Perhaps the Store manager or the Sales assistant would invite the customer to write an email to the ecommerce customer service. Would that be the best experience for the customer? Surely not.

In today’s ever-evolving landscape, the biggest challenges companies face in optimizing customer satisfaction often stem from organisational processes and systems.

Surprisingly, 80% of customer issues don’t originate from ecommerce websites or store interactions but rather from the headquarters’ procedures and systems.

Gianluigi Zarantonello

Let’s break down the customer experience into three phases: pre-sale, purchase and after-sale. Companies predominantly invest in the pre-sale phase, focusing on training sales assistants for conversion rates, increased order values, and cross-selling, which are some KPIs that are frequently used for measuring performance of retail teams. But how many of us have been trained to solve customer problems when they arise?

Another interesting point that Gianluigi made is that we need to map the activities in the process against the people who will manage those activities. In the model below we can see an example of mapping the customer journey against the departments involved.

The role of techology in Customer Experience of Fashion Brands

“Why should we adapt our processes to technology? Shouldn’t technology adapt to our needs?” questioned the Sales Director during the implementation of  a new information technology system of a fashion brand I was working for at the time. Back then, I humoured him, but looking back, my response would be more structured.

Moreover, while it’s clear who’s responsible for generating a sale, the resolution of customer issues is less obvious. When a problem arises, customers may contact a store, a customer service number, send an email, or connect via social networks. Are these channels seamlessly organized to provide a unified customer experience?

To ensure a positive customer experience, the client-facing team needs reliable, fast, and streamlined support from an ecosystem of applications and processes. Only when the back-end processes are well-defined can we achieve a truly satisfactory customer experience.

As we venture into 2024 and beyond, with integrated sales processes across multiple channels (omnichannel) and various actors contributing to order fulfilment, technology becomes both an ally and a disruptor.

As shown in the chart, technology changes at a faster rate than companies. This misalignment often results in companies lagging behind consumer expectations. Companies must acknowledge that consumer behaviour evolves with technology, and they cannot remain static.

Gianluigi emphasised the importance of not just understanding the Customer Journey Map but also mapping roles and responsibilities. Vital contributors, often in the back office, are sometimes not involved in the definition and planning of promotional activities, implementation of new systems and customer facing applications. For instance, consulting IT on implementation timelines for commercial promotions or consulting the bricks and mortar stores staff in discussing digital activities. 

In conclusion, Gianluigi’s lesson inspires a deeper look into our processes and a sincere acknowledgment of the unsung heroes in our companies. Let’s redesign our processes, adapting to technology while keeping customer satisfaction at the forefront. My sincere thanks to Gianluigi for this insightful lesson, and my apologies for drawing inspiration from it to share these personal observations.

Email communication at work

E-mail can be effective as well as efficient, but to achieve the desired results must comply with certain rules in the mail, good manners are just as important when making calls to a customer or people meet for business.The difference is that, in the case of email, you can not test the reactionsof those who receive the messages: Once you have clicked the Send button, what you have written will be read by the recipient. Therefore, it is essential to be accurate immediately

10 steps to effective email writing

1) Adopt a sufficiently large font size (12 or more) 

2) Make sure there are no grammatical errors; 

3) The subject of the message must be clear and relevant 

4) The subject of the message must also enable efficient search among the hundreds of emails received. 

5) The beginning megli if personalized with the person’s name 

6) Use the most appropriate forms of greeting 

7) hire a helpful and friendly tone 

8) to invite the recipient to contact us again for every need 

9) To express oneself clearly and concisely by not write unnecessary things. 

10) Use an e-mail signature that includes all contact information, including phone number

When you receive an email

When you receive an e-mail from a legitimate sender, that is, not by a spammer, confirm that it received within 24 hours, even if you do not have time to provide a full answer immediately. 

If you have to be away for more than 24 hours, Arrange an answer outside automatic seat

Mistakes to avoid:

1) Avoid placing decorative items that are processed in professional communications

2) Do not send large attachments without permission of the recipients

Here is a summary of all the ways to close formal and informal letters in English.

Opening sentences

They are used to refer to previous correspondence

To say how you came into possession of the recipient’s email address

To explain why you are writing to the recipient

10 great opening sentences:

With reference to your letter of 8 June, I …

I am writing to inquire about …

After having seen your advertisement in … ,

I would like … After having received your address from … , I …

I received your address from … and would like …

We/I recently wrote to you about … Thank you for your letter of 8 May. Thank you for your letter regarding … Thank you for your letter/e-mail about … In reply to your letter of 8 May, …
Closing sentences:
They are used for:

refer to future events

Repeat an excuse

offer help or willingness to give further explanations;
. 10 great closing sentences:
-If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.

I look forward to your reply.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I look forward to seeing you.

Please advise as necessary.

We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience.

We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom.

I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter

The manager is above all a man of relationships, much of his life’s work is marked by talk, listen, relate, negotiate, discuss, debate, meet, talk, words to communicate.

You cannot not communicate … even silence communicates! (Paul Watzlawick)

Why communication skills matter in management

Big part of the manager’s life is spent in communicating: talk, negotiate, reporting, presenting in public.

The ability to communicate is therefore as important as the ability to diagnose and decide. In fact, even the most perfect of diagnosis is not very useful if it can not be adequately explained. 

The manager is therefore also a perfect communicator.

Business communication skills

Here below some examples of effective communication techniques that you should know both use and recognize when used by someone else

Implicit. It consists of passing a concept for real without the interlocutor pay attention. When discussing an issue, if you let an implicit statement pass without any objection you are also making it true.

Example in the sentence “the agency is late with the delivery of the new design” there are three implicits: a) the person talking is implying that the agency was assigned a deadline for completing the task; b) The agency agreed to delivery the design by a precise date; c) all the information needed by the agency to complete the task on time were provided to the agency.

Persuasion is made ​​by issuing a communication that is mainly based on emotional arguments rather than rational reasons, making extensive use of expressive language, coming to affect the emotional sphere.“Mirroring.” It is to adopt the verbal expressions, attitudes and gestures of the person you are talking to. When a person sees his own attitudes and behaviours in the other person, he/she acquires more confidence.

Common mistakes in business communication

Giving incomplete information: communication must be complete. unless they intervene specific reasons of confidentiality; all data and information necessary in support of its arguments are to be presented in their entirety.

Do not keep your word: credibility is crucial to win the trust of others; to be credible you must keep your word.Communicate without verifying that the other party has understoodyour message.

Must-have business communication skills

• Write email;
• Active listening;
• Public speaking;

Communication verbal and non

The effectiveness of communication depends more on the attitude of the sender towards the recipient that the sender’s skill in speaking and writing. In other words “the manner in which it communicates influence of most of the message itself”. 

A word spoken in anger can have a completely different impact from the same word spoken in a friendly tone.

Only 10% of what you communicate is “told” through words. 90% of the message is then Conveyed through nonverbal communication. more >>

Non verbal communication

Here’s how verbal and non-verbal communication involved in: 

Words (10%): only 10% of what you communicate is “told” through words.The rest of the message is then conveyed through the non-verbal communication (90%). 

Tone (35%): a word spoken in anger can be interpreted differently by the same word spoken with a friendly tone. 

Proxemics (55%): proxemics includes gesticulation, posture, the distance between the interlocutors. These elements communicate the 55% of the message.

The use of visual channel, that is, the use of drawings, symbols or diagrams, as well as stimulate the most attention of the interlocutors, is particularly suitable for synthesizing a complex idea, otherwise very hard to represent and sustainable using only the channel verbal.

The use of visual aids leads to separate the content from the physical entity that is proposing (the what from whom) and makes adherence to the statistically most probable message

Better to draw while talking that use of powerpoint slides. 

Control questions: check your communication habits

• Do you communicate in a clear and unambiguous manner?
• Do you check that your communications have been fully understood?
• Do you communicate frequently enough?
• Do you communicate only to give orders or do you allow allow your team to tell you about their expectations?

Bibliographical references

• R. Archibald Managing relationships in project management
• Vitalliano Kettliz, How to deal with employees, Francoangeli

Time Management

If we accept the principle that 80% of the result is obtained with 20% of the effort and that the remaining 80% of effort produces only 20% of the result, it is clear that if we could concentrate the priorities on that first 20% effort, would reach 80% of the success that is expected of us.

How to delegate

No one can do it alone, you need to know to delegate!

Most tasks can be delegated, whether limited or relevant, simple or complex. And ‘essential that the process of delegation is properly conducted: a delegation ineffective leads to a high degree of stressmanagement, the motivation of the staff, to the overlapping of roles.

Read our guide to delegation here >>

Implicit, Persuasion, and Mirroring

Implicit:
Implicit communication involves conveying a concept as true without the interlocutor paying explicit attention. For instance: “Where did you meet Maria?” implies that you have met that person; “When will you give the speech?” implies that you will deliver a speech; “Your intervention has brought no results” implies the failure of the intervention. When debating an issue, allowing opponents to pass implicit messages means conceding to their statements, which can later be used against you.

Persuasion:
Persuasion operates through communication, typically (but not necessarily) verbal, where the communicator emphasizes emotions, utilizing expressive language to impact the emotional sphere. “Convincing” someone involves providing a rational explanation through structured and coherent communication.

Mirroring:
Mirroring involves adopting the verbal expressions, attitudes, and behaviors of the interlocutor. When a person sees their own mannerisms reflected in another, trust is built.

Read also to guide to writing effective emails >>