Three Simple Steps
Customers are looking for companies that deliver exceptional customer experiences (CX). To stand out amongst the crowd, it’s time to invest in what matters the most; your customers and how they experience your brand.
This post will set out 3 simple steps which your business can take to improve CX. By implementing these strategies, you can expect the following results: a brilliant reputation, more paying customers and overall business growth.
Take Stock With a Customer Feedback Survey
What do your current customers think of you? Are you wonderfully amazing at what you do with no fault or error? How do you know the answer to this question? It’s time to take stock with a customer feedback survey.
A survey will give you a true picture of how good or bad your company is doing in relation to customer experience. The responses will be a real eye opener and will present you with opportunities for improvement and growth.
The quickest and easiest way to conduct a survey is to send an email questionnaire to all your customers which you have an email address for. The survey should contain no more than 2 questions with the aim of finding out true and honest opinions.
The Two Key Questions to Ask Your Customers
Here are two key questions to ask in your survey. Please note – the humour is optional, but I think it’s a great idea to make your customers smile especially during uncertain times such as a global pandemic:
- How would you rate your last experience with us on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being beyond dreadful and 10 being so good you wanted to buy us some chocolate?
- What made you give us this score?
Once you have the survey results, use the data to plan out a positive change in your service delivery. For example, if a large percentage of your customers have scored you average or low because of staff attitudes – it’s time to train your staff on the subject of positive and friendly attitudes.
Financial Breathing Room
The pandemic has had a huge financial impact on many people. Household incomes have literally halved overnight, business revenue has taken a hit for some and unemployment rates have gone up all over the world. This is your time as a business to show compassion and empathy by giving your existing customers some financial breathing room.
Don’t panic, I’m not suggesting you give away everything for free! However, I am suggesting you think of creative ways to help your customers through what may be a difficult time in their finances.
For example, many banks have temporarily reduced or removed interest from their overdrafts. Some energy companies are providing optional payment plans and phone companies have allowed customers extra time to pay their bills.
What could you do to show your customers some much-needed support?
I received a very encouraging email from my water company recently which really lifted my spirits. The email explained what financial support was on offer, information for their most vulnerable customers, and advice on how to save water – brilliant! The email was timely, informative and supportive.
By providing some kind of financial support, discount or removal of fees, your customers will be delighted to stay with you as their product or service provider throughout the pandemic and beyond.
Delight Your Customers
The definition of delight is “to give someone a lot of pleasure and enjoyment.” If you’re serious about standing out, your customers should be on your agenda. Your clients may have dealt with home-schooling children, mental challenges from being isolated or maybe an increased level of stress because of the new way of living.
By delighting your customers, you’ll stick out in their memory as an amazing company causing their sense of loyalty to increase.
Here are a few simple and easy ways in which you can delight your customers:
- Voucher – a discount voucher for a service or product can go a long way during a pandemic. Let’s be honest, we all love a bargain! I suggest making your voucher valid for 12 months so your customers have an extended period of time to use it.
- Free content – free valuable content that can serve your customers is a great way to put a smile on their faces. You could try a short eBook, a new blog or some helpful social media posts.
- Physical product – If you have an appropriate budget, providing a free product when a customer purchases from you is an awesome way to improve CX. Think of something practical and fun that aligns with your brand. A free pen or coffee cup is always a winner!
Over to you
As we push through the pandemic, you have a choice to either be reactive or proactive. I want to encourage you to be proactive by implementing these strategies. Investing in customer experience will always glean positive and measurable improvement.
Stand out and be different! Break some rules and most importantly, serve your customers in excellence.