Companies have long relied on location, product innovation and pricing to gain a competitive advantage. However, customers can now find nearly any product or service at the lowest possible price, right at their fingertips. In other words, the key differentiator between companies is the customer experience.
With increased competition and ongoing pressure to continuously meet rapidly evolving expectations, it has become vital to focus on customer satisfaction. This means having the right strategies in place. The following are 10 rules to get customer satisfaction right, regardless of the industry you’re in:
1. Every Interaction Matters
In the digital age, when one complaint can be shared widely across social media channels, there’s no margin for error when it comes to customer satisfaction. To add to this challenge, customer journeys also are increasingly complex, across both self-service and assisted-service channels. This requires increased effort to provide a great experience across every channel, every time. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s essential to keeping customers from shifting to the competition.
2. Upset Customers Can Become Your Most Loyal Customers
Even when service levels are high, problems can still happen. While it is easy to just let an angry customer walk away and consider them a loss, successful companies see the opportunity in customer service recovery. This means an upset customer can actually become loyal and happy if a mistake is handled correctly. Many customer service experts consider the Disney Institute’s HEARD method as the gold standard in customer service recovery:
Hear – Enable the customer to tell their complete story without interruption.
Empathize – Communicate an understanding of how the customer feels.
Apologize – A genuine “sorry” can go a long way to defuse anger.
Resolve – Solve the problem as quickly as possible. This requires employees being enabled to do so.
Diagnose – Learn from the mistake without placing blame on anyone. Fix the process, so it is not repeated.
3. Every Customer Is Unique
Increasingly, customers expect personalized interactions that meet their specific needs. Fortunately, contact center technology has evolved to the point that both inbound and outbound interactions can be made personal. Even self-service can be fine-tuned to each customer.
4. Speed Isn’t Everything
It’s easy to get hung up on providing fast service, but good people skills are equally as important. In fact, increased customer engagement and satisfaction is closely linked to empathetic, friendly and competent support.
5. Make Things Simple
Do you have 14 options on your IVR system? Are customers frequently transferred multiple times to reach the right agent? If you’re adding extra steps for your customers to obtain service, you’re risking losing them in droves. Today’s customers expect user-friendly experiences that they can understand and navigate. Solutions such as skills-based routing, callback and more self-service options can enable customers to get the hassle-free experiences they appreciate.
Continue reading the list which was originally written By Roman Kowalski: http://www.brandquarterly.com/contact-center-tips-10-rules-customer-satisfaction#
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