DISCUSSION ON MOVING TRANSACTIONS ONLINE VS. PERSONAL CONTACT
By: Scott Bahr
Bit Service has always placed providing excellent customer service as a top priority. A big part of achieving this aim is to ensure that our clients know that they, and their service needs, matter. Keeping in touch, following up, and making our team of experts readily available to our clients are ways we have proudly been able to provide this open line of communication.
But nowadays, with more people working from home and households still keeping their circles relatively small, personal visits between our team and clientele have become fewer and farther between. This has brought up some discussions about how best to pivot to still meet these needs and has caused us to get creative and innovative in finding alternative ways to keep in contact with our clients to ensure that the lines of communication remain open and consistent.
Although personal contact with clients has many benefits that online transactions just cannot replicate, we have been able to incorporate some excellent alternative methods to keep reassuring, supporting, and helping our clients along the way. The key to accomplishing this has been finding out how each particular customer prefers to be contacted. This is important as it helps us maintain our current relationships and also to create new ones.
Just a few examples of some methods that have proven effective thus far include:
Social media messaging: We do steer clear of personal sites to present our company as professional as possible—our preferred favorite is LinkedIn.
Text messaging:—We have one particular customer who will text us purchase orders and the date and time when they plan to come to pick up their orders. Texting has proven to be an excellent way to match our customer’s needs by catering to their schedules, adopting a medium which they prefer, and also to maintain regular contact with them.
Video meetings: We have found this to be particularly nice to do, as it is the closest method of contact to a personal meeting you can achieve these days. By simply turning their cameras on, our clients can see our faces and have that desire for personal interaction met, without ever having to leave the comfort of their own home or chair even. One important thing to keep in mind when choosing this method of communication is that using high-quality equipment is vital in putting your best foot forward. One of the worst things, and not to mention super frustrating as well, is setting up a video meeting only to sign on and not be able to see or hear your client properly due to faulty equipment.
Phone calls and Emails: Although social media and texting are admittedly all the rage now, we never want to underestimate the power of connection that a simple phone call or email can provide.
One downside to all of these new ways we try to connect with our customers via online or remote means is that our requests, calls or messages, can be ignored or forgotten. When this happens, it can feel like we may be hounding or bothering a customer if they do not respond on time. Another downside is that with all of the remote ways to contact people, it is hard to build a rapport with our customers as the meetings or conversations do not allow for as many personal conversations as face-to-face interactions.
The debate for moving transactions online versus personal contact also reaches to procurement methodology. There has been a lot of talk, particularly in the mining industry, about adopting an Amazon-style procurement method. While this definitely could make it easier for the procurement staff at mines, it does take that obvious personal touch out of it. However, more importantly, it does not allow for the huge need for customization when ordering.
Think about it: Chances are that there are certain components that have been modified over the years, and unless a database is very diligently kept up, it takes a bit of discussion, and a bit of human research, to be able to ensure that components are kept accurate in terms of what’s being ordered and then shipped to a customer. In short, If you take that as the broad strategy for all procurement, it leaves out a whole area that needs individual attention each time something is ordered.
FINAL VERDICT
Just like in life, we believe that the key is finding that ideal balance. Specifically, a combination of online transactions and personal contact is good because the reality is that this approach is the way that the world is going, and we want our clients to always be assured that we are doing our utmost to keep in step. There is a need for automating certain features, but there is definite value in having relationships between suppliers and customers. The last thing we would ever want—or allow—is for automation to result in a transactional relationship.
To find out more about Bit Service and how we can help you on your journey, contact us today to speak with one of our friendly experts.