Business leaders are faced with multiple challenges in today’s volatile business landscape, with crises being one of the most intense ones. When a crisis strikes, there is not only a significant strain on resources but the challenge of navigating the crisis under the scrutiny of the public eye. For certain industries, there is also additional heat from regulatory scrutiny.
Earlier this year, a software error from a leading IT vendor triggered a global IT outage. This profoundly affected customer experience (CX) across multiple critical sectors. Airlines, in particular, were severely affected, with flight disruptions driving a 50 per cent surge in frustration rates and an 18 per cent uptick in rage clicks – metrics that no business leader wishes to see.
These incidents are a reminder of the CX pitfalls that can emerge due to operational mishaps. To ensure that your CX withstands such critical events, it is key to address a few pressing questions.
CX’s game changing role in crisis management
The sheer number of alternative brands available in the market and the ease of switching to a competitor mean that customer loyalty is easily lost. These days, it takes just a few negative experiences for customers to feel the need to switch to a different brand.
Imagine a situation where automated systems fail to provide support to customers. This is where a strong CX strategy shines through. A well-managed and road tested CX strategy will lead to a team’s ability to mobilize and deploy resources swiftly. This not only mitigates the impact of the crisis but turns negative experiences into growth opportunities for brands.
The ability to turn a crisis into an opportunity also hinges on building trust through secure and thoughtful communications. A survey revealed that 74 per cent of customers are willing to forgive a brand after a poor experience if it resolves the issue quickly. With the evolution of AI applications, brands can make the necessary remedies even more quickly given the real-time data that is available. By leveraging data to understand customer pain points, CX leaders can be empowered to make informed decisions in a timely manner and limit the damage to customer goodwill in a crisis.
Empower your customers and teams with information
Communicating setbacks to customers is rarely straightforward. In the early stages of a crisis, when the true extent of the incident is still being determined, it is challenging to provide clear information to customers. A clear example is the ripple effects on supply chains, operations, and customer experiences as a result of an outage.
CX leaders need to identify and assemble the right teams to run customer outreach programs. These teams should be armed with the tools and training to respond with both speed and compassion, ensuring their communication is consistent, transparent, and attuned to the customer’s every need. Adopting a customer-first mindset is vital and leveraging a multi-channel approach to communication helps reach customers wherever they are and ensures that they are informed in the way that works best for them.
Leverage your partners
While brands usually have a robust issues management and communication strategy for their internal operations, a key stakeholder tends to be forgotten – external suppliers. Hence, it is good practice to involve suppliers in the planning to ensure seamless coordination in a time of crisis.
Many businesses rely on external providers for critical services such as IT, telecommunications or logistics, freeing them up to focus on their core offerings. Yet the value of shared dependency and responsibility in crisis management often receives less attention.
Outsourcing to specialists ensures access to specific know-how essential for effective crisis management. This involves identifying potential risks and creating strategies to mitigate and recover from disruptions. Whether it’s a natural disaster, cyberattack, or economic downturn, a well-crafted BCP is ineffective without a strong execution team. A capable team ensures seamless activation of the plan, minimizing downtime and preserving operations.
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A tailored BCP for customer experience (CX) might include the following elements:
- Business impact analysis: Assess how disruptions affect customer experiences and focus recovery efforts on critical touchpoints.
- Customer journey mapping: Identify vulnerable areas in the customer journey to tailor recovery strategies and minimize inconvenience.
- Recovery plan: Develop strategies that prioritize the restoration of essential services and invest in digital resilience for business continuity.
- Communication plan to reflect the brand voice: Craft clear, empathetic messages and provide proactive updates through digital channels to maintain transparency and trust.
- Regular training: Equip employees with empathy and problem-solving skills to handle customer inquiries and complaints effectively during crises.
- Testing and maintenance: Regularly test customer service scenarios, gather feedback for improvement, and assess risks to customer experience, ensuring the BCP addresses potential disruptions.
Concerns about external partnerships, such as slow incident response and privacy risks for customer data, are valid, but companies can mitigate these risks by carefully selecting vendors. Key factors to consider include robust security measures, such as encryption, access controls, and regular security audits, to protect sensitive data. Equally important is evaluating the vendor’s operational transparency and their approach to handling critical incidents. Companies should also ensure that vendors comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR; for example, TDCX demonstrates its commitment to data protection by adhering to EU GDPR through its Binding Corporate Rules (BCR).
Ultimately, a plan that ensures continuity in quality CX can help businesses weather any storm. Irrespective of which industry your business operates in, understanding the role of CX in managing crises and communicating the crises efficiently is half the battle won. Follow this with establishing strong processes through BCP and people management, and you will gain CX that will keep customers happy through the good times and reassured in tough ones.
About Byron J. Fernandez
Byron has over 20 years of experience in Customer Experience operations in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), spanning the design of customer access strategies, inbound customer contact, outbound outreach, and leading high-performing contact centres. Byron’s expertise across sectors such as telecommunications, banking, insurance, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), technology, and government contact centers have played an instrumental role in him leading TDCX’s operations across various markets.
Byron has an MBA in Management Information Systems, is a COPC-certified Implementation Leader, Call Center Industry Advisory Council (CIAC)-certified Strategic Leader, as well as a member of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). He is also one of the few individuals to be presented with the Career Achievement Award by the Contact Centre Association of Malaysia (CCAM).
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