It goes without saying that a business is dependent on their customers. Whether it’s a traditional brick-and-mortar location or an e-tailer, providing customers with the best experience is still paramount for any business.
Customer experience management is in a constant state of revolution and this has become especially obvious during the digital age. Today’s consumers are well-informed and expect the best thanks to everything that is at their fingertips.
The Most Important Change
The line between e-commerce and physical stores is becoming more and more blurred every day. Many businesses’ customer experience strategy also includes taking this into account. However, many businesses are so focused on finding media exposure for their products and services that they may just neglect providing their customers with the level of service they have come to expect.
Another downside to this focus on promotion is that they may just be ignoring everything that sets them apart from their competition.
Turn to Social Media
One of the fastest ways to find out what needs to be improved at your business is to turn to social media. Learn what people are saying about your organization by creating a Twitter feed, Facebook account, or a profile on review sites like Yelp.
Related: How to Effectively Manage Social Media Customer Interactions
You can find out what customers are saying about the good, the bad, and the ugly of your business. This will help you to improve on problem areas, find strategies that work, and do away with anything that your customers dislike or find out if there have been issues with delivery or customer service.
Technology has become an essential part of an organization’s customer experience strategy since it allows them to identify and rectify issues. It can also help you to track if any of your products or services are experiencing consistent issues.
Understand Your Customers
Customer experience management begins with understanding who the customers are. Knowing your customers involves collecting the appropriate data surrounding their lifestyles. The better you understand your customer, the more targeted you can make your marketing. Understanding your customer also gives you leverage to encourage them to try your brand.
Stay in Touch After the Sale Has Been Made
Technology allows you to keep in touch with the customer even after the final sale has been made. E-mail, social media, and other platforms let your customers continue to communicate with you as well as give you a way to reach them easily.
Don’t Let Technology Trump Customers
For many organizations, the demand to find new technology may just overshadow providing customers with the level of experience they have come to expect. It is far better to be both customer service-oriented as well as technology-oriented.
Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Quantity
You want to provide your customers with the best deals but remember, don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Giving clients a great deal doesn’t mean that you should deliver substandard products. Your customer experience strategy must include delivering quality products and services while providing deals.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
When a company collects data about their customers, they simply use it for the purpose of demographics, ignoring that it can be a valuable tool for customer service management. Rather, it can be used to give your customers the best experience. Use this information to create an advertising campaign that is geared to your customers according to their age group, income, marital status, etc.
Measure the Quality of Experience
What variables are you using to determine whether you are successfully managing your customers’ experience? From the time you make initial contact with your potential customers, you need to be tracking the interaction at every step so you can clearly decipher the pros and cons of their experiences.
Identify and Shape Your Customers’ Experience
A recent report by Adobe showed that customer experience ranks as the single most exciting opportunity for marketers. The reality is that you have control over how you manage your customers. You are in charge of shaping their experience and how they view and interact with your brand.
Respond Quickly
Clients and customers loathe slow responses. They rightfully feel that since they are the customer, their needs should be priority. Slow response times indicate a lack of empathy for their situations and hurt your chances of maintaining those customers for the long term. Your business needs to be prompt, and customers need to be directed to the right agent for support.
Reward Your Customers
If a customer is taking the time to engage with your brand or has shown significant loyalty, then reward them with some kind of special offer personalized to their tastes, discounts, or possibly an exclusive offer. It should be something to show your customer that you are thankful for their support or for their taking the time to engage at a high level.
Take Feedback from Customers
Who better to take customer experience management tips from than your actual customers? They are the ones buying into your brand, so it makes sense to hear their opinions on the way you deliver your products or services. If there is consistent similar feedback coming from several customers, then it’s a good indication of how you should proceed.
As the leading provider of outsourced call center service, 3C Contact Services works closely with our partners to create a customized customer experience strategy that is suited to both their business and budget. For more information, contact us today.
