The majority of customers today expect a streamlined customer experience. In fact, 90% of people surveyed will pay more for a better customer experience, expecting businesses to recognise and anticipate their needs. With consumer demands high, South African businesses need to be aware of their customers' needs to keep up.
Your business should have systems in place that allow you to deliver a stellar customer experience as effortlessly as possible. This will not only make your task easier, but your business will thrive from improved efficiency.
To help you achieve this, we've curated a list of key systems and strategies which, when implemented, will soon have your customers raving about your business.
By far, the best way to know you're meeting your customers' needs is by asking them. Positive feedback helps you understand what you already do well, including what your customers care about. But don't discount negative feedback. Hearing from dissatisfied customers is invaluable for recognising where you need to focus your attention and efforts.
While it's always good practice to respond to reviews, this is especially important when the review is less than favourable. Always respond to a negative review to show your reviewer – and potential clients – that you care about them and their experience with your brand. Start by publicly empathising with their frustration and state how you plan to address the issue.
To encourage feedback and increase the number of responses, follow up on every interaction by prompting them to review their experience with your business. This process can be automated with a review collection system such as Hellopeter Business's various review invite tools.
No one wants to wait when a pressing issue needs to be resolved. The sooner you respond when your customers reach out, the less frustrated they will get. Ensure your communication channels are set up to notify you as soon as a customer contacts, mentions or reviews your brand.
For instance, you'll immediately be alerted when someone reviews your business on Hellopeter. Additionally, you can sync your Google and Facebook reviews with Hellopeter, so you only have one inbox. This way, at a glance, you're able to see all your reviews waiting for a reply to ensure you're there when customers need you most.
Why not free up time by offering your clients a self-service experience? Instead of answering a never-ending number of emails and phone calls per day, give them a digital self-service dashboard or portal.
A digital portal lets customers sign in at any time to access information, book an appointment, log a support query, or view past transactions. Not only will this free up the bulk of your business' administrative time, but your customers will love you for it.
When a customer reaches out to your business, make their experience memorable by personalising your communications with them.
You could tell them about products or services they might be interested in based on past purchases. If you're selling products online, including a handwritten thank-you note with their order can also go a long way. The idea is to engage them in a way that will make them feel like your only customer.
Sometimes this is as simple as addressing them by their first name, setting up cohorts to help you target your marketing efforts more specifically, or sending them a voucher on their birthday – there are so many touch points in the customer experience journey where you can make them feel valued.
If social media is where your customers spend their time, you should ensure you show up on their feeds too. Consumers everywhere use social channels to ask questions, write reviews and reach out for support.
Therefore, it's best to set up your social platforms to notify you whenever a customer sends a direct message or comments on a post. A tip is to set up a template with frequently asked questions and answers to make the process quicker.
Did you know that 70% of customers prefer to get the information they're looking for from a company's website rather than over the phone or email? Therefore, it's important to regularly update your website content to help customers access the information they need.
Customers will look for answers on your FAQ pages and blogs. Other sources include user manuals, help documentation, case studies and how-to videos.
If you don't have sufficient information on your website, your customers are forced to reach out to your business whenever they're looking for answers – something they'd rather not do.
When 95% of customers are ready to tell others about a poor experience, trying to meet every demand can feel overwhelming. But, when you have the right systems in place, this will lead to a stellar customer experience and make managing your customer relationships easier.
And, when it comes to streamlining your customer's experience, what better way to start than by hearing from your customers? Take a look at our plans and see for yourself how easy it is to get customer feedback pouring in.
Well done on putting the customer experience first. We've seen first-hand how this strategy pays off!