WHAT IS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE?
Customer service implies an interaction with a customer over a singular problem at a particular point in time. Customer experience is the interaction between you and your customers throughout your relationship. The customer’s perception of this relationship affects their behaviors. To create a positive customer experience, you need to understand what good service is and then deliver it.
WHY IS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IMPORTANT?
By 2016, 89% of companies expect to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience. 1
With customer experience surpassing price and product, improving the customer’s experience and avoiding a poor experience are more important than ever before.
Businesses that proactively manage and invest in customer experience:
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Improve customer loyalty
- Increase customer advocacy
- Create a competitive advantage
- Increase revenue
HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Customer service is at the forefront of customer experience. The majority of customer interactions with the business are through your employees. They have the opportunity to perform top-notch customer service resulting in a great customer experience. By being proactive and using the right tools, you can easily empower customer service representatives to:
Respond Quickly
Response time plays a significant role in retaining customers. Make your customer feel valued and appreciated by responding to their questions promptly.
82% of consumers say the number one factor that leads to a great customer service experience is having their issues resolved quickly with 42% expecting a response within one hour. 2, 3
Value Knowledge
Educate your CSRs on the ins and outs of your business and the skills and behaviors to provide excellent customer service. Providing accurate answers to a customer’s questions creates trust, faster resolutions and the opportunity for sales.
Empower Your CSRs
72% of customers blamed their bad customer service interaction on having to explain their problem to multiple people. 4
Give your CSRs the knowledge and power to make decisions for the customer and company. If your employees are trained correctly, they’ll know what to do without needing a manager’s assistance. Empowered employees are confident, motivated and committed to the organization, improving productivity and quality of work.
Optimize Technology
Accommodate tech-savvy customers on their turf. New technologies are constantly becoming available to make it easier for businesses to provide customer service. Implement back office software like ADD Energy E3® to manage customer relationships and create targeted marketing opportunities. Keep your website up to date, mobile-friendly and provide self-service customer service tools with SmartConnect® for customers to check account information, request service, make payments and more.
Create Partnerships
Build strong customer relationships by providing useful information to individual customers. This results in increased loyalty and intensified customer engagement. Leverage technology to personalize each customer’s experience by making their experience unique. You can do this by adding personalization to websites, mobile apps, emails and printed marketing efforts.
Our customers tell us we provide excellent customer experience and we want to help you do the same. ADD Systems software is designed with a centralized information hub enabling your CSRs to quickly and efficiently meet the needs of your customers. CSRs can easily answer questions regarding:
- Information about the customer’s bill
- When the customer is due for delivery or provide runout information
- Ordering product or if a delivery was made
- Needing service or if a tech is on the way
- Pricing and service contract terms
Put your customer first. Give your CSRs the tools to quickly answer calls, and the technology and knowledge to solve their problems. Complete these steps and you will be on your way to providing a great customer experience while creating loyal customer advocates that support and recommend your business to others.
1 http://blogs.gartner.com/jake-sorofman/gartner-surveys-confirm-customer-experience-new-battlefield/
2 https://econsultancy.com/blog/61991-83-of-online-shoppers-need-support-to-complete-a-purchase-stats/
3 http://www.gigya.com/blog/infographic-the-anatomy-of-a-connected-consumer/
4 https://2c5pah1z6hb21uo7d01fenam-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2016/04/Zendesk_WP_Customer_Service_and_Business_Results.pdf
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