We have entered the age of the customer. A focus on customer experience is a primary tactical advantage that helps companies survive the competitive landscape of technology. Customer experience is critical to ensure lifetime value, loyalty, recognition and also impacts customer spending. If that doesn't show you that customer experience shouldn’t be overlooked, nothing will.
Simply put: there needs to be a greater importance placed on customer experience in every organization. Most customers aren’t discouraged by a company with one encounter — it lies within the multiple interactions they have. Sometimes the problems that customers are having can be resolved with a single conversation, but when looked at carefully, it could have been avoided a long time ago. If this problem goes unaddressed and begins to manifest, the cumulative effect on the customer will ultimately be negative – and could spawn into a negative, “word-of-mouth marketing” effect.
Here are 5 tips to help place a greater importance on customer experience within your business:
- Start viewing it from the customer side
When trying to provide the best customer experience, you need to first ask yourself what type of experience you would want - but this means more than just avoiding the negative encounters. The ideal way to achieve a better customer experience is to create memorable moments that leave your customers wanting more. By mapping out the customer experience process, you will be able to build a strong relationship and create a positive experience for the customer. This can also be determined through communications with your staff. By conveying your goals and listening to their feedback, the employee engagement with the company will increase and your company will ultimately benefit.
- Don’t disregard feedback
The best way to tweak you customer experience strategy is listening to the customers themselves. When you value direct customer feedback, you are able to provide yourself an opportunity to improve your company’s experience before it is too late. You need to be on top of your social media engagement to see what your customers are saying to determine what the best way is to improve their overall experience with your company.
- Advise, don’t always sell
Some companies are just worried about the sale rather than the customer behind the purchase. By offering advice that is focusing on your customer’s needs, you are able to build trust with prospective customers and help facilitate a positive experience they have with your organization. Remember, just because a sale has been green lit, doesn’t mean that their experience simply ends.
- Work on the “unfun” parts
Many companies focus on their product or service, because it’s easier than thinking about the entire process. Some parts may be more fun than others but the “unfun” parts are often a determining factor towards great customer service and require the most attention. These areas could include the experiences that customers have with billing and sales — a crucial part in the sales industry. If an area isn’t as enjoyable as other parts of the pipeline, consider making some adjustments to that area or schedule follow-up calls with your customers to get their opinions on the service.
- Don’t be too efficient
A common priority within a company is getting the job done quickly, but rushing it with a customer to get pen to paper could leave them feeling dissatisfied. It is worth the extra few minutes to make sure that their questions have been fulfilled because in turn this could lead to customer referrals (word-of-mouth-marketing) and a positive customer experience. The opposite is also true. If a customer feels rushed, they may have a negative experience with your company leaving a sour taste in their mouth.
By implementing these simple ways to increase your company’s customer experience, you will likely see an increase in customer loyalty and overall customer satisfaction over time. Don’t discredit these intangibles just because there might not be a direct ROI attached to them. The process is a lot more important than you think. With that being said – it means taking a step back and starting with your sales personnel. Download our eBook and master the hiring process for elite sales talent.
