Written by: Jafar Sadhik
What makes a business stand out from the crowd? It is the volume of customers that makes the difference to a considerable extent. Hence, customer satisfaction has become a very important factor for the sustainability of a business. It has been found that 3 out of 4 customers will remain committed to a business only when they have a great experience with a business.
When a customer suffers a negative experience, he will stick to a business for less than a year and will start looking for other options. It is very tough to find out what customers expect from a business these days. The drastic changes in customer behavior and online trends make it a daunting task to keep a customer base happy and loyal. The raging pandemic situations have also changed the customer expectation to a considerable level offering many more challenges to the businesses these days.
All these discussions prove that customer loyalty should be the prime priority of businesses in order to strive and thrive in such a competitive market. Another survey suggests that 68% of the participants will stick to a brand only if their experience is commendable. In fact, it has been found that a 5% reduction of attrition within the customers can escalate 125% of business revenue. Forbes suggests 86% of the buyers are even ready to pay for a better customer experience.
Considering all these pointers, let us find out how customer experience determines the lifeline of a business.
Customer experience leads to customer satisfaction
An experience leads to the development of perception in a person. Customer experience matters a lot when it comes to escalating satisfaction and the brands have brilliant opportunities to utilize it. Businesses will have to be specific, reliable, accurate, and meet the expectation of customers with good services.
Customers feel elated and satisfied when they are treated as a part of the brand’s family. Imparting more value to this relationship will take a brand to a long-term track of business development. Businesses need to stick to their words and provide the ideal support to a customer whenever needed.
It has been concluded that a highly satisfied customer has the potential to contribute 2.6 times more revenue than a conventional satisfied customer. In fact, he can contribute up to 14 times than a dissatisfied customer. The prime intention of a company should be to create a brilliant path of customer experience throughout the map of touchpoints in its physical or digital presence.
New leads to loyal customers
It is the experience of a new lead that will drive him to become a loyal customer. It is in the hand of a business to create a pitch where customers will enjoy a brilliant experience. A premium experience will automatically establish a newfound bond and will also strengthen it.
Statistics suggest that maintaining a loyal customer is very cost-effective whereas converting a new one into a loyal one costs as much as 7 times. Hence, it is important to find out the reasons why customers are unhappy within the business operations. For instance, one of the prime touchpoints that a customer use is customer support. The efficient call support team of a company can deliver the highest satisfaction through reliable solutions and support to all distressed users.
This is where many leading companies outsource the requirements of technical support for customers to a reputed service provider to provide an excellent experience. Top call center and technical support agencies use excellent platforms that can even measure the outcomes of a service on a regular basis. This step enables a business to get more insights into the customer satisfaction level.
Advocacy of customer’s matter
Word of mouth is considered to be one of the strongest public relations tools used by companies across the domains. More than 84% of customers do not rely on advertisements. They look for recommendations from a 3rd party or another person. Hence, customer advocacy has become really important in this era. Time is changing rapidly in the promotional sphere leading to many more challenges.
This is where customer experience can be a remarkable tool to spread the word. A well-thought platform can offer a proper experience to a customer. When satisfied, this customer will suggest its peers use the same platform for certain products/services. Many brands also ask customers to share their moments on social media platforms. It has the potential to catapult a brand’s digital image to a considerable level.
Get recognized
How can someone differentiate ten businesses offering the same products/services in the same domain? It is the customer experiences that will determine the prominence of a brand’s image and let everyone distinguish it from the others. Standing out from the crowd can be achieved by providing a remarkable customer experience.
In this aspect, customer experience is not only restricted to customer support but spread out in different phases such as user experience, service experience, product quality, etc. Seeking feedback from the customers helps a company to segregate the experience on these phases. It aids in recognizing the pain points suffered by a customer and discovering the ideal means to rectify them.
Creating personal relationships to build trust
Giving a personified image of a brand to a customer will help him grow trust. Building strong relationships will become a lot easier for businesses. Personalized experiences are the keys to such strong bonds between customers and a brand. For this, a company will have to analyze the online behavior of a customer and understand his preferences. An experience matching the customer’s expectations will definitely lead to a better relationship.
Bottom line
These five points describe how customer experience will be the next battleground where all brands will fight to acquire a formidable space. To understand the pulse of an industry and to generate customer satisfaction, customer experience is the prime tool to focus on. Businesses will have to take certain steps and proceed accordingly to build better customer experiences leading to a strong base to generate revenue.
Related: The Difference Between Repeat Customers and Loyal Customers