OCC Blogs

  B usinesses across different sectors have been hit by the coronavirus in one way or the other. While industries like traditional retail, manufacturing, travel and hospitality may feel like they are tail spinning into chaos, other sectors such as health, eCommerce, and online gaming, among others may feel like new doors are being opened for them. But we can all agree that  businesses across the board are dealing with one or more challenges  that may significantly impact their customer confidence, loyalty, engagement, and entire customer experience. How Did Customer Experience Change During this Pandemic? Global lockdowns, social distancing, remote working, and a few other policies and measures have been taken in the wake of the coronavirus. For industries in different sectors, this has put significant  pressure and disruption on the global supply chain , causing product shortages, among other things. While companies are thrown into chaos and actively looking to innovate and stay afloa

    L ife became a trade for us all. It’s a trade to stay positive from all the negatives. We tried exchanging the negatives from life to have something light on our hearts and stay content with each day. COVID-19 has been challenging, but we have been more challenging.  We had to choose each to make this trade or not to stay sane because that’s what was tested each day. All we saw were negatives, but it’s time now to see the brighter side around us.  It’s to remind yourself that it’s not as bad until you make it for yourself, so to stay lighter and brighter, here are a few TIPS that you can tip on.  Social Distancing, Not Self-distancing  Social distancing is a norm we followed this year. Self-distancing is a norm that we have followed through all these years. It’s time to reduce the gap between you and the self you lost amidst all the work and responsibilities you had.  It’s time to read, write, paint or scribble and become a Picasso of your own. Let that inner painter, dancer, actor

  D ifficult customers and dramas come with the job when you’re a call center agent. It is your responsibility to manage these moments and conversations to get the best possible outcomes. One of the most important things in situations like these is to avoid using the wrong words. On this note, we highlight five communication blunders call center agents must avoid to guarantee positive customer experiences and interactions, on most occasions; 1.   Getting Off on the Wrong Foot Like any interaction, the first impression matters when taking calls from customers whether they’re making an inquiry or when they’re aggrieved. If possible, one of your first three words should be the name of the caller. Not only will this help you get their attention, but it will also help keep the conversation going on the right foot. 2.   Wrong Tone of Voice There’s a common saying that 10% of conflict is due to a difference in opinion while the other 90% is due to the wrong tone of voice. Speaking in the righ

  T oday’s consumers expect you to not only know their unique needs but also meet their ever-evolving expectations.  90% of customers would base their purchasing decisions on customer service quality. 58% of consumers won’t think twice about switching allegiances after a poor experience.    Microsoft You can still make customer support your unique brand differentiator.  It’s more cost-effective than investing in new customers. This post discusses some of the best-proven tips for customer-winning support strategies that are relevant in today’s highly demanding consumer markets.  Improve Accessibility for Support Many customers reaching out to customer support often do it out of frustration. When support is proving too hard to get, this compounds the situation. One of the first things you want to do to improve support is to make it easily accessible. These can include reducing the wait time for calls, responding to queries fast, and offering support for customers across a variety of plat

  I f you consider how fiercely competitive the business environment has become, you’ll definitely understand how important it is to create a brand that customers actually love. However, this is no easy feat. This is actually an art that you have to master. Going above and beyond may seem very challenging but for the competitive advantage that comes with excellent customer experiences and customer loyalty, the effort is truly worth it. What exactly is customer loyalty and why should you care about it? Put simply, customer loyalty describes the extent to which a particular customer is devoted to the products and services of a particular company. This is dependent on consistent positive customer experience as well. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, a loyal customer can be worth ten times more than their first purchase for any company. See why you shouldn’t ignore this? What’s there to gain? Thing is there are rewards and results for whatever experience you provide

  D elivering customer service in the face of a pandemic of the nature of COVID-19 can be quite challenging. But regardless of the challenges, businesses (those still in operations) need to put everything in place to forge good customer relationships as well as address their customers’ acute needs. Consumers holed up inside their houses now demand more from businesses of all kinds to make their stay at home comfortable or to help with work from home. Right now is a great time to turn customer service up a notch to build the foundation for brand loyalty and excellent brand reputation that will last long into the future. But before we go right down into how to prepare customer service to excel in this precarious situation, let’s take a moment to evaluate how this may affect your business, customers, and service. Impact of Coronavirus on Customer Service Countries across the world are grappling with a global pandemic that has dealt huge blows on the global economies and threatening to cri

  T he world of retail and ecommerce has always been very competitive and challenging, even before the coronavirus happened. Consumers want the very best and will look elsewhere in most cases, after the smallest inconvenience or a negative experience. While we won't overlook the added challenges that COVID-19 has brought for retailers, even that will not be enough excuse in the face of impatient shoppers with high expectations. Talking of challenges, here are a few of the issues many retailers have had to grapple with, in the wake of the coronavirus; Inventory shortage risks that could arise from possible disruptions to the global supply chain due to flight restrictions in certain countries and regions of the world as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Delays in customer shipments that may also occur due to a variety of reasons due to the current crisis. Reduced in-store visits as more customers may prefer shopping online to reduce public exposure to ensure social distancing, etc

    L ong gone are those days when all that matters to companies is just to make the next sale with little to no emphasis on customer experience. In today’s business world, a competent and reliable customer service will greatly influence the success of any business. A less-reliable support on the other can spell doom for any company in like manner. In today’s blog, our discussion will center on the 4 reasons you’ll need good  customer service  to record success and improve business growth.  1. Customer service is great for branding and recognition. In a business world where the competition is fierce and any firm could get left behind easily, taking up customer services a notch higher could be a great way to build a credible brand name and achieve recognition. People are usually looking for companies with great customer support and if you’re successfully able to leverage on this, it will no doubt be a plus as you aim to grow your business. 2. Good customer service builds trust and credi

  More and more businesses are now relying on  virtual assistance services  to get work done in a way to ensure that productivity and efficiency do not suffer. Running a business involves several bits of large tasks and includes both administrative and non-administrative tasks. Companies have to be fully serviced on all fronts and often times you simply can’t hire enough people to get everything done. Virtual Assistance Services  are needed in this case to fill the void that would have been left with the shortage of either human resources or simply time scarcity. If your business will record significant process, you’ll surely need to outsource some services. Virtual assistants will help oversee this to ensure the company remains on the path to success. In today’s blog, we’ll be treating three of the most important reasons why your business would need the services of virtual assistants. Let’s see. VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES ARE AFFORDABLE   AND WILL SAVE YOU MONEY. It’s always hard to