How To Win Clients with Great Customer Experience
You have probably gotten disappointed or frustrated while purchasing a product or service. We bet the unpleasant experience probably left a bad taste in your mouth. You have also experienced a seamless purchase experience that we bet left a lasting impression. Now, let us reflect on the two experiences. One experience was quite frustrating – would you consider purchasing from them again or would you rather switch to their competition? The other experience was quite pleasant - would you be willing to pay a higher price to receive the same premium customer service experience? Some food for thought right there.
In today’s world, the customer is king or queen. Customer experience (CX) is a very fundamental component of any business. It is the overall perception customers have with regards to the impression or experience they have encountered with your business or brand. The aspects can make or break your business. CX focuses on the relationship between clients and businesses as a whole. This relationship is defined by interactions and experiences throughout the customer journey. It is, therefore, also the foundation of loyalty and customer retention.
Brands must focus on improving customer experience as the expectations change. Here are some interesting reasons why:
62% of customers are willing to pay more for good customer service. (2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Study)
According to Shep Hyken’s 2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Study, Did you know that 96% of customers will leave a brand for poor service?
About 84% of consumers have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer experience. (Conversocial The State of Customer Experience 2020 Report)
So, what does a great customer experience look like? You will notice:
An Increase in happy and repeat customers – Repeat purchase of your product/service offering
Speedy delivery of product/service within the set SLA (service-level agreement)
An Increase in the number of referrals - Willingness of a customer to advocate for your brand
Reduced level of churn rate - Customers are satisfied with your product/service offering
Consistent demand of your product/service – a stream of loyal customers
Increase in positive sentiments – Customers love your brand offering and customer service
A sense of brand ownership by staff and customers
Sustainable growth and a clear competitive advantage
The competition for alternative goods is quite is stiff. Customer experience has proven to be a major differentiator in today’s business environment especially in the presence of me-too type of businesses (businesses selling very similar products or services). There are major notable trends in customer experience in our era such as:
Cyber Security – Technology risks are rapidly arising. As a business, this is the practice of protecting customer information by mitigating information risks, anticipating cyber-related risks and responding appropriately when they do
Customer satisfaction surveys – an omnichannel collection of feedback
Automation of processes. e.g. optimized points of self-service, customer service bots, etc.
Rise of personalized or specially packaged messages, products and services
Increased customer engagement and retention programs
Speed, convenience and friendliness through technology while maintaining the human element
As a business or brand, Experience is everything. So, what can you do to win clients with a great customer experience?
Embrace customer feedback – implement feedback collected from (NPS) Net Promoter Score Questionnaires and customer satisfaction surveys
Improve products and services to wow customers
Proactively understand and train customer-facing employees on best practices
Utilize CRM customer data and analytics to cross-sell, match their needs or provide personalized product/service offerings that best suit or anticipate their lifestyle and needs
Exceed your customers’ expectations. Offer speedy delivery via smart automation and actionable insights — across private messaging omnichannel.
Add a human touch element to your service automation. It can be something like a simple greeting or friendly automated process or answer
Keep your delivery promise as stated in your service charter
Offer after-sale services that will encourage repeat purchase and customer retention
Offer a cashback, loyalty or affiliate program that rewards the customer for taking a service or referring clients to the business
Happy customers are the main ingredients of company success. Give customers great experiences and they will buy more from your business and even refer their family and friends.
No matter what, We Are On Your Side!
