7 Tips to Higher Level Customer Satisfaction

Achieving high customer satisfaction is crucial for business enterprises to achieve their repeat purchase and increase customer retention. While there are no rigid rules or strategies to keep customers satisfied, following certain best practices definitely help to achieve higher customer satisfaction in any kind of industry. Few of such tips can be discussed as follows.

Well trained customer service staff

Customer facing staff such as the front line customer service representatives must be effectively trained in soft skills, customer handling skills, including strong product/process knowledge to serve the visiting customers, either in case of online or offline business. Frontline staff forms the first impression on the customers and their behavior plays a dominant role in maintaining a high-level customer satisfaction.

Collect timely feedback and act upon it

Collecting feedback from the customers after a sale by making a courtesy call will make the customers feel valued. Seeking their feedback over telephone verbally or electronically through emails or live chat will help to understand their grievances and areas of dissatisfaction. Such areas can be acted upon and strategies must be formulated to provide permanent solutions to such customer problems.

Communicate clearly and listen actively

Customer queries, issues and complaints must be actively listened to and response must be given promptly. It is a poor practice to ask customers to repeat their concern again and again. This may irritate the customer and lead to customer dissatisfaction. Understanding their problems the very first time and giving them proper resolution through clear and open communication keeps customers satisfied. It is also essential to communicate the product & service offerings clearly to the customers before they make a purchase. This will help to avoid setting up wrong customer expectations and control customer dissatisfaction afterwards.

Maintain an effective CRM

In the current cut-throat competitive business environment, it is essential to maintain an effective customer relationship management system with well-trained staff personnel. The CRM team will be able to maintain an extensive customer database including their names, addresses, contact numbers, frequency of store visits, and nature of products purchased and/or services availed.  This data will help in creating customer profiles and tailor the services according to their needs & expectations.

This will also help to identify the loyal customers making repeat visits to the store, either online or offline and create loyalty schemes to make them happy. Contemporary customers expect the company to remember them and reward them for offering their long-term loyalty. Hence, CRM will help to offer the customers with rewards, loyalty points, discounts etc and provide them a higher level of satisfied. The CRM team must also conduct customer satisfaction surveys to understand their queries, needs & expectations.

Adopt state of the art technology

Delivering excellent customer support helps to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction. In the technology-driven global business environment it is necessary  to deliver customer services through state of the art/ most updated technology such as social media, mobile apps etc. Integrating customer relationship management system with social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, will help to interact with the customers, exchange feedback, share ideas and involve customers in business activities such as contests.

Nowadays, the use of smartphones has changed the shape of marketing and building customer networks. Remaining connected with the customers through mobile applications will help them to conduct transactions with the company at the comfort of their home and as per their convenience. This will provide customers with convenience of shopping, making payments, tracking merchandise, return merchandise, availing discounts, gaining loyalty points etc at their finger points. This will it will be easier to achieve high level of customer satisfaction.

Provide excellent after sale services

It is advisable to deliver excellent after sale services once the sales transaction is over. Making regular follow ups on customer complaints, product replacements, servicing on defective products, return merchandising etc are few examples where customers would expect efficiency, honesty and transparency. Although, after sale services do not fetch money but it is considerably important to keep customers satisfied and achieve their long term custom.

Aim to achieve customer delight

Instead of striving to achieve high customer satisfaction, a company must set goals to achieve customer delight by going an extra mile. Treating the customers as the most important stakeholders, offering customer-centric solution, delivering value through an appropriate combination of a marketing mix (fair combination of product, price, place, promotions) combined with excellent after sale services is essential to keep the customers delighted.

Conclusion

Satisfied customers not only provide their lifelong loyalty but also recommend others to choose the company. This helps in retaining existing customers along with acquiring new customers leading to increase in sales and profitability. Hence, it is of utmost importance for companies to implement effective strategies to keep customers satisfied and increase their business reputation.

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Reward to Retain: The Effects of Loyalty Schemes in the Insurance Industry

Three quarters of people would change insurers to a company offering the same product at the same price – as long as they gave them loyalty schemes too.

The figures were revealed in a major survey carried out by M&S for Business that looked into the way companies in the financial sector attract new customers – and keep them.

As well as surveying customers it spoke to insurance industry figures to try and discover what makes a successful acquisition and retention strategy.
While 95 per cent of respondents said price was one of the most important factors when deciding what policy to buy, only 55 per cent said price was the sole reason. It suggests that in such a competitive industry a loyalty or reward scheme to add value to a policy could improve chances of take-up.
Experts agreed and most insurers quizzed said they already ran some sort of reward scheme.

But the survey also revealed that almost half (45 per cent) of respondents did not know if their insurer offered a reward scheme or not.
It suggests that communicating the scheme on offer to customers is just as important as the scheme itself.

Increase Customer Acquisition

The report concludes: “Implementing a reward scheme for loyalty, referrals or signing up to an insurance policy is a great way to increase customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. However, it is important that the offering is relevant to the individual and offered at the right time.

“Allowing customers to earn points and rewards makes them feel involved with your brand and gives them the feeling that your service is worth more than that of the competition. As with any relationship in life, the one between business and consumer needs to be nurtured and approached delicately.

“That is why research and planning are imperative to the success of a reward scheme. If you get it right, you can build relationships and create brand advocates who will stay with you for a lifetime.”

Encourage Customer Retention

Stuart Lawrence, Head of M&S for Business said: “We know that the insurance industry is one of the sectors where it can be most difficult to encourage customer retention. With insurance usually being an annual purchase and most people hunting for the best priced policies, it can be hard for an insurance company to offer a unique service.

“With this in mind, we have carried out some research to discover what qualifies as a successful customer acquisition and retention strategy within the industry and found that reward schemes are something that is seen as value for a customer.

“We feel that the results of this research are transferable to other sectors within the financial industry and provide an interesting insight into a customer’s perception.”

To look at the complete findings, visit M&S for Business’ website.

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Building a Loyal and Long Term Consumer Engagement

Satisfying your customers is key, and having a solid strategy about how you’re going to engage them is important. In order to establish a philosophy about how to best maintain a long term engagement with your customers, you need to take a few key ideas into account. Most of these core principles stem from high standards of communication utilizing the best tools available, and a solid understanding of your customers’ needs. Here are a few tips on how you can develop and maintain a loyal program of long term consumer engagement.

Communication Is Key to Long Term Consumer Engagement

Forbes pins communication as a top priority, advising businesses to routinely provide customers with updates that are both positive and negative. No news is not good news, whether you have to deliver a setback or an achievement. There are many reasons to stay in touch with customers. Not only is it a practical method of moving projects along and making sure everyone is on the same page, but it’s also an important part of presenting your business in a positive light. Trust is just as important as communication when you’re dealing with customers, and you can reaffirm that quality by never falling off the radar.

Beyond Your E-mail Inbox

The Marketing Donut recommends that for effective management of customer relationships, you should use every possible channel to communicate with your customers. E-mail alone isn’t good enough anymore, and utilizing other modes of interaction, such as video conferencing or even social media, makes them feel valued and in the know. This is essential to maintaining a positive feeling in your business dealings. Video conferencing in particular has become a very popular mode of business communications, with providers such as Bluejeans and others offering select services specifically designed with consumer engagement in mind. Blue Jeans for customer management offers many different options tailored specifically for customer communication. It’s essential to stay on the cutting edge of this type of technology, since it will push your customer relationships forward and into the 21st century.

Implement Your Game Plan Innovatively

John Tschohl, Desk.com blogger and self-described “guru of customer service,” is an expert in the consumer engagement and service industry. While developing an effective, long-term strategy, he recommends taking a three-pronged approach:

  • Product. View your service as a product, and realize that your customers have a choice in a competitive market.
  • The Boss. Your customer is really your boss. This is an essential part of the ideology behind customer service, and placing it at the center of your company’s core is extremely important since customers are what drive your business.
  • Reliability. Maintain consistent performance to meet and ideally exceed your customer’s expectations time after time.

These core principles are always good to keep in mind when you’re planning a longer term approach to your customer communication and engagement program. Always keep your eye on the prize when it comes to the product, since that’s ultimately the core of what the customer pays for. However, a huge part of maintaining business isn’t just a great product, but the package that comes with it. Customers don’t want to have to feel like they’re bothering you or that they have to hunt you down. They really are the boss, and when they snap their fingers, you should expect to jump. And last, but not least, reliability is also of equal importance. All of these elements can be better achieved using a technology like video conferencing due to the fact that it’s immediate, it’s user friendly given current advances with browser compatibility and other multi-platform availability, and it puts a face to the business.

Don’t Be Afraid of Feedback

It’s easy to send feedback that’s watered down in an e-mail, because no one likes confrontation. This includes your customers. However, although it might seem counterintuitive, you should encourage your customers to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly all at once. Using a video conference to get feedback can better facilitate this once you establish a rapport. It’s easier to rap with a colleague that you’ve worked on a project with if that’s the type of relationship you establish with customers. Don’t make them feel like you’re on opposing sides, just because they’re paying you for a product you provide. Sit down for a video meeting, armed with a pen and paper, and tell them you want the real feedback. It’ll help you in the long run and strengthen your other customer relationships.

In short, establishing an effective and functional consumer engagement policy requires a more proactive approach. Using tools like video conferencing and other types of communication methods that go beyond traditional e-mail correspondence not only facilitates a better relationship, but also helps to build trust and belief in your product. While many businesses are mostly focused on rolling out a great product, when you’re dealing with customers, you need to put a personality to the business as well as what you’re selling.

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Why Your Business Needs An Outreach Strategy

Reaching out to potential customers is one of the best things any business can do. While you may have the greatest products or services available, if no one knows about them, it won’t matter much. Those companies that do not have an effective outreach strategy in place, may soon find that they are having trouble acquiring new business. To help remedy this, we wanted to spell out the reasons as to why your business needs an outreach strategy.

So what exactly is an outreach strategy? Essentially, it is taken the initiative to start a conversation with  a potential customer. Instead of simply putting up a billboard, or a commercial on TV, or working on SEO, you go out and talk to people directly. You find out what they are interested in, what kind of services or products they are looking for, and ways that you can help them. Outreach is taken action to learn more about potential customers so that you can bring in new business. Outreach is one of the most effective marketing tools when done correctly, which is why it is commonly found near the top of outbound marketing lists.

A successful outreach strategy

There are several ways companies go about implementing a successful outreach strategy. One of the most common these days is by using social media. Companies create accounts on sites like Facebook and Twitter, then use them to interact with their customers. Since the people connected to these accounts are people who are interested in your brand, you have a high success rate when trying to get new business. Using social media sites is relatively easy, and it allows you to connect with potentially millions of people with just the click of a button. Another strategy is via email marketing. Behind social media, email is one of the most popular ways that people interact nowadays. People check their emails sometimes several times a day, and with a good email marketing campaign, you can talk to them during this time.  Emails to provide updates on your company, special deals you are offering, or any relative information will be of use to people, and they will want to get these emails from you. With this strategy you are taking the initiative and staring a conversation with them, simply by sending an email.

Advantages are plentiful when it comes to a well thought out outreach strategy. For starters, you get to put a human touch on your brand. People don’t want to think they are doing business with a company that doesn’t care about them. They want to be able to trust you and what you are selling. By talking with them in a friendly way, you can begin to build trust between you and them. This in turn will help to build your brand, and people will begin to associate it with a company that is friendly, helpful, and trustworthy. Another reason is that an outreach program will result in more business. By marketing directly to people, you increase the odds that they are going to do business with you. Many people may not know about the sale you are having, but if it pops up in their email list, or on their Twitter feed, they may be more likely to take advantage of it.

Don’t wait

Don’t wait to start reaching out to potential customers. Small businesses especially need to do this, as you may not have the budget or level of brand awareness as the larger companies yet. You don’t have to spend all your time talking to each individual customer, but having someone send out emails, interacting on social media, and performing other outreach initiatives is a great idea. Hopefully this advice will help you to expand your business this year, and for years to come.

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