Reaching The Next Generation: Part 2

Martin Pesis of SociaLink, delivered a 1-hour presentation at the 2014 Hollander Summit on the topic of “Reaching the Next Generation”. The following article spans 2 post entries and touches on the high-level take-aways of the presentation. For follow up questions or to leave any feedback, please comment below.  If you missed the 1st post entry (originally posted March 18), you can read it here.

Embrace the new customer service. While having the traditional channels of face-to-face and phone services are important, the next generation of customers are avoiding it at all costs. New methods of delivering customer service are focused around live chat, videos, and images.

Live Chat! Incorporating live chat into your website will create immediate, real-time customer engagement. The next generation of customers hates waiting on the phone for service. There are plenty of companies offering live chat services at competitive rates including BoldChat.com (which is mobile-device friendly) as well as JivoChat.com.

Create videos. Google values videos. Your customers value videos. Users will watch videos before they are willing to call and ask questions.  These videos can offset phone calls. Keep the content straight forward and the video duration short. The first 5-10 seconds of the video is the most important.

Take pictures. Photographing your inventory is essential. Items being sold that have photos available will be viewed at a greater rate than items without. Use stock or industry photography if you do not have a photo of the actual item available. Remember that the quality of the photos is far more important than the quantity of photos taken. 3-5 well composed photos provide plenty of feedback for your customers.

Lead the way. Keep your website clean and simple with clear “Call to Action” messaging. Build a genuine online presence for your business, leveraging social media tools and advertising. Provide leading edge customer service catering to the next generation. Employing these methods today will lay a foundation for success for years to come.

ICYMI (in case you missed it), here is a link to Part 1!