When business advice is given, it’s often through the lens of being “constant.” But what does this mean? Well, it’s easy to talk about the market, customers and the wider goals of your business as if they’re playing out isolated from the rest of the world. But of course, that’s not the case at all. One of the most significant developments of the recent few years was the COVID-19 pandemic, which touched almost every business on the face of the planet, forcing them to adapt in slight or major ways.
Put simply, no matter how prepared and agile businesses were, few could have expected how the year 2020 would turn out. As such, context matters a great deal. But it’s not just context in the market or the globe, but also the context of how your customers live and what they desire. For example, once streaming services were considered a great deal, now they function similarly to paid cable channels. The context of why streaming became so popular has been forgotten.
In this post, we’ll discuss a few ways how contextual understanding can improve your services, and what lessons to learn from that:
Vulnerable Customers
Vulnerable customers are those who may be at a disadvantage due to various life circumstances. These could include financial difficulties, health issues, age-related challenges, or limited access to information you may offer. They might be tourists who don’t speak the language, or those undergoing health treatment that require convenient payment processing for healthcare businesses they use. Understanding the context of these customers’ lives is essential here as it allows you to welcome them correctly.
For instance, an elderly person might struggle with online banking. Recognizing this, a bank could offer simplified interfaces or in-person assistance. Or, a utility company might provide special programs for low-income households, understanding the financial pressures they face. This way, you can be more attentive to your needs.
Unsure Customers
The worst mistake a business can make is to assume all customers know exactly how to use their services. Unsure customers might be unsure to buy, or unsure about what you offer and if it’s a good deal. To use an example, a person buying their first smartphone might be unsure about which features they need, and a tech store could address this by offering clear, jargon-free explanations and hands-on access. Or you could be better about showing the exact charge breakdown and tiered modular services they can add to their package.
Hobbyist Customers
Hobbyist customers are those who engage with a product or service out of passion rather than just obligation. Such customers can often have deep knowledge about their area of interest and even huge expectations for quality and authenticity, meaning providing the technical know-how is important – or sometimes just getting out of their way and letting them buy what the need is a good approach.
This way, you can ensure your service desk can speak that language, that you train your representatives to understand the higher levels of your business, and that you never talk down to such customers. They may also benefit from renewal programs and means to keep their loyalty.
With this advice, we hope you can serve all different customer types you may come across, using contextual understanding to change your approach.
