Customer Service: The Forgotten Element in Hyper-Growth

A candid conversation about customer satisfaction.

At the recent Emerce E-commerce Live conference alongside other titans of e-commerce, Anouk, founder of Stone & Bridges, delivered a compelling talk on the critical role of customer service in rapidly growing e-commerce environments. The session titled "How some of the best-known brands manage their customer service" emphasized the importance of maintaining high-quality customer service and experience amidst exponential and international growth. 

Customer Service & Hyper-Growth

In hyper-growth environments, companies often prioritize scaling operations, expanding markets, and boosting sales, inadvertently sidelining customer service. However, Anouk argued that neglecting customer service during such critical phases is a costly mistake because "customer service is not a support function; it is the backbone of customer satisfaction and loyalty". She discussed that the real measure of success lies not just in sales figures but in customer retention and satisfaction.

Flipping the Chain: Giving Customers a Seat at the Table

Anouk highlighted the importance of flipping the conventional business growth chain by placing customer service at the forefront. This involves integrating customer insights and experiences into strategic decision-making processes. She further explained that by listening to your customers and understanding their needs, you can make informed decisions that drive both growth and customer satisfaction.

During the conversation, Anouk shared how Stone & Bridges utilized customer feedback to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement. This customer-centric approach has enabled them to enhance product offerings, streamline operations, and improve customer retention rates. Furthermore, Anouk shared insights on how to train and empower customer service teams to deliver consistent and exceptional service. She believes that a strong team who understand and embody the company persona are crucial to maintaining high standards of customer service, especially during times of growth.

The Importance of Company Persona

A company’s persona is its unique identity, voice, and spirit. Anouk emphasized that during periods of rapid growth, it's crucial to remain true to this persona. Your company persona should be woven into every part of your business, from marketing and product development to finance and logistics.

Maintaining Consistency in Communication, Policies & Processes

One of the key strategies discussed was ensuring consistent communication. Anouk shared examples of how Stone & Bridges helps clients like SUITSUIT define and maintain their brand voice across all customer interactions. This consistency not only builds trust but also reinforces the brand identity, making it more relatable and memorable to customers.

Anouk also shared her insights about policies and processes. She shared that it can be easy to forget your brand’s persona when building policies, processes, or when choosing third party service providers. These policies, processes and partners should all be viewed through the lens of your brand’s persona, culminating in choices that directly reflect your brand’s values and commitment to customer satisfaction.

When things go wrong, they can actually go right!

In an ideal world, every customer is satisfied and no customer would ever experience any issues. Yet this is not the reality we live in. When things go wrong, it is a chance to turn an unhappy customer into a lifelong fan of your brand. It's very important that in that crucial point, the company shows its character and answers these questions: How are you going to help me? How are you going to solve my problem? How do we move forward from here? If these questions are answered proficiently and consistently, a negative customer experience is transformed into a positive one. And this is the chance to build a long-lasting relationship with your customers because they will trust you, your CS team and your services.

If you want to know more about how Stone & Bridges can help your customer service team and your brand during times of hyper-growth, get in touch today for more information.