How To Make Your Customer Experience Great

Regardless of the industry you’re in – from a local coffee shop to a B2B IT company – it’s likely that your company has become more customer centric as of late. Perhaps that’s come in the form of making it easier for customers to join your loyalty program or you started updating your services to better serve them.

Over the years (if you’re following the trends), you’ve made it less about you and more about them – what’s known as being customer centric. But what does that mean, anyway? Being a customer-centric company means you’re not just trying to sell products and services; you want to leave a memorable impression that fosters and nurtures relationships with clients.

A Walker study found that consumers will consider their customer experience (including customer service) the most important brand differentiator—more than price and product—by 2020. Let’s make 2020 the year you make improvements to your company’s customer service experience.

Why Customer Service Is Important Today

Considering that this is the era of Google, Netflix, and Uber, consumers get exactly what they want within seconds. This expectation is carrying over into their customer services experiences.

Now more than ever, customers are demanding that they can reach someone, or at least get answers, around the clock. Put simply, they are expecting instant gratification, answers, and constant access. Companies that provide anything less will prove to be a frustration and a hurdle for their customers.

How are you providing around-the-clock support to your clients? One of the best ways to do so is by downloading a virtual phone service app, like Ninja Number. It’s an app that “runs in the background” for you – at all hours of the day – and answers and filters incoming phone calls and text messages. You set it up once according to your personalized preferences and business needs. From there, it ensures you’re available around the clock without actually having to be.

Competing for Better Service and Loyalty

If you’re not keeping up with movement of improved customer service, your clients can easily jump ship. Research by American Express determined that even if your competitors cost more, consumers will make the switch if it means improved service for them.

More specifically, it states that three in five Americans will try a new company at the chance of having a great customer service experience. To them, making the change is worth the increased cost.

As American Express Executive VP Jim Bush puts it, “Getting service right is more than just a nice to do; it’s a must do…American consumers will also tell, on average, twice as many people about bad service than they will about good service. Ultimately, great service can drive sales and customer loyalty.”

Prioritizing this aspect of a business is particularly important for small- to medium-sized companies. With a smaller customer base, you can provide better service that they’re seeking and deserve. The return? Customer loyalty and retention that will last for years to come.

Personalizing Customer Service

Today’s consumers want more than just support; they want customized support. Providing personalized service can make the difference between a one-time customer and lifelong brand advocate.

Customizing your support means you have to get to know your client base on an individual basis. Whether it’s through a custom email campaign or simply greeting clients by name, adding a personal touch makes an incredible impression.

One of the most exasperating experiences for consumers is having to repeat themselves or go out of their way to get an issue resolved. Accenture found that 89 percent of consumers are extremely frustrated by having to repeat their issue to multiple representatives.

This statistic proves that companies are failing to provide a customized service experience. So what can you do to prevent this from happening? Establish a centralized platform and process where call representatives can take notes and review them to avoid this situation. That way, representatives can greet incoming callers with a personalized conversation, already knowing the context of their issue.

As consumers’ expectations are increasing, your approach to supporting them should also change. Make customer service a regular part of your meetings – whether that’s monthly, quarterly, or annually. Prioritizing this aspect of your business will certainly lead to improved loyalty and retention.