How quickly are you responding to customer queries?

Customers have more options than ever before. Keep them waiting too long and they’ll take their business elsewhere. VoCoVo uses the power of communication to help you respond to queries in record time. Here’s how.

The end of customer loyalty?

The pandemic shook up the nation’s shopping habits in a big way. As some stores closed and others moved online, customers were forced to try new things. For some, this proved to be a positive experience. Many have chosen to stick with new brands, while others have become more willing to shop around:

• 61% of shoppers say that the pandemic has affected their brand loyalty
• Only 17% plan to return completely to their old shopping habits
• 14% now claim to have no brand loyalty at all

As well as trying new stores, customers have also turned to ecommerce in droves:

• 87% of US adults made an online purchase in 2020
• Online sales accounted for 29% of the total retail market in the US in 2021
• Ecommerce is expected to grow by a further 34% in 2023

It’s not all bad news

These are worrying statistics, but things aren’t as bad as they seem. Declining customer loyalty means that you can’t rely on your old customers to come back, but it also means that thousands of new customers are up for grabs. The shift to ecommerce also has its positives. Working out why customers are moving online allows you to alter the in-store experience to provide the same benefits.

Our research shows that nothing drives customers away like slow response times:

• 26% of customers will leave your store if they haven’t been served within five minutes
• Over a third will leave if they have to wait more than ten minutes
• 54% will go online rather than wait for a associate to answer their query

Answers at your fingertips

It’s clear what stores need to do. Speeding up response times is the key to retaining customers, and this is where we can help:

• Headsets allow associates to check inventory and find information for customers without leaving their side. If a colleague can’t answer a question, they can ask another associate without having to cross the store to find them.
• Call Points allow customers to request help without having to track down an associate. You can place these in areas of the store where customers are most likely to need assistance.
• You can create separate conferences for different store departments or areas of expertise. If a customer has a specialized question, the associate can tune into the relevant conference and ask the most appropriate person.

This has a dramatic effect on response times, not to mention customer satisfaction in general. Whenever we install VoCoVo, we conduct a customer survey afterwards. The results speak for themselves:

• B&Q customers were 62% more satisfied with response times
• B&Q associates were 31% more likely to fully resolve customer inquiries
• Boots customers were three times as confident that associates would be able to help them

Speeding up response times is just the beginning. From cutting checkout lines to speeding up Click & Collect, VoCoVo improves every aspect of customer service.

Give us a call to find out more.