Sometimes, it seems that everyone is focused on the next big strategy or initiative. But, when it comes to your customer, it’s the little things that can really make a difference.
Rather than thinking about the bigger picture - Where you’re going to be in 3 year’s time or what the metrics are going to be at the end of the quarter, reframe the challenge and think about what you can do today.
To help you get started here are 5 practical tips:
1. Streamline your customer data into one place
Siloed data is a challenge that many CX professional are facing. It's impossible to have a single source of truth when each department is storing their own individual records and information about their customers. This means that Sales, Marketing, Support, etc all need bring their systems together to gain full insight of what's happening across the business.
Without having customer data in one place, you won’t even know the basics like what product a particular customer has or has not purchased. By having it all in one place you can avoid all that multiple data entry and focus on the whole customer experience.
Over time, you can then start to build a fuller picture of your customer – what they like and don’t like – so you can personalise service delivery around their preferences.
2. Admit to mistakes and apologise up-front
One of the biggest frustrations for a customer is when a brand that won’t admit they’ve made a mistake. Don’t brush customer complaints under the carpet - face up to what they’ve said.
Saying sorry doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at fault. You can be regretful about an incident, even if you’re not a fault.
3. Communicate with customers in the channel they prefer
Omnichannel might be a buzzword, but customers expect to be able to reach you whenever and wherever they want. The easier you can make this the better, we often see customers who are looking to reach out but often don't know the best way to make contact. Make sure your social channels are buzzing and actively monitored and make sure your contact information is clear in all your communications.
Customers feel good when you listen to them, so if they tell you they don’t like being contacted by phone, don’t get in touch with them that way. Simple changes like writing an email rather than picking up the phone can help to put your customer at ease when they communicate with you.
4. Encourage your frontline employees to follow their initiative
It’s impossible to create a rulebook or process for every single scenario – the questions your frontline face are just to diverse. Instead of trying to manage every situation, give your frontline the power and the structure to tackle customer queries. So if a problem comes up, they can resolve it quickly.
Establishing a great company culture is the key to engaged and happy employees, remove any form of micro management and talk to your employees on a regular basis. Encourage them to ask about any issues that they’ve had to ensure that they are confident in dealing with any problem independently.
5. Get back to the basics of customer service
Everyone can remember a time they received great customer service. Consider that each customer is looking for a positive interaction, it's your role to help establish empathy, etiquette and to make sure you get the basics in service right. Listen to what they want from you and try to solve the problem quickly yourself rather than passing them off to another department in the building. Think about what a good customer service experience looks like for you and you will be moving in the right direction.
We're currently seeing alot of brands claim to be customer focused, even with the best efforts at heart however, research shows that only 8% of customers agree. Our latest e-book has helped our clients find out more about the anatomy of a great CX and employ tactics you can use to build customer experience with memories in mind.
