The Sunday Mail
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba
“Building a customer experience does not happen by accident. It happens by design”- Claire Muscutt
It has been proven without doubt that organisations that give their customers first preference and deliver an out-of-this-world experience in comparison to their competitors always reap the benefits.
They achieve greater customer loyalty and make their shareholders happy through better returns and higher profits.
This experience begins when a customer interacts with the organisation, either remotely or via direct interaction.
It is vital for organisations to always take stock of the interactions they have with their customers.
Knowledge of this will assist them to adjust their strategy on customer experience to levels that will make their customers’ shopping experience delightful and pleasant.
Hints to make customer interactions exciting:
Transparency
Transparent customer communication is always important, regardless of the situation.
For instance, if there is a fault on a company’s product or a mistake by a representative, it is of paramount importance that they clearly explain the situation, how it happened and apologise sincerely.
There must be honest assurance that something of that nature will never happen again.
In this way, customers can prepare for a future with your organisation because they would rather do business with an organisation that is true to the core, rather than deal with a company that is untrustworthy and is always giving conflicting statements when there is a problem.
This is especially true if the company’s services include dealing with customers’ personal information.
Companies in this field have a huge responsibility to come clean, especially in this age when systems can be hacked and data is stolen. Customers will want to know how you fix such problems, and how you will prevent future problems.
Empathy
In every customer service interaction, customer empathy means a great deal. Empathy resonates with the biblical statement that says, “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.”
Anyone within the organisation acting in a customer-facing role must be able to genuinely demonstrate the company’s customers’ struggles, while on the other hand showing gratitude to customers for their patronage and loyalty.
Whenever a customer has issues or is complaining about a product or service, it is prudent to start by offering your apologies.
“I am sorry” will always be the perfect way to ease the tension.
Whatever their concerns are, it is obvious that they could be losing either time, money or they may even be going through a hard time emotionally because of your mistake.
So, regardless of the size of the mistake, it is always courteous to use an apology as your first line of interaction.
Operations do not always run smoothly, and a breakdown in the supply chain may occur causing disruptions or delays in production, thereby delaying the output.
If communicated well and truthfully, in most cases customers will understand. Nonetheless, this understanding should not go unnoticed; instead, customers feel good when you thank them for their patience, while you were restoring service to normal.
Gratitude should also be extended when they call again to do business, or when they become very loyal customers.
Even taking time to share their thoughts and suggestions (good or bad) should be applauded by the service provider.
Apologies and gratitude show that the company is empathetic and this gives the customer a feeling that behind the brand there is a human touch that can identify with them at the end of the day.
Delight
Exciting customer interactions are marked by delight.
Delight, in this case, is when you drop small surprises to your customers whenever you get the chance to have an interaction.
Most people think that when we talk about surprising customers, they must fork out a dollar; although this would be really nice, just sending a sweet note on a customer’s wedding anniversary or birthday will equally surprise and delight them.
A shout-out on your social media page or website will tingle them, and bring a smile. Mentioning your customers by name at company events, can help in building an emotional connection and helps the brand’s goodwill.
Feedback
Customers can see it when you do lip service.
Whatever you say, you must mean. It is important to walk the talk and practice what you say.
If you say “valued customers”, your actions must show that you actually value them. It is cheap to use empty words, then do the opposite when doing business with them.
Instead, as customer-centric organisations you should always ask for feedback, then act on it.
Whenever I make a WhatsApp voice call after I end the call they always ask for feedback.
I try as much as possible to supply the feedback, but I still face the same problems I complained about previously.
Given a better choice I would definitely switch.
It makes sense to ask for feedback, but it’s important to then act on it by providing an improved service, because it makes a customer see that their contributions are being valued.
So, direct interactions are a good space to get direct feedback, and if possible, real-time solutions can be provided, much to the delight of the customer.
Organisations must be careful not to ask the same questions over and over again, or else they will cause respondent fatigue thereby resulting in apathy.
*Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast with a strong passion for customer service. For comments, suggestions and training, she can be reached on [email protected] or on 0712 979 461, 0719 978 335
