I don’t know about you, but as a customer I like it when things are made easy for me; when brands tell me everything I need to know before I have to chase them, make it personal and relevant to me and keep me in the loop with updates.
It all makes a massive difference (Just see Jen Morris’s blog on making the Customer Experience easy), so why do so many brands struggle with it?
To help, here are nine top tips on how you can keep your customers informed and engaged throughout their journey with you to enhance their Customer Experience.
1. Talk to your customersCommunication is important in so many ways. Whether you’re sending them a text message to confirm their initial purchase, reminding them of a reservation, or just keeping them up to date on progress; a little bit of proactive communication goes a long long way to offering a great Customer Experience.
2. Make it so your customers can reply to you, easilyIt’s beyond frustrating when you hear from a brand you’re dealing with and then can’t respond to them directly, but by using a two-way messaging system you can turn an impersonal update into an intelligent conversation.
3. Tell your customers everything they need to know, before they have to askIt makes sense to tell your customers everything they need to know, but so many brands don’t seem to actually deliver on this! If you tell your customers all the information they need in the first place, you can significantly reduce the number of inbound calls to your Call Centre.
4. Your customers are people, so be personal!By making sure you are as personal with your customers as possible, you can make them feel like they are truly valued. Just think how annoying it is when you receive a letter, email or even a text message addressed to: ‘Dear Valued Customer’.
5. Always be available for your customersOne of the most frustrating things for customers is waiting on hold for long periods of time to speak to a Call Centre agent. I don’t know about you, but I’ve sometimes set aside a whole morning or afternoon because I know that I’ll be on hold for a long period of time. So why not proactively send out messages to your customers when you know your Call Centre won’t be busy, requesting them to get in touch?
6. Be aware of your timingWe all know the phrase that “timing is everything”, but when it comes to communicating with your customers, it’s vital. We’ve all been there when the phone has rung in the middle of dinner, or you’re woken up to an annoying text message offer. Take a leaf out of Howdens book and schedule your messages to go out at a time that’s suitable for your customers!
7. Customers are like snowflakesNo two are the same - ok maybe a little cheesy, but it is true. Your customers are individuals, so make sure that you treat them that way and communicate with them through the channel that’s most convenient for them!
8. Always keep them in the loop...If something goes wrong, tell them. Don’t try and cover it up - just be transparent and let them know when the problem can be resolved. They’ll appreciate your honesty so much more!
9. Send them relevant and timely communicationsIf you send your customers relevant, personalised offers, they’re more likely to feel like you’re not just sending them generic marketing messages, allowing you to take full advantage of any cross-sell or up-sell opportunities.
Take a look at our Proactive Communication solution:
