Customer satisfaction is vital for your business, and maximizing it means maximizing profitability. According to DestinationCRM.com, a website dedicated to discussion of customer relationships, businesses lose on average 10% of their customers each year. However, cutting customer losses by 5% boosts profits by 25% to 125%.
In fact, customer satisfaction can make the difference between you and other businesses, improving not only your customer retention but your Customer Lifetime Value—retaining old customers and making them loyal to you will also allow you to gain a lot more new customers.
Despite the massive use of social media—or, better yet, because of it—word of mouth is still very powerful. Instead of talking directly to you, it is likely that unsatisfied customers write about their complaints on social media like Facebook or Twitter, where everyone can read how bad the service you've delivered was. It can be cruel, but that’s how it works, and what you have to do is turn your customers into your allies, not enemies.
But how? For example, honest behavior and down-to-earth promises will help you build customer trust.
Here's what you should consider when approaching customers.
Be quick
Nobody likes waiting ages to get a reply or get a problem solved. When you receive a query from your customers, whether it is a question about something they purchased or an information request about your service, try to answer as quickly as you can. Otherwise, let them know within how much time you will be able to answer their question. Today, we live in a hyperconnected world, so there is no excuse for not reaching out to a customer in need of some explanation or information, and social networks can be a good means to engaging with them live.
WOW your customers
You can promise the moon to your customers, but they will soon find out that you can't reach it. If you make such a promise, your customers—or future customers—will expect exceptional results from you, and they might feel disappointed when they realize that the services or products you deliver don't meet their expectations. Gordon Tan, founder and director of Client Heartbeat, a customer feedback and survey management platform, once put it this way: "Underpromising and overdelivering." And the WOW factor is just around the corner.
Treat customers like kings and queens
Treat every customer as if your business were totally built upon them—in fact, it is. Think about how you love to be treated when you buy something or contact someone to get some information about a service you are interested in. Then treat and greet your customers in that same way; totally put yourself into the relationship, as people like interacting with other people, and be kind and understanding while trying to solve the problem. This way you also deliver a good image of your company.
Ask for feedback
One way you can monitor how you are doing in terms of customer service is asking your customers to give you quick feedback about the service they have received—perhaps through a very short questionnaire sent via email. Are they satisfied or not? Why? Do they have any suggestions to improve your service? This will help you understand the level of your customer service and the points you need to improve on.
These are just a few tips that can help you increase customer satisfaction, but in the end, the difference all lies in the details.
If you are interested in customer satisfaction and how it can help your business grow, check out Customer Service, or About the Power of Kindness.
Written by Marcella Sartore, Marketing & Communication Assistant @ Athena Parthenos