— to see what went well and to identify
areas for improvement.

34. • Have these discussions while the most
recent crisis is still top-of-mind.
• Then, take advantage of the calm between
the storms to better prepare for the next
crisis that might come your way.

35. Final Thoughts

36. • Providing a positive customer experience
in a crisis requires your frontline workers to
be at the top of their game.
• Offering consistent, high-quality support in
times of trouble is a great way to build
brand loyalty.

37. • Doing your company’s best in difficult times
is not only rewarding, but it also builds
relationships and reputations.

38. Ready to measure and improve
customer experience –
in the best and worst of times?

39. Create a vision, understand your customers,
act upon employee feedback.

40. Want more?
Like, Share, and Follow:
https://www.sogosurvey.com/blog/6-suggestions-to-
tackle-customer-experience-in-times-of-crisis/

41. Email:
Reach us
on: support1@sogosurvey.com
+1 (800) 646-0520

42. Thank You!
www.sogosurvey.com