This is a story about a simple digital communications strategy that will seduce prospects and guarantee customer success.
This is also a story about how a company I thought was a unicorn snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Friends, it’s the tale about my search for a carpet cleaning service, and it’s filled with, twists, turns and actionable tips for your business’s digital communications strategy.
Let’s begin!
The Digital Path to Purchase
Ah, the internet.
Isn’t it amazing? The digital revolution has changed our lives, and one of the areas with the biggest impact is how we buy products and services.
Think about the level of convenience we hold in the palm of our hands.
I was struck by this again when we needed our carpet cleaned and began our search online.
So, here’s my mini case study on using digital communications to attract and please customers online.
How do people find businesses online?
So, like most people, I started my buyer’s journey online.
In an assessment of the biggest marketing trends to focus on in 2019, HubSpot’s Clifford Chi encourages us to hedge our bets on search:
Search engines are also one of the highest converting marketing channels. Since people actively search for answers to their questions and solutions to their problems on Google, they’re likely to download your offer or sign up for a free trial if you can provide them with what they’re looking for.
And the numbers bear this prediction out. Google tells us 89% of B2B researchers use the internet during the research phase of the buyer’s journey.
Even newsrooms recognise the power to search to find new readers online.
In success stories from the digital newsrooms, the Texas Tribune started ranking for competitive news stories by optimizing for search.
Now, the online age has resulted in a complex buyer’s journey.
The path to purchase isn’t straightforward, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop a digital communications channel to help customers across digital channels, and search has an important place in that strategy.
Optimizing Your Site for Success
Once you’re ready to cater for search traffic, you should make sure your site has the information clients need.
Let’s go back to my buyer’s journey.
The cleaning company had the following information on its site:
• More about their cleaning process. For instance, what kind of materials do they use?
• Details on the trading hours. Do they take jobs over weekends or public holidays?
• Detailed FAQs on cleaning, the duration of the process, etc.
The site also included loads of customer reviews, and these were recent reviews, too.
This did play a role in my decision to go with the company; there was proof they would do the job. Stat on social proof
The only weakness here is the lack of a price list on the website.
I feel I should mention the site was not modern or beautifully designed. But it had the detail I needed, so the dated template didn’t bother me at all.
Though if your in digital media, customers would want to see a modern, responsive web design offering from your side.
Offer Relevant Contact Options
So, after browsing the site, I was satisfied.
I wanted to learn more about pricing and booking, and I was ready to get in touch with the company.
Now, here’s the only time I’d say, it would have been more helpful if they offered a price list or estimate.
The company had several contact options:
- Call or message via WhatsApp
- Send a SMS
- Send an email
- Leave a note via a web contact form
- Reach the company via social media
They’ve catered for everyone.
Think about it. Not everyone has an email account, and some people don’t use social media but by adding WhatsApp and SMS, your ensuring you can reach most potential customers.
WhatsApp specifically is the world’s biggest messaging app with 1.5 billion users. WhatsApp also recently introduced an app for small business to deliver customer support and key notifications.
So, I called the cleaning company on WhatsApp, and gave them my details and dimensions of the carpet.
Within ten minutes, they’d sent a quote via WhatsApp. I confirmed and they replied with a default message about the process, how long it would take and what we could expect once it had been completed.
Now, you can adapt this according to your business. Whether it’s email or social media, you need to research to find the channel best suited to your audience and respond promptly with the information your customers need.
Make Sure After-Sales Service Seals the Deal
As arranged, the company arrived and performed the cleaning. The following day they sent my invoice via WhatsApp and ask for feedback on their service.
This was a nice touch. They made it easy for me to leave feedback, so I confirmed I was satisfied.
Now here’s where everything comes crumbling apart.
Over the next two days, the carpet started smelling, well, strange. A strong musty ordour started rising up from the freshly cleaned carpet.
This was not good.
I messaged the company for advice, and that responsive business was gone and replaced by crickets.
Up until this time, I was fast shaping up to a happy customer. If I knew anyone who was looking for a cleaning service, you can guess who I’d recommend.
Setting Up Your Business Digital Communications Strategy
If you’re ready to get started with your digital communications strategy, here’s a few steps to follow.
Find out Where you Audience is
Research your audience and see what channels they’re on. Facebook is the biggest social network, but if your audience isn’t on Facebook looking for your service, it doesn’t really make sense to be there, for instance.
Get a Basic Online Offering Up
A good website is a great backbone for a digital communications strategy. Now, this company’s site wasn’t anything fancy, really.
It was dated. They didn’t have a blog, but they had all the information I needed at that stage of my purchasing journey. As I said, the only thing I would have appreciated was a price list.
Make it Easy for Your Clients to Contact you
One thing to include on your website is your contact details, and you really need to make t easy for your clients to reach you.
You probably won’t go wrong with a combination of a web page, WhatsApp and email.
Create FAQs based on Common Customer Questions
Create a FAQ based on the most common customer questions to make sure your website is a valuable online resource.
Are you ready to create your digital communications strategy? Make sure to deliver a delightful customer experience even after the sale to convert customers into fans.
