Deliver a Quality Customer Experience

The customer experience, or direct interaction a customer has with your company, determines whether said customer returns. This has the largest impact on your overall bottom line. Therefore, consider developing and implementing a strong and bold customer experience strategy a “must.” In fact, it may help you to think of it as an investment, because it is.

There is very little difference between any other investment and this sort of investment. In the end, it impacts your most important points: your revenue, retention, and growth. Let’s look at three variables that determine the quality of the customer experience that you offer.

1. The big picture

The customer experience describes the larger picture of the customer service aspect. So, it is possible for a customer to have a good customer service experience, but a poor overall customer experience. For example, if your customer is greeted quickly and positively by a friendly and helpful rep, that is a good customer service scenario.

Still, if the customer has additional work to do after they get off the phone, or if they were given incorrect information, there is room for a poor customer experience to occur. Even worse, this can undo the good customer service they received because things went sour later on.

2. Follow-ups

Do you do the bare minimum for your customers, or go the extra mile? If a customer had a bad experience or complaint, do you follow-up with them after their call, email, or chat session? Your customer experience strategy needs to factor in follow-ups and follow-throughs. Gift cards, discounts, or even a simple email apologizing for the poor experience can go a long way.

Customers will be more forgiving and more likely to come back if they receive a gesture to make up for the poor experience. This shows them that your company takes them seriously as an individual, and not a number.

3. Data analysis

We have explored data analysis before in previous posts. This is a topic that impacts your entire, larger customer experience as well. Without data analysis, you will miss crucial elements that assist you in gauging the quality of your current customer experience strategy. Data analysis can include customer feedback, tracking your most popular channels of support, and determining where customers typically need the most support.

Obviously, all of this data, once organized and understood, will naturally lead to a better customer experience strategy.

The entire customer experience counts. Deliver a great customer service session, and the customer will walk away with a smile – for now. Still, fail to follow up or commit to delivering quality throughout the whole customer experience, and you will miss the mark. There is no sense in delivering top quality in one aspect of the customer experience, but neglecting another.

Instead, make the decision to ensure that the whole experience is great for the customer, from start to finish.