As a business owner, you know that it takes more than friendly representatives to guarantee good customer service. Consumers may encounter your customer support services at many stages of their purchase, even before and after their transaction. Do your customer support agents have to keep up with the quality service at each stage, and what happens if they don’t? If you’ve found yourself thinking about these questions, it might be time that you learned about customer-centric strategies and what they could mean for your business. Customer-centric organizations definitely have a leg up on those that aren’t, so it could be worth your while to learn about the advantages of being customer-centric. Keep on reading to find out all you need to know about the importance of being customer-centric.
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What Does It Mean to Be Customer-Centric?
Customer centricity refers to a method of doing business wherein companies create a positive customer experience before, during, and after the sale, in order to encourage repeat business, as well as achieve customer loyalty and profits. It’s more than just offering good customer service—it means providing a great experience from the awareness stage, and maintaining it until even after customers have made a purchase. As you can tell by its name, customer-centric strategies include having the customer’s needs at the core of your business, and consistently putting them first. Creating customer-centric culture, similar to that of companies like Amazon, can give you a leg up on the competition. They key is to make the customer and their satisfaction the center of your operations, and ensuring they have a great experience every step of the way.
The Importance of Being Customer-Centric
Now you know what customer centricity is, but why is it important to incorporate it into your business? In today’s increasingly digital world, companies are being forced to be transparent about their operations. With social media platforms, it’s become almost impossible to hide bad business practices and non-customer-centric ideals. Consumers have various sources of information, which makes it essential to employ as many customer-centric strategies as possible, and use them to your advantage—the balance of power has been tipped in favour of customers, and businesses need to cater to them in order to keep their sales.
Before the Internet and expansion of the digital age, there were limited ways and it was more difficult for customers to research, or even switch providers. Now, with the easy access consumers have to Google and social media, they can have any question answered, as well as switch providers in a matter of minutes and with just a few clicks. As such, it’s important now more than ever to keep customers happy. Not only can they research your company with ease, but they can share their reviews with other customers and potential customers, as well.
It’s a fact that consumers are more likely to be vocal about a bad experience, rather than a good one. Happy customers aren’t prone to taking to Twitter or Facebook to rave about an awesome product or the amazing customer service they received—but if they have a bad encounter, it’s a whole different story. Unhappy customers are way more likely to leave negative reviews and remarks about your company on social media. The CEO of Amazon Web Services, Jeff Bezos, once said: “If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000.” If this doesn’t encapsulate the power of customers in the digital age, we don’t know what does.
Customer centricity will also help you create more loyal customers. When customer know they’re appreciates and receive great service at every turn, they won’t have reason to leave or switch providers. Happy customers don’t stray, so make sure yours are happy! Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it may be a little more challenging than it sounds, but we promise it’s worth it.
How to Achieve Customer Centricity in Your Business
Customer centricity is obviously an imperative factor in running a successful business, but how can you integrate customer-focused strategies into your current operations? First of all, you’ll need to commit to creating a customer-centric business. This includes accepting the fact you’ll need to make changes around your business, and maybe completely overhaul some areas. Once you make the conscious commitment to become more focused on the needs of your customers, it’ll be easier to make these changes—especially when you think about the long-term value they’ll have.
You’ll want to identify the customer purpose for every customer service your business offers. Once you have a good idea of who your customers are and what they expect from you, you can optimize your customer services to cater to them. This can help you identify which services should be made more readily accessible, and which may have become obsolete. Once can identify which services are required for your ideal customer’s journey, you can continue building up your organization around the execution of these services. Keep in mind that you’ll have different types of customers who will all have different experiences with the various channels of your customer service, and it’s your job to ensure their experiences are integrated flawlessly to ensure a positive impression.
A Customer-Centric Call Center in Toronto
A main component of customer service today are call centers. If you’re looking for a call center to meet the needs of your new customer-centric business, call 3C Contact Services today. Our agents will be able to give your customers their undivided attention throughout their buying process, whether they need some extra assistance while making a transaction, or technical help after they’ve received and used their product. Don’t skimp on your customer care services, especially when it comes to one of the most commonly used support lines. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you make the transition to becoming a completely customer-centric business.
