𝗖𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗢 #𝟭 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡

Good customer service needs many superhero skills – but one superpower that’s often overlooked is the ability to protect your brand.

Imagine a customer goes onto your website, loves the friendly and upbeat vibe, feels a connection with your brand and buys your product or service. So far so good. Then they have an issue they need help with. Well that’s OK because that’s what your customer service support is there for. But what if that support is formal and stuffy – the complete opposite of why the customer liked you and bought from you in the first place?

The customer is going to feel confused. Perhaps a bit annoyed. Maybe a little cheated. You’re not what they thought you were and your brand doesn’t feel like such a good fit for them anymore.

Jekyll and Hyde branding means they might not rave about you to friends and family. Or bother leaving you a review. Or buy from you again.

So brand consistency is super-important. Emails. Phone calls. Chatbots. Your brand image, mission, values, language and tone of voice need to show up at every touch point in the customer journey. And if you can’t be there to guard your brand yourself you can outsource someone to do it for you.

MEET YOUR SUPERHERO BRAND GUARDIAN

Your brand guardian knows everything – and I mean everything – about your business. Not just about your products or services but what you stand for and how you do things

They know because they ask you lots of questions…
* Are you a ‘Dear sir’, ‘Hi John’ or ‘Howdie partner’ kind of company?
* Do you use emojis or emoticons in your communication?
* Do you want me to present myself as part of the team?
* Shall I use ‘I’ or ‘we’?
* Should I sign off as me or you?

Your brand guardian communicates with your customers just like you would, using the same vocabulary, turns of phrase and tone of voice. They literally speak the same language. (By the way I’m a multilingual customer service superhero who communicates in 🇫🇷 , 🇬🇧 and 🇩🇪).

It’s useful to have a communications style guide to give to your brand guardian. Don’t worry if you haven’t got one, though, as many customer superheroes like me will create one for you. A guide is also super-handy if you’re handling customer service yourself. You can use it to write canned responses brimming with brand personality or engage customers with on-brand chatbots (no more ‘Can we be of assistance?’ when your vibe is more ‘Hey there – how can I help?)

Your brand guardian is a superhero you shouldn’t be without. Let them unleash their superpower and they’ll protect your customers and your business.

* I’m here to protect your brand and keep it safe. Get in touch at info@virtuellesolutions.com

copy-writing: @helen gent copywriter (Trumpet media)
visuals: @céline naricadou (Agency VA)