“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you”. Chip Bell
We all love to have customers that are like all-weather friends, customers that will stand by us through the storms and happy moments. Loyal customers are not loyal because you have the best prices in town or because you have the fanciest product or service. They stick by you because it is a pleasure to do business with you.
So how do organisations provide that pleasure without effort to their customers?
- Train and Empower the frontline
A brand image is improved if the frontline is empowered with a customer service approach that is quality-focused. Quality service always results in an awesome customer experience. They say first impressions last forever, thus, the front line should be equipped to provide that unforgettable positive primacy effect. So, no matter how much technology has added value to improved customer experience, automated customer service will never replace human-provided customer service. The frontline can alter their communication pattern to suit the situation at hand. A frontline team that is empowered to be situational and adjust is highly likely able to communicate properly with customers in both tone and body language. Artificial intelligence cannot calm storms such as an angry customer nor can it negotiate a deal with a prospect but humans can do that excellently much to the delight of their customers. Empowering the frontline includes training them in soft skills so that they will be able to handle tough communication situations. When the frontline is knowledgeable about its organisation’s product and service, they can advise customers from an expert position. Thus, trained and empowered frontline teams are very much able to simplify the shopping lives of their customers
- Be a Step Ahead and Avoid the next issue
Customers like it when an organisation is proactive and able to solve problems before they arise. Fixating on the end goal and taking action beforehand gives customers an effortless customer experience. Remember when customers patronise your company their objective is to have their problems solved. It is therefore your responsibility as an organisation to be able to provide solutions to customers. Forewarning of future service delivery changes is a welcome gesture for customers as this will help them to prepare for alternatives before a service disruption or change. Thus, measures that help customers fix their various problems are always a plus when it comes to an effortless experience. Reactive measures mean the company was not prepared for the eventualities and in most cases, these measures will expose the company’s shortcomings. Customers always get disappointed by the most hushed and poorly prepared reactive measures employed by companies.
- Engineer Truthful Positive Experience
When dealing with a negative experience it is always advisable for an organisation to put more emphasis on the possibilities to solve the problem rather than focus on negative options. Positively engage customers but do not lie to them. Although you should not dwell on the limitations it is important to be positive in a truthful manner. Some organisations tend to give customers false hope in the name of possibilities but this overcomplicates issues. False promises end up blowing up in the company’s face. This reminds me of a story which is similar to this which was once posted in H-Metro. The story was about a prophet who asked his congregants to seed so that they can receive double their seeds. Some seeded their houses and cars. Nonetheless, the engineered positive outcome was not forthcoming and the prophet was now up in arms with his congregants. Lying only strains your relationship with customers and may drive customers away because real professionals are not interested in doing business with crooks.
- Channel Flexibility is a must
Effortless experience is when channels are staffed properly and customers have real-time responses. There are so many companies that are notorious for having their customer service calls unanswered. It should be a wake-up call if you see customers switching channels because of a lack of attendance on some. These companies are very active on some channels and very absent on others. Such a scenario is a sign that there must be channel optimisation. Customers must be given the liberty to seek services using their preferred choice of the channel which is convenient to them rather than use channels forced upon them by the organisations. Moreover, organisations must have full-time employees who are trained and well able to manage all their channels throughout the day and night every single day of the year.
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast passionate about customer service. For comments, suggestions and training, she can be reached at customersuccessconsultancy@gmail.com or 0712 979 461, 0719 978 335
