Customer Experience – 7 “Must Do’s” Before Advertising (Part 4 of 7)

Customer Experience Step 4 of 7.

If you’ve followed our previous blogs, you should by now have started seeing an increase in your lead generation, and better activity in your sales pipeline as well.

Now that these prospects are starting to pay off and culminating into sales, there is another step in this series to keep in mind: Providing excellent service and customer experience, every time.

Keep this in mind: Not only do returning customers have a bigger impact on your bottom line, as they don’t need to be advertised to in order to return to your business, they also create a positive feedback loop, where they start recommending your services to others.

So, how do you encourage this brilliant customer experience?

To maximise the value of each lead, you have to place a focus on solving your customers’ problems, and not stop there. You have to go above and beyond their expectations too.

It sounds much easier than it is, we know. Considering the daily requirements of keeping your business running smoothly, providing a stellar customer experience can be overlooked.

This begs the question; how do you start to overcome these issues to provide the best possible customer experience?

You Start At The Basics

If you want to provide a WOW customer experience, the first thing you need to focus on is the reason your customers are getting to you in the first place: Your service or product.

In short, you have to make sure – completely sure – that the product or service that your customers pay for is delivered to them in a timely fashion. In other words, ensure they have no complaints about the foundational offering and you’re cleared to get to the next step.

GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

In the step above, we met the basic expectations your clients had, the product or service you promised them. Now it’s time to exceed that expectation, by going above and beyond, and you do this by giving them additional value with their purchase.

You can do this by looking at how you can apply the following:

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Providing Additional Service At No Charge

Look at how you can add a service related to your product. For example, if you’re selling TVs, see if you can’t offer free installation with each new purchase.

Promptly Responding To Complaints

It is a fact that you will get a complaint at one time or another. How you respond to each one will differentiate you from your competition. Take time to listen to your customer’s complaint, acknowledge their problem, then make sure you get the facts. Once that is done, offer the best possible solution you can.

Continue To Provide Valuable Information

After a purchase, your sales cycle hasn’t closed. In fact, the customer experience has only just started. Offer your customers after-sale information, like tips and trick, or notify them of additional products or services that will make their first purchase’s value that much better. Stay front of mind, and they’ll come back for more.

Answer Questions In Online Forums

If someone is asking about your product or service, it means that they’re interested in it. So be sure that you’re the one giving the correct information, which also makes you look involved to potential customers.

Authentically Caring

If you really care, customers will respond. Be sure to take their problems or queries seriously, and respond in kind. Never be dismissive or distant. In today’s hyper-connected world, a flippant comment can mean the difference between success and failure; due to a poor customer experience.

Welcoming Them

Make your potential customers feel welcomed. Don’t start selling right off the bat. Rather provide them first with everything they need to make the right decision. In terms of online marketing, it means a well-developed site, that educates your visitors, and provides an effective method of customers getting in touch with you.

Saying Thank You

Thank your customers for supporting you. This can be as simple as a thank you email or developing a loyalty programme that rewards them for purchasing from you again.

This should give you a couple of great ideas to give your customers the best customer experience possible.

Look out for our next post, on how you can upsell during your sales process.

PS: We know you might be too busy to implement the above steps, so why not contact us, and let us help you get started?

Rohan James is Creative Director at Success Wizards. He is a master at using words to create desired outcomes, but when it comes to surfing his favourite breaks, the word “master” is nowhere to be found!