Customer Service

24 Karat Operations: How Can Luxury Retailers Protect Their Brand Online?
June 10, 2021 at 6:57 pm

As more luxury brands sell direct to consumers online, they're constantly seeking ways to differentiate the experience and protect their most valuable asset: their brand. While a luxury brand may intuitively seem valuable, companies have long known there's real, measurable value in that brand. In fact, in the increasingly “digital first” world of commerce, the…

Online Appointments Are the Future of Retail Experiences
June 7, 2021 at 4:26 pm

Nearly every industry has been impacted by the pandemic. However, with one year under our belts, we have an opportunity to reflect on what changes might have been for the best. It’s no surprise that with state-mandated shutdowns, social distancing and general consumer caution, e-commerce boomed during the pandemic. Online sales increased 32 percent in…

How Retailers Can Maintain Relationships With Consumers in 2021 and Beyond
May 25, 2021 at 7:29 pm

Consumers are no strangers to e-commerce. In 2019, online sales surpassed $3.5 trillion worldwide. Unsurprisingly, the trend remained upward in 2020 during the pandemic, with sales amounting to more than $4 trillion. As more of the population gets vaccinated and an end to the global disruption is in sight, brands must be aware of the…

Retail Redefined: Everything Begins and Ends With the Customer, Part 3
April 21, 2021 at 7:39 pm

Local retailers serve a critical role in our lives as places that feed and nurture us, supply our basic needs, and contribute to the local and national economy. This interview is the third in a three-part series with my friend and mentor Jocelyn Mangan, CEO and founder of CEO and founder of Him For Her, a social…

Why Your Brand Needs to Deliver a Unified Customer Experience
April 20, 2021 at 4:09 pm

To reach consumers, brands need omnichannel strategies that deliver a consistent customer experience at every touchpoint. Yet today’s technical and business conversations about omnichannel are often too limited in scope to achieve what’s ultimately possible. Brands typically only focus on customer interactions across one or two channels or fail to break up the many information…

When Determining the Right Preference and Consent Provider, Know the Differences in Capabilities
April 8, 2021 at 5:34 pm

Thousands of companies today, large and small, are realizing the importance of building trust and giving customers a voice through functions such as customer consent and preference management. Regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, as well as customer backlash related to poor customer experiences, has forced much of this shifting environment for brands today. Why…

Conversational Marketing is Key for Retailers in 2021
April 1, 2021 at 7:06 pm

It has never been clearer that mobile channels are where customers are. In 2020, consumers spent an average of 4.2 hours per day on their phones. At the same time, conversion rates for e-commerce hit a record, reaching 3.5 percent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this past year. While that is way up from…

Keep COVID Stress Out of Your Customer Communication
March 31, 2021 at 4:27 pm

TL;DR: Pandemic stress-related toxic communication can creep into your customer communication. Don’t let it! Set the example, nip toxicity in the bud, protect your team from incoming, build in rest, celebrate the good stuff, and codify that positive voice in your company style guide. As we think about healthy communication at work, we’re reminded of…

Balancing Humanization and Digitization: 3 Key Customer Service Trends
March 29, 2021 at 7:15 pm

Of the many challenges that brands had to confront last year, the shifting behaviors and heightened expectations of consumers still remain the top issues in 2021. As such, one truth still sits above the rest for brands: the customer always comes first. Indeed, organizations were required to adapt to the status quo or risk losing…

Why Promotion Support Automation is the Next Leap Forward for Your CX
March 9, 2021 at 1:21 pm

2020 was a decisive and divisive year for retailers. Those that had already embraced or were quick to embrace e-commerce were able to capitalize on the accelerated shift toward digital spurred by the pandemic and leverage its infrastructure competitors. Those that were slower off the mark are either still playing catch-up or have shuttered entirely.…