{"id":23338,"date":"2020-03-24T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T18:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?p=23338"},"modified":"2024-07-18T11:42:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T10:42:30","slug":"customer-communications-in-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-communications-in-a-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"How to manage your support communications during a crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Supporting your customers with efficiency and empathy is challenging in the best of times. But when an unprecedented event like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/response-to-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19<\/a> hits, what do you say and how do you say it?<\/p>\n<p>Right now your support team are probably facing an array of challenges. Depending on the nature of your business, you may experience an increased volume of conversations, more requests for refunds and cancellations, and perhaps even dealing with customers who are understandably on edge.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote-style-two\"><p>&#8220;You\u2019ll want to provide your customers with fast, transparent answers&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We know that responding to customers with efficiency and empathy is likely a priority for you \u2013 you\u2019ll want to provide them with fast, transparent answers.<\/p>\n<p>We created this blog post to help you reduce your Support team\u2019s load and provide your customers with the personal support they need. Below, we share tips on how to proactively message customers and respond to inbound conversations in a way that\u2019s helpful, respectful, and mindful.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"proactively-communicating-with-customers\">Proactively communicating with customers<\/h2>\n<p>During this unprecedented time, your customers will likely have lots of questions. You may want to proactively reach out to them to ensure they\u2019re supported with all the answers, information, and reassurance they need. Sending an empathetic, genuinely helpful message will require some careful consideration. Here are some steps we recommend taking:<\/p>\n<h3>Make sure the message really counts<\/h3>\n<p>Naturally, your customers\u2019 attention will be a little more divided during a crisis. So, it\u2019s more important than ever to make every message count. You can achieve that by being respectful of people\u2019s time and needs. Before you write a single word, question if you really need to message them at all. If in doubt:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only send messages that genuinely help and proactively answer questions that your customers care about.<\/li>\n<li>It almost goes without saying, but now\u2019s not the right time to promote your product, attempt to upsell customers or even reach out unnecessarily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Define your customers\u2019 needs and how you\u2019ll help<\/h3>\n<p>One of the best ways you can avoid meaningless or even unwelcome communication during a crisis is by defining your customers\u2019 needs upfront. Get incredibly clear and specific on exactly how you\u2019ll help them. For example, you might want to answer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/how-to-handle-frequently-asked-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">frequently asked questions<\/a> that customers are writing or calling in with, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are you offering product delivery?<\/li>\n<li>Are delivery times operating as normal or are you experiencing delays?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have a contactless delivery option and how does this work?<\/li>\n<li>What steps are you taking to protect your customers\u2019 and employees\u2019 safety?<\/li>\n<li>How are you handling cancellations?<\/li>\n<li>What refunds might they be entitled to and when can they expect them?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have any relevant resources? Depending on your customers\u2019 needs, relevant guides, docs, or how-to videos might be helpful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Unfortunately, some of your customers are going to be experiencing real financial and emotional difficulties during this time. If your business is in a position to help, you may want to consider offering a discount, free tool, resource (like an ebook) or something else. Make a conscious decision whether to address this offer in your proactive message or whether it\u2019s best to reserve it for people who contact your team and really need it.<\/p>\n<h3>Focus on active, engaged customers who genuinely need your support<\/h3>\n<p>Even when you have an important message to share, it\u2019s unlikely that everyone on your sender list will want or need to hear it. For example, people who no longer use your product or service are unlikely to care about how you\u2019re responding to the crisis, simply because your business is no longer relevant to them and their needs.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, focus your efforts on messaging engaged recipients \u2013 these who have recently used your product (at Intercom we use the \u201cActive less than 30 days ago\u201d filter), placed an order in your store and\/or contacted your support team.<\/p>\n<h3>Segment specific groups of customers<\/h3>\n<p>Of course, different groups of your active customers will have different needs. Rather than sending a one-size-fits-all message, it\u2019s far more empathetic and personal to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Segment your customers by needs (whether that\u2019s by location, plan or engagement level)<\/li>\n<li>Tailor your message to each group<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For example, if you work for a B2B SaaS business, sales-owned customers may require a more personal approach than self-serve customers. Equally, if you run a food delivery service and are experiencing delivery delays in a specific city, only local customers will need an update.<\/p>\n<h3>Send your message in context (when customers need it)<\/h3>\n<p>Another empathetic approach is to send your message in context where possible. One of the best ways to do this is to send an in-app message rather than an email. Not only will you reach customers who are actively using your product, you\u2019ll also ensure you\u2019re not interrupting them at an inconvenient time or adding to an already overloaded inbox.<\/p>\n<h3>Practice email etiquette<\/h3>\n<p>Be mindful that during this challenging time, some customers who are experiencing stress may be more likely to hit unsubscribe on your email or even mark it as spam \u2013 this is especially true if it feels unnecessary or irrelevant to them.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote-style-two\"><p>&#8220;If you do need to send an email, be respectful of your customers\u2019 time&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>During a global crisis like COVID-19, spam filters are also on high alert, due to many businesses sending a large volume of emails \u2013 sometimes unnecessarily. If you do need to send an email, be respectful of your customers\u2019 time and abide by email-compliant rules by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making sure your email content and context is relevant to your customers\u2019 needs.<\/li>\n<li>Sending emails in a predictable cadence of smaller batches. Going from 100 emails a day to 10,000 can cause email providers to mark your message as spam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Focus your message on your customers\u2019 needs<\/h3>\n<p>When the crisis is over, your customers will remember how you treated them, what you said, and most importantly how you made them feel. What you say and how you said it matters now more than ever. Here are some tips for focusing on your customers\u2019 needs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Address the crisis and your customers\u2019 needs upfront, right away. Make it the first thing you talk about.<\/li>\n<li>Emphasize that your employees and customers are the most important thing right now (and always).<\/li>\n<li>Prioritize clarity over cleverness. Avoid any language that may be misconstrued as a joke or sales message, for example.<\/li>\n<li>Create a help article or blog post with all of the information your customers need to know on how you\u2019re supporting them during this time. Link to this in your message and let your customers know you\u2019ll update it with any changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Prepare for an influx of replies<\/h3>\n<p>Empathy should extend to your hard-working team too. If you\u2019re messaging a large group of customers your team may receive an influx of responses.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote-style-one\"><p>&#8220;Positive feedback will help give your team a much-needed motivational boost&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As well as sending your emails in smaller batches, you might want to consider making some temporary changes to your processes, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creating a separate inbox for \u201cCS Incident Management\u201d, then automatically routing replies to this inbox.<\/li>\n<li>Dividing and conquering by selecting a specific team of support reps from each region to clear out the inbox at dedicated times.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget you might get positive feedback and messages of support from customers too. After you\u2019ve thanked customers, tag any positive feedback you get and send it to your team \u2013 it will help give your team a much-needed motivational boost and keep their spirits high when they\u2019re incredibly busy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"respond-to-inbound-conversations-with-empathy\">Respond to inbound conversations with empathy<\/h2>\n<p>No matter how comprehensive your proactive communication is, certain industries will likely experience an increased volume of inbound conversations. You\u2019ll want to prepare your support team and processes, so you\u2019re empowered to respond with efficiency and empathy, even when tensions are high. Here are our tips:<\/p>\n<h3>Empathy means providing fast, efficient help<\/h3>\n<p>When you\u2019re experiencing an influx of difficult conversations, empathy doesn\u2019t just mean saying the right thing. It also means providing fast, efficient help and answers. That starts with optimizing your workflows and surfacing the most pressing conversations and resources.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Prioritize difficult conversations<\/strong>. Set up priority rules to make sure that any customers who have complex queries or who are experiencing emotional distress can reach a member of your support team, as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Create and update help resources<\/strong>, like your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/creating-better-help-content\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help articles<\/a> and\/or videos, so customers can help themselves.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give your customers fast access to the right people<\/strong> with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/help\/en\/articles\/1544988-automatically-route-sales-and-support-conversations-to-the-right-team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contextual routing.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Rely on bots (only where humans aren\u2019t needed)<\/h3>\n<p>During a crisis, you\u2019ll find many of your customers asking the same questions, like, \u201cWhat are your delivery times?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s your refund policy?\u201d You can use bots to automatically resolve these simple, repetitive questions.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using Intercom, you can set up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/announcing-resolution-bot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Resolution Bot<\/a> to instantly resolve customer questions \u2013 before they even finish typing. Check out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/help\/en\/articles\/3822642-tips-for-using-intercom-to-help-with-your-covid-19-response\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more tips on supporting your customers during COVID-19 using Intercom<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Resolution-Bot-crisis-comms.gif\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now more than ever you want to display proper bot etiquette (or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/botiquette-designing-impactful-chatbots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">botiquette<\/a>\u201d for short) and make sure your bot doesn\u2019t come across as tone-deaf during this highly sensitive time.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using bots during a crisis you need to exercise particular caution. At minimum:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Review your bot flow and tone and ensure every interaction still makes sense for customers.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t try to answer difficult or emotional questions with a bot. These are best saved for your brilliant support team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intercom-origin.pagelyapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/bots-versus-humans-1.png\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2 id=\"need-support-were-here-to-help\">Need support? We\u2019re here to help<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s not just your customers who need help during this unprecedented time. When you\u2019re managing a busy inbox and difficult conversations, your diligent support team needs support and resources too.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d love to help you by creating more content that will empower you to support your customers during this challenging period. Are there particular resources you want and need? <a href=\"https:\/\/intercominc.typeform.com\/to\/ErdVRN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Let us know here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just remember this too shall pass. And we\u2019re with you every step of the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporting your customers with efficiency and empathy is challenging in the best of times. But when an unprecedented event like COVID-19 hits, what do you say and how do you say it? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":23344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"category":[3,4],"tags":[21570],"coauthors":[408],"class_list":["post-23338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-support","category-news","tag-covid-19"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to manage your support communications during a crisis - The Intercom Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When an unprecedented event like COVID-19 hits, supporting your customers with empathy is more important than ever. 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