CX during Covid and beyond

By Lasian.

‍

Covid-19 has turned the world upside down and we are all getting used to an array of versions of the “New Normal”. The way we interact with the world has taken us further into an online space then we thought we would be. We are shopping online, learning online and socialising online in ways that have consumed us, as we now have little choice. Employers, retailers and curators have stepped it up in the effort to keep us engaged and to keep us spending. There are 3 key areas where great customer experience is helping to maintain the quality of life for many people.

Workplace

The outside world is now reserved for the essential workers, while most are experiencing lockdown. Whilst this looks different for everyone, most organisations were able to get their workers set up online to continue business as usual. Well as much as they can during unconventional times. Intranets, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom have become a staple in our everyday lives. Last April, it was reported that Zoom jumped from 10 million to 300 million daily participants over 3 months. We grasped the concepts, navigation and etiquette in the matter of months. The easy-to-use design and the evolving improvements helped to make our working lives feel somewhat normal and keep the lines of communication and collaboration going.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

Learning

Covid disrupted the learning of over 300million students and a majority of white-collar workers. We were already getting used to online learning whether it was onboarding and health and safety at work or learning a new language on our phones, accessing online learning opportunities was always seen as an alternative to classroom learning. Learning online was usually used because of the flexibility it provided and learning in the classroom was seen as the foundational style of learning. From children to adult’s, we felt like that a true commitment to learning and development started in the classroom. Now the classrooms have been taken away which has been a real blow to the education sector. Parents are now seeing what their children’s attention span really looks like and dealing with the tribulations that come along when you withdraw a child's sense of routine and a structured learning environment. Workers all over the world are inviting trainers into their homes to ensure they stay ahead of the curve. We at MadeFor have had to shift how we provide our bootcamps. We miss the unique in-person magic that that changes with every cohort, however we have enjoyed finding a new a formula, that gets to create this magic online. MadeFor create an immersive online learning experience that utilises interactive technology that encourages communication and teamwork. We ensure that the participants can build real relationships with their teams. Every group brings something new to the experience, every interesting picture on the wall, wondering child in the background and every mute button that forgets to be clicked on, shows that even when the world seems to stand still, learning doesn’t.

E-Commerce

We have all seen the memes and we have made all the Amazon orders. We all stepped up our online shopping game since Lockdown became a “thing”. Jeff Bezos CEO of Amazon was able to enjoy a stint as the richest man in the world because of this jump in sales. Whether it’s home improvements, DIY beauty or shopping in the hopes that we will be allowed to socialise at the drop of a hat. (We want to be prepared of course). Retailers had to step up their online presence, marketing, customer service and delivery capabilities. Many retailers have risen to the occasion during this time. Whether it’s ASOS and H&M pushing loungewear, Netflix and Disney coming through with timely home entertainment or Nobu and others providing gourmet takeaways. The spotlight is on online customer experience and it has changed the reality of commerce as we know it.

Community

If we didn’t have our heads buried in our phones pre-Covid we certainly do now. It has been reported that there has been a 15% increase in screen time since March 2020. The rise of forums such as Tik-Tok, House party, Instagram and Clubhouse highlights the new ways that people have chosen to interact with one another and entertain themselves. The town hall style of clubhouse has provided users with a forum to have a range of discussions on the spectrum of intellectual to the down-right outrageous. It raised over $100 million in investment at the beginning of 2021, which shows that people have really bought into audio social media networking. A huge contrast to the aesthetic-based apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. It seems to have fed into the masses need to socialise comfortably for long periods of time, when living in a vacuum of entertainment venues.

The next 6 months to a year will be interesting to see, as most of us still yearn to socialise the way we used to. However, we do what humans do best and that is adapt. All of the online services that we use, have allowed us a sense of normalcy during times of chaos and uncertainty. It has also unlocked another level of our reliance on technology. Customer experience has also adapted and helped us into what may be the next frontier of human evolution. Ok a little dramatic but not an unusual perspective. We have taken another step towards a Jetson reality and Covid has been a catalyst in this. What the post Covid era will look like, we will have to wait and see, but what we do know, is that whatever the outcome customer experience is key.

‍