Aiming for customer satisfaction may seem like a no-brainer. Obviously, no business wants to leave their customers unhappy. But believe it or not, not all businesses realize the real impact of high customer satisfaction, particularly on their finances.
The truth is, pleasing your customers gives you more than just hefty revenues and fame. It can also give you a hedge against negative market performances. In other words, even if the economy is sluggish, your business can continue to thrive as long as you’re satisfying your customers.
However, many businesses get things wrong about customer satisfaction either. They may boast an exceptional service style, but ultimately, if it doesn’t give a customer what they want, satisfaction isn’t achieved. The business won’t likely experience repeat purchases and gain their customers’ loyalty.
That said, here’s how high customer satisfaction impacts your business, and the things you might be getting wrong about customer service:
Impact of Finances
When research analysts and management forecast a business’s earnings, there’s a higher chance for the business to exceed the forecasts if customer satisfaction is high. Investors are also more likely to buy shares of companies with high customer satisfaction. Moreover, in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the highest-ranking companies proved to remain stable even if they raised their prices.
Amazon, which ranked first in the index, has increased the price of their premium service. Yet you don’t see the market complaining. If Walmart — the company that ranked last in the index — had done something similar, their customers would surely protest.
These data show that increasing customer satisfaction isn’t a black-and-white matter. But generally speaking, companies should adapt to technological advances, especially in their customer service, to achieve higher customer satisfaction. Brands have shown their ability to deliver well-adapted services through chatbots and social media. Those methods barely needed extra work, but they effectively increased customer convenience.
The evolution of technology is changing the customer service landscape. And the innovations will just get better as the years go by. Hence, customer service methods should be focused on what suits the time than the prices of the offerings. The pandemic, for example, challenged businesses to continue serving customers without persuading them to spend more, given the jobs lost to the lockdowns.
So, instead of having markdowns and special promos, many brands released advertising campaigns highlighting their empathy. As a result, their customers trusted them more and supported their business further.
Common Customer Service Mistakes
If you often get negative reviews, complaints, and rare repeat businesses, these customer service errors could be the root cause:
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Poorly Trained Staff
A customer support staff should exhibit more than just a pleasing personality. They need to be knowledgeable about your products or services, too, or else, how could they provide valuable assistance? Customers won’t tolerate incorrect information, apathy, and rudeness from your staff. So train them in handling every kind of customer inquiry and complaint.
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Staff Trying to Win Arguments Against Customers
As much as your want to protect the reputation of your products and services, it’s your duty to ensure that your customers will have a positive experience with them. So if a customer complains to staff, the staff should note the complaints professionally instead of refuting them.
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Unavailable Customer Service Hotline
If you’d put up a help desk hotline for your business, ensure that it’s always staffed. You may not receive calls every day, but it’s not an excuse to underperform in that department.
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Inflexible Policies
Sometimes, customer service staff disregard complaints by saying “Sorry, it’s our policy.” While following policies is important, it doesn’t mean you can’t bend them a little for the sake of a well-meaning customer. So before turning down special requests or brushing off complaints, see if those can be resolved by practicing flexibility.
Ways to Receive Customer Feedback
To ensure that your business is truly satisfying its customers, gather their feedback. You can do that by putting up a rating system on your website, with a text box for their comments. And of course, through social media; make your comments section always open, or post polls in your Instagram Stories. You can get more real-time feedback that way.
To get more in-depth feedback, consider creating a voice-of-the-customer (VoC) program and questionnaire. It can be in the form of a questionnaire, asking customers for their opinions, needs, and other relevant insight. However, VoC programs require your patience. It doesn’t yield results instantly. But still, it’s one of the most effective ways to receive valuable and legitimate feedback. It isn’t like social media, which tends to be populated by trolls and pranksters.
Remember, satisfying your customers can keep your business up and running even in tough times. So make it your priority to provide a positive experience for all of them. Lowering your prices or advertising frequently aren’t the secret formulas. Rather, it’s delivering your promises, and being consistent with it.
