When was the last time you sat back, hands resting behind your head and though, "I think we’ve totally nailed our approach to Customer Experience?”
I’m going to guess it’s not something you think often/ever. What your customers want is complicated - and it’s changing all the time. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to achieve.
Not every CX success comes from a significant initiative or programme. Sometimes, it's the little tweaks and quick wins that can boost your approach and the subsequent results.
Here are four quick wins to prioritise, to help you nail your approach to Customer Experience.
#1 Reduce churn by 6% - by anticipating future customer issues
There are times during the customer journey that cause real friction. Often, these can be anticipated by a brand. This means you can solve for the customer without them even asking for help.
For example, say your customer has just received their first statement and, when this happens, you see an upsurge in customer calls asking about how to interpret this statement. Instead of waiting for the calls to come in, send a short cover letter with the statement, explaining the steps the customer needs to take.
Not only will this reduce the number of inbound calls you receive, but it also causes less friction for the customer - making them more likely to stay.
To identify these opportunities, logging and tagging your inbound calls can help you spot areas where you can anticipate customer need in the future.
#2 Increase resolution rates by 31% - by training the frontline to respond customers that gave you low scores
When a customer gives you a low score, often it’s hard to know how to respond. But, by training frontline agents to respond to these customers, you can help to resolve the customer’s issue and understand the reason behind their score.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by calling a customer back, straight after they have left their feedback, to understand the reason behind the score and dig deeper to see if there’s anything that you can do resolve it.
#3 Reduce Customer Effort scores by 18.5% - by reducing how often you use negative words
Nobody likes being told they can’t have something - especially if they want it.
So, instead of saying, ‘the delivery slot you want isn’t available’, try ‘it sounds like it’s important to get this order on time. The delivery slot you’re after would be cutting it fine, why not go for the evening before?’
While there will be times when circumstances prevent us from solving for the customer, phrasing this in a positive way will help to improve the customer effort score.
#4 Reduce repeat calls by 40% - by assessing and understand the customer’s
personality type at the start of a call
Repeat calls can often occur because of a disconnect between customers and employees. For example, the customer might feel that they’ve not been given the full story, so call again for more information. However, with clearer guidance and training, frontline agents can reduce this friction and therefore reduce the number of repeat calls.
One way to do this is to look for clues about the customer’s personality type - and then tweak responses so that they match the needs of the customer. Some people will want to get straight to the point, without any small talk getting in the way. However, other customers will want to have a bit of a laugh when they’re on the phone. Understanding the difference between these types of customers means that you can deliver the information in the right way for them.
Want to take a deeper look into how you can improve customer experience? Explore our ContactBabel report: Customer Experience Management & Improvement...
