5 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience 

Keeping your customers satisfied is the key to a successful business. Taking these 5 steps could help you gain customer loyalty, reduce the churn rate and increase revenue.

1. Communication

Keeping an open communication channel with your customers will not only enhance the customer experience but could also improve the service/product you are offering across the board. If customers feel unheard, they will soon feel a lack of importance and get frustrated or irritated, this could end with a higher churn rate for the business and a loss in revenue.

It is important to respond to customers promptly, this may be a holding email, or a quick call stating you do not have the information they are requesting at that time but you will be in contact with an update shortly. This builds trust and mutual respect with the customer.

When communicating with a customer over the phone is it important to send a follow-up email with all the information discussed and action points if necessary. A customer should never have to chase for information this should always be provided without them having to ask.

2. Ask for Feedback

Another way of improving the communication with customers would be asking for any feedback they may have and listening to their answers positive or negative. If you aren’t asking your customers for continual feedback, you’re not exploring all the ways you can keep them happy. Rember all feedback is good feedback.

If the feedback is positive this is an opportunity to continue the good work but also not let the standard drop below this level. The next step would be, how could you push to make your product/service even better?

If the feedback is negative, this enables you to see where your delivery is lacking and act accordingly. Always get back to the customer in good time with a receipt of the feedback and how you are going to rectify the problem. Even if the reply is not what they want to hear (not possible) show them that they have been heard and understood. This will help build the relationship and make the customer feel comfortable giving feedback.

It’s inevitable that you are going to receive some negative feedback, it’s the way you handle it that makes the difference between a happy customer and a frustrated customer.

3. Stick to your word and be transparent

Customers want precision and accuracy when it comes to the delivery of the service or selling of the product. A lot of mistakes are made by making false promises, this could be promising communication (phone call/email) that isn’t actioned due to forgetting or stating a lead time that is unachievable. By doing this you are damaging the relationship with the client.

The best way to avoid these issues is to set reminders if you are promising communication, even if you do not have the answer they want, the customer will appreciate and respect receiving the call you promised. Keeping communication open with your colleagues as well as the client will help steer clear of false promises with the delivery.

Transparency is key when dealing with customers, nobody wants to be lied to. If someone lied to you would you trust them? 

Be honest with your customer and tell them if there is a problem and how you are going to rectify it. It’s important to share struggles as well as victories. This makes them feel like part of the team, this increases their loyalty.

4. Rewarding Loyal Customers

Sometimes the little things have a big impact on customers, making the customer feel special hits on a personal level.

I have listed some examples of rewards below.

• ‘You have been with our company for 6 months, next month you will get a 20% discount.’
• ‘This is the 100th product you have purchased with us the next one your order will be complementary’
• Treating customers with Breakfast or Lunch.
• Doing extra work for the client to prove your loyalty and commitment to them.

These rewards are not a huge cost and will make a big difference to the way you are perceived as a business.

Retention is more important than gaining new customers, doing one of the things above could lead to a long-lasting customer relationship and will keep them singing your praises which will most likely lead to new customers.

5. Anticipate customer needs

Anticipating and fulfilling needs before even the customer knows they have that need is essential, it shows how reliable you are as a company.

Ways to make your anticipate your customer’s needs;

• Know your customers
• Be proactive
• Listen
• Make customer success your priority
• Push innovation
• Keep up with the trends
• Go above and beyond

The customer knowing that you have their back at all times means they can relax and don’t have to worry. This is a way to make the client dependent on your service which is very important to reach the goal of retained clients.