Effective communication is the lifeblood of any successful business. Customer-centric communication places the customer’s needs, preferences, and feedback at the centre of every interaction, making them feel valued and heard. At best, successful customer-centric communication can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty and create a competitive advantage.
According to Elisa Juholin, Adjunct professor of communication at Jyväskylä School of Business and at the University of Helsinki, organisational and customer communication used to be very much unidirectional and organisation-centric but has gradually turned to a more customer-centric approach. She says that with increasing digitalisation and especially the use of AI, there is a risk of returning to one-way communication that may frustrate customers who struggle with the huge flow of information and have trouble making sense of what is relevant and necessary to know.
– In my opinion, the more we are surrounded and assisted by technology, the more we require also human interaction and personalised communication. This depends, of course, on how personal the issue at hand is, but listening closely to a customer’s concerns, questions and feedback shows that we genuinely care about their needs. Research shows that up to 80 per cent of communication from companies and organisations is simply sending out information, even though active listening is usually the key to effective communication, Juholin points out.
She adds that an extra challenge in digitalised society is the so-called digital divide, i.e. people’s shortage of smart devices and/or the competence to use them. Also, our ability to concentrate has been getting worse, calling for more clear and simple messages.
Understanding the entire customer path
Monitoring the effectiveness of communication is also one of Juholin’s focus areas, and she emphasises how important it is to understand the experiences and expectations of customers. With current advanced data analytics, businesses have access to a wealth of information. Leveraging this data to personalise communications can create a more engaging and relevant experience.
Elisa Juholin, Docent of communication at Jyväskylä School of Business and at the University of Helsinki
Other crucial elements of customer-centric communication are multichannel engagement and transparency. Businesses should communicate through various channels to ensure accessibility and convenience and meet customers in the channels that are relevant to them. Also, when businesses are open and honest with their customers, it fosters a sense of authenticity and credibility.
Tanja Ylänen, Customer Strategy Lead at Lowell, is currently heading a Nordic team that has begun work on further developing customer communication. The aim is to better understand the entire customer path and how different points of interaction are experienced along the way.
– Optimising customer communication can naturally provide business benefits for our clients when, for example, people can take care of matters in our self-service channel more smoothly and are happy with the service. It is also beneficial for all parties if this encourages customers to pay off their debts more swiftly. However, the most important thing in my view is if we can help people take control of their finances and improve their financial wellbeing, Ylänen says.
She adds that placing focus on the customer when developing communication can also help to change the overall perception of the debt collection industry. This has a lot to do with the tone of voice and terminology.
– In the first phase, our main focus is to look more closely at the content of our messages and the way we discuss and explain things. Is our choice of words clear enough, and how much do we need to customise our communication for different customer groups? The idea is also to begin straight away testing different options in practice to gain feedback and concrete data for further development, Ylänen explains.
Creating a consistent experience
When seeking to enhance a way of working throughout the entire organisation – such as a more customer-centric approach – Juholin stresses the need to involve all levels of employees in the development work. It is important to instil a culture and mindset that supports these goals.
– Naturally, the valuable experiences of customer service experts who are most in contact with customers must be heard and utilised when developing communication, Juholin says.
Ylänen agrees and notes that each customer contact point and channel – including customer service and online chat, the digital My Lowell self-service platform, printed letters, and text messages – has its dedicated team, and everyone needs to be involved in the development work.
– The idea is not to dictate but together create and commit to a consistent way of communicating that takes the characteristics of each channel into account, Ylänen says.
She notes that the self-service platform is exceptionally popular, with over 60 per cent of customers in the Nordics using My Lowell as their preferred means of communication. In Finland, the share of online users is even over 70 per cent. Besides making sure that communication related to the online channel is as customer-friendly as possible, another focus point is personal customer service which is an extremely important channel in the debt collection business.
– Especially in more complex cases and when discussing challenging life situations and sensitive issues, it is essential that our case handlers can be contacted by phone. Dealing with customers in vulnerable situations is, of course, a special characteristic of this business, and our professionals have received excellent NPS scores from customers for their service, Ylänen adds.
Operating in a hybrid media landscape
According to Juholin, developments in the overall media space also influence the way that companies address customers. She says the current hybrid media landscape means that organisational and stakeholder communications – including customer communication – are all intertwined with messages in different media channels and affect each other.
– This places even greater emphasis on leading and managing communications consistently. Companies need to be much better aware of developments in their operating environment and, for instance, monitor discussions and trending topics on social media related, for example, to the debt collection industry. Even though the criticism might not be targeted directly at your company, it can affect the general image and thus customer perception, which should be taken into account when planning and managing communications, Juholin concludes.
