6 Simple Tips to Improve the Customer Experience

Sponsored content by AnswerConnect.

 

As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

70% of consumers regard the quality of their customer experience as crucial. But delivering an unforgettable customer experience is no easy task.

Check out our six top tips to strengthen your reputation for impeccable service.

1. Don’t leave consumers waiting

64% of callers hang up if they cannot speak to a person within five minutes of calling a business.

In a world of instant, you can’t afford to leave customers on hold.

So what’s the solution?

When 69% of callers sent to voicemail don’t leave a message, and 98% try to skip IVR on a call, there’s only one other solution. You need to give consumers a timely response from a real person. That means aiming to answer all calls in four rings or less.

2. Meet customers where they are

Customers want to reach you through the channels they feel most comfortable with, be that by phone, live answer, SMS or social media.

As the number of consumer engagement channels grow, so does the responsibility to respond through them. Each channel comes with its own opportunities and obstacles.

Understanding those opportunities is key to making the best use of each channel. Focus on the most common customer enquiry channels and distribute your customer support accordingly.

3. Unify your comms

One of the most frustrating aspects of a poor customer service experience is when consumers have to repeat themselves or provide data multiple times.

Make sure when you transfer a customer from one channel to another, they don’t have to repeat themselves. It’s all about the 3 Cs:

1. Communication
2. Convenience
3. Cohesion

Ensure your team are all working from the same page - literally. Give your team a list of talking points and structure them in order of the most important points.

4. Instill empathy in your team

The #1 reason customers switch to a new brand is feeling unappreciated.

That means the experience is more important than pricing or the initial impression of the product. Great experience starts with understanding your customer’s needs, fears, and reservations. In other words, it starts with empathy.

So how do you instill empathy in your team?

• Always ask the customer's name
• Encourage your team to ask rapport-building questions
• Ask your team to go through the purchase process themselves monthly

5. Embrace radical transparency

Transparency is the act of treating your customers with the respect they want. So how do you do that?

1. Be upfront about costs, refunds and returns.
2. Normalize timeframes.
3. Admit blindspots.

The cost of not being transparent? Happy customers will tell 6 people about a satisfying experience, but angry customers will share a negative experience with 15 people.

6. Keep it real

The business world is awash with talk of how AI is going to revolutionize the customer experience.

AI has many practical uses. But replacing your customer support team with AI is akin to a hotel replacing its concierge with an automated key dispenser.

AI lacks emotional intelligence. And with emotional intelligence comes empathy and connection.

No wonder 78% of consumers prefer to speak to a human when they contact a company.

So there you go, six simple tips to make your customer service the talk of the town. But learning isn’t the same as implementing. And in today’s business environment, providing premium service is easier said than done. With AnswerConnect, your customers get 5* service in every interaction, 24/7.

Get in touch and discover how to create a seamless experience for every customer.