Are you giving your customers an experience they'll never forget? Just because you own a business doesn't mean you don't know what it feels like to be a customer. Take a step back and imagine just how much your experience doing business with a company has an impact on whether or not you'll become a loyal customer. If the company goes above and beyond to make you happy, you're likely to refer your friends. On the other hand, if the company makes you feel like a number rather than a person, you wouldn't think twice about buying again.
If you're looking for ways to improve your customer's experience, here are six tips to keep in mind.
#1: Set the Guiding Principles
Do you have a set of guiding principles your employees can follow to set the expectations for every customer contact? If you don't, now is the time to create one. If you set a core set of principles, you can define what is required of your staff when they're in contact with clients and prospects. Having a set of guiding principles will help your employees have a guideline for what is expected of them and how to meet expectations. The guiding principles can help with quality control.
#2: Take Time to Connect
Do your staff members feel an emotional connection with your staff when they call or come in the office? You'd be surprised at just how important having an emotional connection is. A customer who feels a connection with a representative within your company is much more likely to stay loyal. Be sure your representatives are making the effort to make the lives of your clients better to improve the customer experience. One of the simplest things you can have your employees do is smile whenever they see a customer. Having a smiling environment will help your customers feel more comfortable. They will also be more likely to return to your store.
#3: Be Sure to Understand Your Customers
Understanding your customers needs and wants is all about being empathetic. You'll need to train your staff how to identify different personality styles, and which methods of empathizing with each personality type of most empathetic. You'd be surprised at how different your approach should be with an extrovert as compared to with an introvert.
#4: Get Feedback from Your Customers
There is no better way to improve your customer experience than to hear what your customers have to say. Customer experience management systems are an effective way to capture real-time insight that you can use to change principles. With customer feedback software systems, you can identify and deliver what the customers really want. Make sure you consider your customer's input and try to implement the suggestions you can.
#5: Listen to Your Staff
Do you give your employees surveys? If you don't, now is the time to do so. While customers know what they want, employees are the only ones who truly know what is holding them back from delivering exceptional service. Find out where the challenges lie so that you can resolve common issues.
#6: Quality Assurance and Coaching
You need to monitor your employees to ensure they are complying with the principles and procedures you have taken time to create. While quality assurance monitoring is important, you have to be willing to use the feedback to coach each team member. Without coaching, things will not improve.
Customers are paying for more than just a product or service; they are paying for an experience. Identify what must change, be proactive and take action to exceed the expectations of your clients.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.
Related articles:
How Social Media Is Replacing Traditional Customer Service
Are You Speaking The Right Language With Your Customers
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post on Wednesday on SEO on a budget, have a great and productive week ahead!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
If you're looking for ways to improve your customer's experience, here are six tips to keep in mind.
#1: Set the Guiding Principles
Do you have a set of guiding principles your employees can follow to set the expectations for every customer contact? If you don't, now is the time to create one. If you set a core set of principles, you can define what is required of your staff when they're in contact with clients and prospects. Having a set of guiding principles will help your employees have a guideline for what is expected of them and how to meet expectations. The guiding principles can help with quality control.
#2: Take Time to Connect
Do your staff members feel an emotional connection with your staff when they call or come in the office? You'd be surprised at just how important having an emotional connection is. A customer who feels a connection with a representative within your company is much more likely to stay loyal. Be sure your representatives are making the effort to make the lives of your clients better to improve the customer experience. One of the simplest things you can have your employees do is smile whenever they see a customer. Having a smiling environment will help your customers feel more comfortable. They will also be more likely to return to your store.
#3: Be Sure to Understand Your Customers
Understanding your customers needs and wants is all about being empathetic. You'll need to train your staff how to identify different personality styles, and which methods of empathizing with each personality type of most empathetic. You'd be surprised at how different your approach should be with an extrovert as compared to with an introvert.
#4: Get Feedback from Your Customers
There is no better way to improve your customer experience than to hear what your customers have to say. Customer experience management systems are an effective way to capture real-time insight that you can use to change principles. With customer feedback software systems, you can identify and deliver what the customers really want. Make sure you consider your customer's input and try to implement the suggestions you can.
#5: Listen to Your Staff
Do you give your employees surveys? If you don't, now is the time to do so. While customers know what they want, employees are the only ones who truly know what is holding them back from delivering exceptional service. Find out where the challenges lie so that you can resolve common issues.
#6: Quality Assurance and Coaching
You need to monitor your employees to ensure they are complying with the principles and procedures you have taken time to create. While quality assurance monitoring is important, you have to be willing to use the feedback to coach each team member. Without coaching, things will not improve.
Customers are paying for more than just a product or service; they are paying for an experience. Identify what must change, be proactive and take action to exceed the expectations of your clients.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.
Related articles:
How Social Media Is Replacing Traditional Customer Service
Are You Speaking The Right Language With Your Customers
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post on Wednesday on SEO on a budget, have a great and productive week ahead!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note: To combat comment spam, non-constructive comments and comments containing links will be rejected. All submitted comments are subject to moderation before they are published on the blog.
I have received reports that some people have been experiencing problems when commenting on the blog. If you experience any problems when posting your comment, please send me an email with your comment plus the post title using the Contact tab above and I will manually include it for you. You can also send your comment via private message on Facebook.
Your blog comments are always appreciated and thank you for your patience while we try to resolve this issue.