Recession Proof Your Business – How Technology Can Help You Take Control

Keeping customers loyal by consistently providing the best possible customer experience is, by far, the best insulation against business downturns during a fiscal recession. Learn how to become a recession proof distributor.

Put another way, making yourself the kind of supplier customers really appreciate, like doing business with, and find real value in, is the best way to assure they continue to do business with you when their budgets tighten.

There’s No Time Like the Present

As with so many things, it’s far better to prepare long before the challenge comes. Many companies who transitioned to the cloud before the pandemic hit in March 2020 point to that as being a big part of the reason they fared so well. Similarly, companies who delivered excellent customer experiences before the 9/11 attack enjoyed far stronger and sustaining business levels in the immediate aftermath of that disaster.

Once a recession begins you will find yourself behind the curve and playing “catch-up” which is the last thing you want when revenue becomes more difficult to generate and every cost creates concern.

What You Can Do Right Now To Maximize Positive Customer Experience

First focus more on customer retention than new customer recruitment. More useful information, more positive attention, more recognition, and more value earn more appreciation from customers. Here are some immediate actions you can take:

Automate Customer Response & Order Processing

Automated systems are simply more reliable and consistent than humans. When every inquiry is answered quickly and every order is processed promptly, customers feel well-taken-care-of. They usually respond with more orders, and more referrals to new customers. Following up with customer experience satisfaction inquiries demonstrates healthy concern and earns even more appreciation.

Automate, Automate, Automate

Most simple or repetitive processes are far more efficiently and cost-effectively handled by automated systems than by people. Also, people performing these types of tasks tend to become disenchanted and burnt-out far faster than others. Workflow management systems connect automated processes to those which must remain with human handlers providing an extra level of certainty that each step is completed promptly and properly.

Wherever possible, automate customer inquiry processes. When customers don’t have to wait for a human response, but can obtain their answers quickly and easily, the lack of a human presence goes from being a negative to a positive.

Internally, automated systems can be employed to improve risk detection, opportunity identification, possible fraud attempts, and other potential exploits. The last thing you want during a recession is a sudden major loss due to security breaches or other compromises.

Omnichannel Access

Different customers prefer different ways of communicating with your company. Some like to call on the phone, while others prefer to text. Some like email. Others want an easily-accessed web portal. The more choices they have, the more of them will be gratified with their ability to communicate with you. When they can seek out and evaluate products on one channel and then place their order later on using another, that’s a bonus.

Know thy Customer

The more you know about your customers the better you can be at recommending purchases they will really enjoy. AI-based recommender engines compare your customer database with your product database to determine which products are best to offer to each customer, and can automatically send valuable information based on these choices. The more information you have collected about each customer, the more accurate these recommendations become.

From a cost-control perspective, automated sales don’t require payment of a commission to a salesperson. This can keep a substantial portion of profitability in each purchase.

The Human Touch

Even if they do reach a human operator when calling you, being greeted by name by a call agent who knows who they are makes them feel more “part-of-the-family,” and that sense of belonging is one of the most fundamental human needs in Maslow’s famed hierarchy of needs.

Remember that creating great customer experiences begins with creating great employee experiences for carefully-selected, well-trained employees. The combination of technology-comfortable with personable and proactive plays a key part in your selection process.

You Do You

You are expert at what you do. That does not necessarily convey knowledge of how to automate your business and otherwise prepare it to be resilient and sustainable during a financial recession.

You already do know the most important thing, that you need to perform that preparation now! Your best strategy is to find and turn to experts in the field of automating processes, improving customer communications and service, and otherwise producing extraordinary customer experiences and positive business outcomes.

Waste no time. The next recession is coming. Start now to be fully prepared before it arrives. Call your Velosio representative to talk about the possibilities.