Customer Service During COVID-19

In order to stand the best chance of thriving, companies must utilise customer service to its full potential. The way businesses interact with consumers is a huge reflection on their brands and it can help to make the difference between success and failure. The employees you hire in a customer-facing role can reveal many things about the company and its core values.

When it comes to brands, many customers look for companies that show personalisation, empathy and flexibility, and that find solutions to potential problems before they even occur. Companies that want to prosper and grow need to show consumers that they care and have their best interests at the forefront of what they do.

During times of uncertainty, people want reassurance and tend to turn to businesses that can offer help and advice. The coronavirus pandemic has shown this and over the course of lockdown, companies have seen a surge in customer service calls. Overall, our clients have seen a total increase of 362% in calls since the start of lockdown.

Companies have had to adapt in order to grow during this time, and that means changing how they communicate with their audience. In this blog post, we take a look at the five industries that have seen the biggest increases in customer service calls over recent months and the reasons for this growth.

Home Improvement

Companies in the home improvement industry saw a 654% increase in customer service calls. There were many people renovating their homes during lockdown but the calls received were related to jobs that would require a tradesman, such as fitting windows, doors and lights.

Finance

With the economy taking a massive hit during the pandemic, it’s no surprise that the industry with the second largest volume of calls was finance. The increase in calls may have been due to people enquiring about loans, currency exchange rates, accounts and insurance.

Legal

The sector with the third largest increase in customer service calls was legal – registering a rise of 152%. Many people were querying their rights and wanting to find further information from solicitors and unions as the pandemic caused chaos to jobs across many industries.

Medical

Calls received in the medical industry during this time were mostly regarding funeral insurance and recruitment. Medical companies saw a 145% increase in the volume of customer service calls during lockdown.

Ecommerce

The ecommerce industry saw a 109% rise in calls during lockdown, with people raising questions about various things, such as home improvements, pets and fashion. This may have been due to people spending more on these particular areas.

Consumer confidence has dropped over the past few months because of the pandemic and although it’s risen slightly by 3 points over the past two weeks to -27 (as of 10th July 2020) according to the United Kingdom’s Gfk Consumer Confidence Index, it’s nowhere near where it was pre-pandemic. While things may be starting to improve, it’s a difficult time for many businesses and individuals and the most important thing a brand can do right now is provide additional help and support to customers in order to help rebuild consumer confidence.

Posted by Gemma Harding

As Head of Client Services, Gemma is an expert in the customer service industry. With over 20 years of experience in the call handling process she will guide your organisation to an improved customer service strategy. Hobbies include all thing equestrian.

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