While many retailers are struggling to meet customer service expectations, those who are on top of their game are now moving towards delivering exactly what customers want even if it’s above and beyond what the brand sells or the service it provides.

Internet shopping site Zappos has introduced a new service that helps customers track down any fashion item even if the company doesn’t sell it. Called Ask Zappos, the service provides a digital personal assistant who takes requests in the form of images and finds the exact item, while also providing links to some alternatives. With Ask Zappos, shoppers can send images through different channels, including posting to Instagram with the #AskZappos hashtag, or emailing and text messaging.

KLM has also taken customer levels to new heights with its #HappyToHelp campaign in October. A dedicated team scanned social media during five days for passengers facing travel woes throughout the world, and responded with a creative and relevant #HappytoHelp answer produced and personalised for the passenger in real-time – even if they were not travelling with KLM. Selected problems were solved in a variety of ways, ranging from actual physical intervention to providing one-to-one advice or information through social media. For example, KLM staff helped someone retrieve a forgotten passport, provided a tailored weather report to a traveller who was unsure what to pack for that last minute trip to Ibiza, and recorded a video with personalized Spanish language lessons to a traveller flying to Mexico.

The goal of the #HappyToHelp campaign was to improve the perception of KLM’s customer service and to increase the overall KLM brand awareness. The #HappyToHelp name and logo will be used in communications on KLM’s customer service in the future, highlighting the importance of high quality service.

From these examples it is evident that customer service is shifting to a new level and changing customer expectations once again. This new era of customer service is based on looking ahead by keeping the brand top of mind rather than the focus being on the short-term objective of making a sale. So instead of asking “do you need help with anything”, brands need to be more proactive with their customer service by providing inspiration beyond just the products they sell.