CX Demo

Author: Franz Malten Buemann

  • Ask the Buffer Team: What If I Don’t Have Anything to Share on Social Media?

    Q: Help! I’m usually good at regularly posting to my company’s social accounts every day, but sometimes I’m at a total loss. Is it better to skip a day, or to post something just to stay on schedule?
    The task of coming up with new, engaging content on a regular basis can make social media daunting—we know. Even if you have a solid social media strategy in place, you might still get stumped on what to share from time to time and be tempted to forgo that schedule you set out for yourself.
    Running out of new content ideas is a common pain point, whether you’re just starting to share your brand on social media or you’re a seasoned pro. Here are a few tactics I recommend for overcoming that mental block.
    1. Remember That Consistency Is Key
    First thing’s first: I do suggest sticking to a consistent schedule of posts. By posting regularly, your brand will stay top of mind with your audience. Over time, they’ll even start to expect posts from you, which can lead to higher engagement. Not to mention, posting at a regular cadence will help you stay in the habit of creating content.
    That said, a consistent schedule looks different for everyone. Some brands post three times per week, while others post three times per day. What’s right for you depends on many factors, including your audience, its size, and what your followers are looking for.
    Each platform offers its recommendations for the best days and times to post, but typically, those are incredibly broad. Instead, seek to learn what works best for your specific audience.
    Here’s how: Pick a platform, then post three times per week for an entire month. Then, up that to seven times per week for the next month, and 14 times for the month after that.
    Three months of data will allow you to gather insight via Buffer’s analytics dashboard. Check out the “Answers” tab, and you’ll be able to see when, what, and how often to post to maximize your reach and engagement.
    Buffer’s analytics dashboard can show you exactly when, and how often, to post.If you saw higher engagement during one month over another, commit to that cadence going forward. Continue to monitor your stats month over month to see what dates, times, and posting schedules work best. One last thing to keep in mind, though: Brands should strike a balance between being consistently informative and being annoying. If you’re seeing any decline in your numbers after upping your posting schedule, consider pulling back.
    When you feel more confident about the best approach for your audience, it can inspire you to stick to your posting schedule and give them the content they’ve come to expect.
    2. Think Big(ger)
    You know you have to post a certain number of times each week, but how do you come up with new content?
    Some weeks, this will be simple: You had a big product announcement, you wrote a new blog post, you saw a meme you just had to recreate. Other weeks, you’ll be staring at a blinking cursor on a Monday morning, wondering what to share.
    But, instead of closing the tab and not sharing at all, push yourself to think outside the box.
    If, for example, you published a blog post last week and shared it with a link and a caption, think about how you might reshare it differently. Create a short graphic that pulls key data from the post, or pull out a favorite quote and make a visual. Canva is a great tool to create engaging graphics (and Buffer’s integration with Canva makes it incredibly easy).
    We recently launched a new version of our social media calendar. To share the news again, but in a different way, we created a visual quote from our Product Manager.It can be helpful to see what other people are posting, too, or if anything relevant is trending. If a news story broke that will have an impact on your industry, share your thoughts. If it’s International Coffee Day and you sell alternatives to milk, create a graphic that ties the two of them together.
    In the month of October, everyone’s talking about scary movies. Snack brand Partake Foods jumped on the trend by creating pairings between film favorites and their treats.Also look at your best-performing posts to see what topics your audience enjoys, then make use of each platform’s different features to test out new content along those themes. Try carousels on Instagram’s feed, or use the engagement tools in Stories. Go live on Facebook, or write a LinkedIn article. You might discover that your audience engages more with a different kind of post, and you would never have known that if you didn’t push yourself to try something new.
    Bonus: Buffer’s Head of PR, Hailley Griffis, offers even more ideas for consistently coming up with new content in this article.
    3. Create a Backlog
    As you continue to brainstorm content ideas, create a running list of things you like and want to test. These aren’t action items you need to do something about right away. Instead, they’ll offer inspiration the next time you’re stuck for something to post.
    Create a saved folder on Instagram of things you’ve seen other brands do, take screenshots of Facebook posts you like, or pull links from LinkedIn that you’d like to emulate. These will be great thought-starters and reminders of how to push yourself the next time you need it.
    Creating content can feel like a monumental task, for small businesses and massive influencers alike. The next time you feel stuck, use it as a growth opportunity. Push yourself to stick to your cadence, brainstorm something new and different to share, and then see how your audience reacts. You just might be onto something.
    Need some help planning your content? Check out our recent post on “How to Save Time Planning and Creating Social Media Content.”
    Have a question you’d like us to answer? Send us a tweet and use #AskTheBufferTeam.

  • #OnHoldWith: Announcing The Ten Worst Hold Time Offenders of 2021

    2021 was an incredibly innovative year. Remote and hybrid work officially entered the mainstream, shifting entire industries in the process. Great strides were made in AI assistive technology to create an easier, more human experience. Overall, it’s safe to say the world is more advanced and more connected than ever.
    So why does hold time still exist? It’s a fair question, considering that call-back technology has been around for over 20 years. Sure, the contact center industry has never been known for embracing cutting-edge technology. But the frustration of waiting on hold is universal, and agents hate long queues as much as customers hate waiting on them.
    Over the past two years, industry trends have shown the number of contact centers using call-backs rising dramatically. Still, long hold times continue to plague customers to this day. And trust us, they are not happy about it. If you haven’t been listening, we’ve got the scoop on the worst hold time offenders from this past year.
    Brace yourself… this isn’t going to be pretty.
    Contact Center Trends: Industry Report 2022
    Worst Industry to Call in 2021
    Before we begin naming-and-shaming the worst offenders, let’s look at the big picture.

    The financial services industry is leading the pack for worst hold times. They are followed closely by the airline industry, which incidentally swept our top ten list. Rounding off the top three is the telecommunications industry.
    These industries already have a bad rap for poor customer service, and their customers are not afraid to share their thoughts about the matter.

    Why does @BankofAmerica have me on hold for over 30 minutes? It shouldn’t take so long to get ahold of a human-being
    — young escobar-ess (@meaggiimoo_) December 3, 2021

    @SpiritAirlines I’ve been trying for hours to manage travel and book a flight. I’ve been on hold for almost a hour. I’m so disappointed
    — Ash (@Motivated_Ash) December 2, 2021

    59 minutes on hold with @RogersHelps What a way to spend a Friday night 🤬🤬🤬
    — Robyn Rosen Codas (@RRCodas) October 30, 2021

    Most Improved Customer Hold Time
    Let’s pause for some good news and recognize a business who has made considerable improvement since last year.
    At the height of the pandemic, EasyJet took fourth place for worst hold times. We’re pleased to share that they seem to have improved their service considerably, with only a fraction of social media complaints for their hold times compared to this time last year.
    Now without further delay, let’s dive into our top ten hold time offenders of 2021…
    This Year’s Top 10 Worst Hold Time Offenders
    10. T-Mobile
    This prominent telecommunications business is no stranger to long hold times. T-Mobile placed 8th on this list last year, and despite their efforts to improve, it wasn’t enough to escape the top ten.
    Having to call the phone company about your phone is bad enough without having to wait for a half hour.

    @TMobile after waiting on hold for 30 minutes, I was told sorry, the machine said we can’t help you now call again later and now it just rings busy. My phone will not work till i get someone on phone with tmobile. Help please.
    — Jace Gordon (@agentjgordon) November 29, 2021

    If you’re going to make a bold statement on your phone menu, you need to be able to back it up.

    I’ve been on hold with @TMobile for like an hour now and all I keep hearing is the automated voice saying “T-Mobile customers are the happiest” let me be the first to let yk that’s a lie
    — J (@J63962849) November 30, 2021

    Acquiring new customers only to disappoint them on the first day. Not a great start, T-Mobile…

    @TMobileHelp on hold for almost an hour to speak to rep. not a great way start first day as a customer with t mobile.
    — Piyush (@piyushailawadi) November 30, 2021

    9. Chase Bank
    Our top-placing hold time offender from last year has moved to 9th place. While they no longer hold the title of Worst Hold Time Offender, it seems they still have a considerable amount of work to do…
    The fact that this customer is able to empathize with the company even after an hour on hold is impressive.

    More than an hour on hold with ⁦⁦⁦@Chase. Hate this labor shortage. Need more variety of hold music. pic.twitter.com/8LA22T4JeC
    — RMLabs (@LabsRm) November 18, 2021

    When someone takes the time to discourage their network from using your services, you’re probably doing something wrong.

    I have been on hold for a deposit concern with chase bank, now for 2 hours and 50 minutes! I don’t recommend using chase for banking!
    — 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿StuHR🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧 (@iammanutd00) November 20, 2021

    If you still don’t believe people will leave your brand due to long hold times, this tweet might be a rude awakening.

    @Chase you guys are the worst bank in the world I love being on hold for over an hour and having my call be disconnected twice!! Can’t wait to close my account with you guys. u suck
    — LM (@leximoreno) November 27, 2021

    8. WestJet
    With more relaxed travel restrictions, airlines have been overwhelmed with queries from concerned travelers. WestJet is one of many that left their callers fuming in queue.
    At least the emojis take some of the sting out of this post.

    My time on hold with @WestJet was longer then this layover between flights 🤪✈️🤪📞🐕🐶
    — Kurt Arnold (@kurtarnold_kurt) December 1, 2021

    Call-backs are great, but they’re not a replacement for proper communication with your customers.

    Still on hold with @WestJet on a SCHEDULED CALL BACK.Going on 1:44 at this time.
    How hard is it to acknowledge this, and keep me informed? Haven’t talked to a person in over 90 minutes pic.twitter.com/YkixWT8kUr
    — Anvilsmash (@Anvilsmash) November 25, 2021

    “Disappointed and unheard.”

    @WestJetWell. Now after 7 hours on hold with no response on my Twitter including DM or Facebook msgr. I’m feeling disappointed and unheard here
    — Hijinx (@Hypno_Hijinx) November 24, 2021

    7. JetBlue Airways
    This airline didn’t fare much better, leaving their travelers with more problems than just the holiday blues…
    Customers don’t consider the quality of your support channel-by-channel. To them, it’s a single, unified experience — and if you drop the ball, they’ll let you know.

    @jetblue online booking has been crashing for 2 days. Was on hold with customer support for 3 hours today and they couldn’t book flight then dropped the call. Someone should be fired.
    — Marc Singer (@marcsingertweet) November 15, 2021

    At least this customer has a sense of humor about their predicament…

    Don’t ever assume I’m freeI could be on the 89th minute of being on hold with jetblue for all you know
    — lexi (@alexaplottin) November 9, 2021

    The sad part is how hard this person tried to give JetBlue their business. 

    OK @JetBlue – you win. After 2 hours and 40 minutes on hold without speaking to anyone, I give up. You don’t need to pay anyone to answer my question. I’ll fly another airline. https://t.co/eag9W03pna
    — Derek Newton (@DerekTNG) November 20, 2021

    6. Southwest Airlines
    Airlines continue to dominate our list as Southwest swoops in to snag 6th place.
    Travelling isn’t always a vacation. This poor customer just wants to pay their respects to a loved one…

    @SouthwestAir I woke up this morning to find out about flights being delayed. I have a funeral to get to. On hold for more than 2 hours ….
    — Farias (@Farias74156656) October 12, 2021

    MAKE. IT. RIGHT.

    @SouthwestAir I’ve been placed on hold for a call back 4 times. The call instantly hangs up after I pick up. Paid for a flight and never got a confirmation number. Make it right!
    — Zach Copeland (@Zach__Copeland) October 15, 2021

    When your company makes a mistake and you place the burden on your customer to reach a resolution, that’s poor service.

    @SouthwestAir You lost my son’s bag on flight 29O9R5, I have been on hold for over an hour acquiring about incident report BUFWN39399398. My son had his nebulizer in his bag along with other valuables. I would never recommend this airline to anyone! Answer your f***ing phone SW pic.twitter.com/co2k98l70r
    — Kimberly Livingston (@HelloListen1) November 6, 2021

    5. Verizon
    In a highly connected world, telecommunications are an essential part of daily life. So when their service is interrupted, it makes sense that these customers have no patience for wasted time.
    They’re not wrong, Verizon. Call-backs can make all the difference in a customer’s experience!

    @Verizon it would be awesome if you had a callback option for your customer service because waiting on hold for 30 minutes+ because my texts aren’t working since the last time I spoke to a rep is a hassle. It is also costing me $$
    — Josie Long (@LavieJosie) November 26, 2021

    When callers start to critique your choice of hold music, you MIGHT have a hold-time issue. Just saying.

    I’m on hold with @VerizonSupport and they have exactly one, two minute long bit of jazzy hold music. I mean, it’s not bad but after 10 reps it’s getting old.
    Pretty sure as the most expensive mobile carrier in the US they can afford to license more than one song.
    — Kendall Miller (@kendallmiller) November 30, 2021

    Customers don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes. Leaving them on hold is the equivalent of ghosting them. How rude.

    @VerizonSupport does anyone work at your call centers? Two days I’ve been trying to get ahold of you, both on hold for 45 mins.
    — Glenmore Vinoya (@gvinoya) December 1, 2021

    4. IRS
    Ah, what would this list be without the IRS? Aside from being the butt of many a joke, government services are known for being a huge pain to deal with. Honestly, we’re surprised more of them didn’t make this list…
    Same…

    On hold with the irs can’t believe I’m still going through the same bs 2 years later tf
    — LavishWigsByJayy👑 (@JayyEnvyMe) December 6, 2021

    You should never have to choose between customer service and basic hygiene.

    Been on hold with the IRS for 2 hours…so I risk it and take a shower?
    — haylee (@xxhayleekat) November 19, 2021

    New rule: if they make you wait more than 30 minutes, you don’t have to pay taxes. That’s fair, right?

    I have been on hold with the #IRS for more than 2 hours to pay them. You would think that the #InternalRevenueService would want my money any way that they could get it, right???? pic.twitter.com/vir3BdBZhh
    — Steven D. Morris (@gatlic1974) November 30, 2021

    3. Virgin Media
    Placing 6th last year, Virgin Media decided to go against their better senses climbing into third place. In this case, the phrase “any press is good press” doesn’t really apply.
    The only thing ruder than ghosting your customers is hanging up on them.

    @virginmedia I just got through a customer service agent after being on hold for 50 minutes – when I started explaining the issue the line went dead😡I have also tried your online messaging service…no one has replied! This is outrageously poor service. Can I request a callback?
    — Andrea Woods-Murphy (@andie_woods) September 30, 2021

    Did the polite, diplomatic approach pay off for this person? Likely not…

    Hi @virginmedia Is there a quicker way to get to speak with you? I’ve been on hold with you since what feels like the beginning of time. I’m now out of contract with you and would like to renew but fed up waiting. Thanks.
    — Life In A Northern Town (@lifeinanthntwn) October 28, 2021

    The science checks out: long hold times will make your customers quit your brand. 

    I eventually got through after being on hold for about 30-minutes and then I got moved around to two different departments so after 50 minutes I just hung up I’ve about 2 months left on my contract so I will wait until it expires then I’m going to move but thanks for your reply
    — james cullen (@cullenjay01) November 18, 2021

    2. American Airlines
    Our runner up this year for worst hold time is the one and only American Airlines. At this point, we don’t have much more to say about the airline industry, so we’ll let these customers say it all.
    YIKES.

    Was just literally on hold with @AmericanAir for over 3 hours to make a change that took less than 5 minutes 😩 #fridaynight
    — Dirty Dianna (@diabolique21) November 20, 2021

    They were given a rare second chance with a customer, and they squandered the opportunity.

    @AmericanAir now I remember why I stopped flying your airline. Said I would be on hold for 20 minutes. Now up to 75 minutes…and this music is driving me nuts!! Staff up properly when you know calls will be above normal!!!
    — Andy Brusman (@andybrusman) November 30, 2021

    They basically destroyed their customer’s property and started dodging calls. 

    Been on hold for a long long time with American Airlines. They had broke my hockey helmet and hockey cage. @AmericanAir I need an answer. Can’t be on hold forever
    — Meredith 👉🏻👈🏻🇺🇸 (@hckyplayer20) November 20, 2021

    1. Delta Airlines
    No need for a drumroll – Delta Airlines clearly has enough hold music to play themselves out. Moving up to the most (un)coveted position, it seems they’re on a mission to make their customers miserable.
    That is TERRIFYING. Hopefully they’re all okay…

    @Delta been on hold for 30 minutes worried that my family members are being put on a flight that isn’t safe. They are smelling fuel and aren’t being given information.
    — Carly Ivette Rdz (@CarlyFries91) December 1, 2021

    Soothing jazz music isn’t enough to calm the rage of your customers.

    @Delta DO YOU GUYS EVER TAKE PEOPLE OFF OF HOLD ON YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE?? BEEN ON HOLD FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF AND THE JAZZ MUSIC, WHILE PLEASANT, IS GETTING REALLLYYYYYY OLD… making a bad experience worse :,)
    — AMCC’s Nicest (@sarahmarinoo) November 30, 2021

    Ouch.

    5 hours on hold to speak to someone? You don’t deserve your customer service award, Delta! https://t.co/jkPNS6MFo2
    — Happy Tweeter (@tweeter33335) November 8, 2021

    This customer ended up writing an entire article about his experience with Delta in the New York Times.

    I waited 90 minutes for Delta on Monday. The flight took off. “275 Minutes on Hold: Why Airline Customer Service Still Can’t Keep Up” https://t.co/k4Z42tSJy7
    — Dave Cullen (@DaveCullen) November 12, 2021

    Remember, even a single interaction can make an impression on your customers for life. And they don’t need to be a celebrity to voice their frustrations. Unfortunately for Delta Airlines, they’ve already made a pretty strong impression on comedian and SNL alum, John Mulaney, who shared his experiences with the airline on stage.

    The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

  • Spring ’22 Treasure Hunt: Preview Orgs Are Live!

    Spring ‘22 preview orgs are live, so it’s time for a preview party! The exciting period of time during which changes are available in preview orgs is about to kick off – we will then be able to explore new Salesforce release features before they’re… Read More

  • Salesforce Product Roadmaps: New Destination for Future Features

    The Salesforce product roadmap is a popular topic. We know that future features get plenty of attention, from our years of reporting in anticipation.  Aside from the excitement of being at the Salesforce innovation forefront, awareness of what’s coming up in the roadmap will make… Read More

  • Email Recap: Our 2021 Year in Review

    2021 has been quite the year for, well, just about everybody. But particularly for email marketers.
    After a wild 2020 that brought the beginning of a pandemic, a lot of uncertainty, and some unbelievable email numbers, 2021 didn’t give us much of a break. What a lot of us hoped would be a return to “normal” ended up being an acceptance of a different kind of normal. Though, Apple made sure none of us got too comfortable in this new normal.
    As we tie the final bows on a more than eventful 2021, let’s take a look back at some of your incredible achievements from the past year.
    Together we reached the world
    This year, Campaign Monitor customers used our platform to send over 31 billion emails (31,350,157,127 to be precise!) opened in 245 countries around the world. That’s some serious reach.

    57% of those opens came from mobile devices, up 3% from last year but down from 63% in 2019.
    We made email work smarter and harder
    You all took advantage of our smart email marketing features in a major way.
    You designed 627,606 new email templates to stand out in crowded inboxes. You go, Van Gough.
    You ran A/B tests on 136,406 campaigns, and built 53,427 automated journeys. That’s some seriously sophisticated marketing.

    Technology kept us on our toes
    Just as we were all beginning to settle into our routines, Apple dropped a major surprise on the digital marketing world when it announced Mail Privacy Protection (MPP). Putting open rates in serious jeopardy, this feature is just beginning to shape how we all, as email marketers, think about goals and engagement — something worth keeping an eye on in 2022.

    Ultimately, we think marketers will be better off for it. More on our predictions for MPP and the email world here.
    And, technology moved us forward
    This was a record year for the product team at Campaign Monitor. Overall, we released 28 new features — all centered around making Campaign Monitor smarter, faster, and easier for you to create your incredible campaigns.

    As new features were added, we were blown away by the rate you all took advantage.
    It was a busy year, and our aspirations are only growing.
    Here are a few highlights:

    January – Social Links

    February – Lists & Subscribers Refresh

    March – Free Image Gallery

    April – Footer Flexibility

    May – New Overview Page

    June – New Automation Page

    July – Welcome Journey Recipe

    August – New Campaign Experience

    September – Apple Mail Privacy Protection

    October – Campaign Reporting Refresh 

    November – Help Menu

    December – Journey Reporting Refresh

    We had your back every step of the way
    Our support team resolved 29,468 support tickets this year — or 80.7 tickets per day!

    Our deliverability team continued to do amazing work, keeping our delivery rate at 99.86% in 2021. And with a 99.98% uptime, your app experience was pretty seamless.
    Outside of keeping you up and running, we also did our best to deliver you features to help you do your best work.
    Email Academy — We launched a free online learning platform to increase your skills, train your team, and build your business. We created 8 courses this year, with more to come in 2022. So far, almost 5,000 of you have begun your Email Academy journeys. If you haven’t yet, head here to begin!
    Your go-to for all things MPP — We were here for you when things got, er, a little confusing. After Apple announced MPP, we acted quickly to pass along what we knew about the feature as well as how to adjust your strategy. Then, our product team made some changes to our reporting tool to reflect our post-MPP world. 
    We’re still learning about all the effects of MPP, and we’ll be here to guide you through it all.
    A new Campaign Monitor, inspired by you — Over the past year, we’ve been hard at work on building a completely new campaign experience with you at the heart of it. Change is always hard, even when it’s for the better, but our product managers Phil and Dan were here to walk you through every detail.
    You all took to the refreshed interface at an incredible rate. After our new campaign experience went live, we saw a 20% increase in the number of A/B tests you sent and a 20-25% increase in the use of tags.
    We can’t wait to see how these changes to the platform continue to unlock your creativity in 2022.
    Our team grew together, even when apart
    Even as some of our offices have begun to open back up, we’re continuing to focus on building a hybrid team. We now have team members across 11 different countries, working as connected and in-sync as ever.

    We’ve placed a serious focus on employee health as well, offering a wellbeing allowance, free Calm app subscriptions, and encouraging time off for wellbeing — whatever that means for each person.
    And we couldn’t have done it without you
    Email is what we do, and you won’t find a group that’s more passionate about that than we are. But there’s more to it than just that. We’re consistently inspired by the work and creativity of the people that use our product, and we can’t wait to continue to serve you all and watch you grow in 2022.
    p.s keep an eye out for our annual email benchmarks report coming in January. We’ve got some interesting insights from an unprecedented year
    The post Email Recap: Our 2021 Year in Review appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

  • Always Available, Always Informed Service: How Chewy.com Proves They Care About Your Pet As Much As You Do

    If you have a pet, it’s likely that you have become a “Pet Parent.” Your pet is a member of your family, and you seek out the best of everything for them. Most important, you want smart, knowledgeable people guiding you to the right food and equipment.  And when your little one is out of sorts, you want whomever you reach out to for help to care as much as you do. You need real, personalized assistance, not just product recommendations.   If this sounds like you, you’re in good company!  In the United States pet lovers spent an estimated $62.75 billion on their animals, according to the American Pet Products Association.
    Chewy.com Delivers Reliable Caring for “Pet Parents”
    At Chewy.com they start with your life as a pet parent.  “Chewtopians” answer your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.  When you call Chewy, your call is answered within five seconds.  And a live and trained person answers the phone, ready to banter, talk about your pet or answer a complex question about pet food or pet care. These are pet lovers and owners, trained in all of the products.  And they share the bond you have with their pet. Empathy is a critical component in the reliability that Chewy delivers.  There are no call length limits, and you will never be handed off to someone else. Reps are trained to help you from start to finish – with you and your pet as their only priority. They help you both emotionally if you are having a challenge with your pet’s health, and practically, to find the right solution, whether it is a Chewy.com product or helping you find a health care provider.  These folks take an average of 7,000 unique calls a day, during which notes are taken there is company-wide memory and record of Fluffy’s name, profile and needs.

    How does @Chewy prove that it cares about pets as much as pet parents? Empathy is a critical component in the reliability that Chewy delivers. #CustomerExperienceClick To Tweet

    Prefer live chat?  Live chat conversations are answered within 6 seconds by a human.  Emails are responded to within 20 minutes with a personalized response. Swift social media conversations follow this same pattern.  You’ll hear back from a “Chewtopian” in less than 5 minutes when you connect or mention Chewy.com via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.   Swift and reliable continue in delivery, with 60% of orders delivered overnight.
    Build a Foundation of Trust
    The backbone of all of this behavior is relationship and trust.  If your pup won’t eat that pricey food you bought him, you’re asked to donate what’s left and are refunded, no proof required. Pictures of turtles, fish, dogs, cats and critters regularly appear in Chewy.com’s mail.  These are put into a raffle where on-staff painters paint 700 oil paintings each week and send them to surprised and delighted pet parents. They hand write, address and stamp holiday cards each year.  News of a beloved pet’s passing is often met with a bouquet sent to the grieving pet parent’s home.

    Shout out to @Chewy for the thoughtful gift of my baby Snowball. We LOVE it!! pic.twitter.com/2h9gy8ml8D

    — Rhonda A (@CoachRhondaA) December 10, 2021

    The Impact of Empathy
    Earlier this year, Motley Fool wrote, “During the question and answer session of Chewy’s fourth-quarter conference call, CEO Sumit Singh highlighted his belief that Chewy captured 57% of pure e-commerce sales of pet products in 2020.  And he believes that Chewy will go on to capture over 50% of all growth that will happen in the online channels in 2021.”
    In 2017, Chewy received the “Stevie Award of the Year” for best customer service. And PetSmart acquired them for $3.5 billion—for their ability to nurture and grow zealot online customers.  “Paws crossed” that Chewy.com will be able to continue it unique way of doing business and continue to thrive.

    Want more case studies? Pick up a copy of my latest book, Would You Do That To Your Mother? Get more impactful brand examples, activities, and insights in the book.
    Learn more about the book and find out where to order »
    The post Always Available, Always Informed Service: How Chewy.com Proves They Care About Your Pet As Much As You Do appeared first on Customer Bliss.

  • How to Know Chatbot Development?

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  • New Product Development Process: Everything You Need to Know

    Bringing a new product to life can be challenging. You know that you have an idea that can bring value to a target market, but you aren’t exactly sure how to bring your product to that market.
    This process can become especially difficult if you’ve never done it before, as you may not even know where to begin. Thankfully, a blueprint exists in the new product development process, which is a strategy that will help you bring your ideas to life. Read on to discover how it’s done.

    New Product Development Process
    New product development refers to the process that goes into bringing a new product to market, from brainstorming an idea to understanding if it fits into the market, ironing it out to prototyping to final commercialization.
    Although it can be a rather lengthy process that sometimes requires iteration, it’s all done to ensure that your product is the best it can be before it reaches your customers and solves their needs in the best possible way.
    Let’s discuss the different stages involved in new product development.

    1. Idea Generation
    The new product development process begins with idea generation, where you brainstorm an idea (or ideas) that will help you solve an existing customer problem in a new and innovative way. As you’re coming up with ideas that will help you solve customer needs, it’s important to have a robust understanding of your target market and the pain points they have that you want to solve.
    Your initial idea generation stage can be as simple as saying “What if we did this?” and then they become more ROBUST during the research stage.
    2. Research
    Once you’ve developed a product idea, the next step is conducting research to FLESH IT OUT. There are various steps you can take to do this, like:

    Market research to understand the current sentiment in your industry and if there are any holes that your product will fit into, and if there will even be demand for it.

    Competitor analysis to understand if customers think there are things your competitors’ products or services lack that you can incorporate into your product to better fit your target market’s needs.

    During this stage, you can also get early feedback from customers about what they think of your ideas before coming up with a final definition for your product. One of the best ways to get this feedback is through surveys, where you can easily and quickly collect information from existing customers. A high-quality tool like Lucky Orange can help you create these surveys, and with it, you can ask multiple choice questions about types of products they may be interested in, or more open-ended questions that give you more insight into customer opinions.
    This stage may include a bit of iteration because your research may tell you that you need to refine your original ideas and adjust your research scope before moving on to the next stage.
    3. Planning
    The third stage is planning, where you formulate a final product idea/definition based on your initial idea and research and begin coming up with your plans to bring it to life.
    When you define your final product, you’ll want to begin planning for what you’ll need in order to create it. For example, if you’re creating a physical product, you’ll need to source the necessary materials or find production partners that will assist in manufacturing.
    Planning also involves coming up with a marketing strategy that will help you effectively market when your product is completed, pricing models that make sense for your product, and that your customers will pay.
    It’s also critical to identify the teams that will be involved in your product development process that will help bring it to market, from the marketing teams that will promote your product to any possible external partners that will assist with production.
    4. Prototyping
    The prototyping phase is when you come up with a sample product that is a mockup of what will be created during mass production.
    This prototype is often referred to as a minimum viable product (MVP), which is a basic version of your tool, still similar to your final product, that will help you get a sense of how it functions and identify any areas that need to be improved.
    You may make multiple prototypes and go back and forth between this stage and the testing stage before you have a finalized prototype.
    5. Testing
    Before launching your product you need to test it to ensure it will work as advertised and effectively solve your customer needs. So, during this stage, you’ll share your prototypes with target audiences and ask for actionable feedback on how the product works.  
    Essentially, you want your product to be used in situations that are similar to real-world use cases so you know exactly what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes the results of your testing will require you to go back and make changes to your prototype, as mentioned above.
    Once you feel as though your prototype is finished and ready to solve your customer needs, you’ll begin product development.
    6. Product Development
    This stage involves creating the final product that will be commercialized once completed. You’ll use the insights gained from testing your MVP to make final touches to your prototype, and begin mass production.
    Depending on your type of business, you’ll likely have a different process for product development. For example, if you’re a SaaS business, your internal software development or programming teams will likely work to finalize code. If you create a physical product, you may outsource labor for certain components and assemble final products in your warehouse.
    Whichever your process is, your planning stage should’ve helped you identify how your product development will go.
    7. Commercialization
    The final stage of your new product development process is commercialization, where you introduce your products to market. This is the culmination of your brainstorming, research, iteration, where your audiences can finally make use of what you created.
    You’ll enact your marketing plans to make your audiences aware of your new product, and enact campaigns that will entice them to become customers.
    Although this is the final stage, many businesses launch their products and, over time, return to make improvements to their products based on customer feedback and market changes to ensure they’re always providing the best possible customer experience.
    From Brainstorming To Reality
    When you complete your new product development process, you’ll have brought your brainstorming ideas to fruition, and created a real product or service that solves a customer need. If you find success, you’ll have created a valuable strategy to replicate that will help you continuously innovate and create new products, giving customers the delightful experiences they desire.

  • Someone to take care of it

    “If I could just find someone to handle all the sales, I could get back to work.”

    “Do you know someone who can do all of the investments, accounting, taxes and strategies around money?”

    “Why do I have to spend time managing people, I want to get back to creating.”

    I hear this from busy creative entrepreneurs, soloists and creators often.

    If someone who cared as much as they did, but was focused and good at something like accounting or sales or management could just join in, life would be so much better.

    A consigliere!

    A proven partner who is not only trustworthy and skilled, but works cheap and is available to work at the scale of a small team’s operations. Someone able to work full time, or at least focus their full energy, the way you do.

    Well, when you put it that way, it’s pretty clear why this is a tough role to fill.

    If that superstar salesperson is so good, why on Earth would they want to drop everything and work to build your fledgling operation? Part of being a superstar salesperson is being smart about what you sell–and most of the time, that means picking things that are easier, more obvious and at a larger scale.

    The same goes for the money folks. Money is money, and if you’re good at managing it, managing more of it is probably on your agenda.

    There are two takeaways from these sobering truths:

    It probably doesn’t pay to spend a lot of your day wishing someone magical will take over for you. If it’s important, you might need to get good at it.
    The person you eventually find to work on these tasks is most likely to be like you, someone who is learning and growing as they go. They’re on their way to being a superstar, but they’re not there yet. You can get there together.

  • Why tax could have a huge impact on cross-border customer experience?

    Craig Reed, General Manager of Cross-Border at Avalara, discusses some of the ways cross-border tax compliance could impact customer experience over the festive period and how retailers can avoid it happening.  According to eMarketer, global e-commerce had a record year in 2020 by growing 26% to $4.2 trillion. For most retailers, online revenues peak during the festive period were up more…
    The post Why tax could have a huge impact on cross-border customer experience? appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.