In the age of social media, customers not only expect a meaningful two-way conversation but also insist that brands act on what they have to say.
At the same time, customers have become more demanding while their expectations continue to increase. In fact, almost two-thirds of the respondents’ expectations have risen compared to a year ago.
It all comes down to better customer service. Almost all respondents cited the quality of customer service as a determinant of their choice and loyalty to a brand, while 61% walked away from a brand due to poor customer service.
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/33/181466.html/
Are you in the habit of closing the loop with customers that offer negative feedback on post-interaction surveys like Customer Satisfaction or Net Promoter Score? I certainly hope so, because it’s a great practice that many companies aren’t in the habit of doing. When I led a customer service team, I was very proud of the fact that we made every attempt at closing the loop with the upset customers we knew about, and by some combination of resolving their issue and offering compensation, we managed to save a good many of them from churning.
But what about those customers that don’t complete a survey voicing their displeasure? What about those where something goes wrong and it’s “too much trouble to complain?” Or perhaps they do complain and the disinterested reply from support is enough for the customer to cut their losses and move on to a company that actually wants their business. And then there’s that statistic where upset customers tell dozens of people about negative experiences while happy customers tell a small handful of their friends. I’m convinced that someone invented that statistic to strike fear into the hearts of customer service leaders with the sole purpose of selling books, software, consulting, etc.
https://www.kustomer.com/blog/voice-of-the-customer-fcr/
Most companies have recognized the value of investing in knowledge management (or KM), especially as part of their customer service strategy. It provides an always-available and ever-expanding repository of solutions accessible to customers and agents alike. It also reduces the impact of “information loss” for companies because, though staffing may change and skilled agents move on, solutions are preserved.
There is no argument that KM offers many benefits, but it’s by no means a silver bullet. Too often, companies make these mistakes:
https://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/reorient-knowledge-to-drive-greater-customer-satisfaction-02104742/
Can you say with 100% certainty that your company is offering an omnichannel experience? These guidelines can help you differentiate between multichannel and omnichannel customer service.
https://www.nearshoreamericas.com/are-you-sure-your-customers-are-getting-an-omnichannel-experience/
Is customer service part of the customer experience? Or is customer experience what happens when someone receives customer service? Are they the same thing?
The terms “customer service” and “customer experience” are often confused or used interchangeably. They’re not the same thing, but they are related.
The difference between customer service and customer experience is that while customer service is one piece of the puzzle — focused on human interaction and directly supporting customers — customer experience is the sum of the entire customer journey with your business.
Let’s take a look at customer service vs. customer experience in more detail.
https://www.helpscout.net/blog/customer-service-vs-customer-experience/
When you think of Voice of Customer (VOC) Feedback, it’s exactly what it sounds like.
Voice of Customer Feedback is direct and clear feedback on your product or service straight from the mouth of the consumer/customer.
Whether you achieve this data through market research, surveys, or focus groups, it will provide you a competitive stance on your product or services, or what deficiencies your product or service has in the current market.
https://ledgeviewpartners.com/blog/how-to-use-voice-of-customer-voc-feedback-to-improve-your-customer-service-team/
Everybody is talking about customer experience (CX), but like many other hot industry terms, it can mean different things to different people. I like the Wikipedia definition: “Customer experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. This interaction is made up of three parts: the customer journey, the brand touchpoints the customer interacts with, and the environments the customer experiences during their experience.”
Marketing definitely has a significant role in supporting each of these components. But the old adage that marketing gets the customer and customer service keeps the customer is overstated. A reputation for great service can help the company get customers and marketing has an important role in keeping them.
http://customerthink.com/7-ways-marketing-can-boost-your-cx-performance/
They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But how often do you apply that concept to your customer service? Most businesses wait for a problem to arise, and don’t make efforts to fix a problem until after a customer (or several customers) complains.
However, more often than not, a customer that has gotten to the point of complaining about something is one that is not likely to come back to your business.
So, rather than waiting around to fix customer complaints, here are 3 proactive ways that you can prevent those complaints from ever arising.
http://customerthink.com/3-ways-to-prevent-customer-complaints-instead-of-fixing-them/
Marketers are constantly introducing newer and more sophisticated Customer Experiences (CX). But, how do you ensure that all of your customer touchpoints will align with the promise of these new CX improvements?
Based on our VoC research, we have learned that the brands most successful in making their CS (Customer Service) and back-end processes align beautifully with their front end CX, are those which involve and integrate every department and every employee!
Here are 3 tips to help ensure that your CS matches the promise of your CX:
http://customerthink.com/3-tips-to-ensure-customer-service-matches-your-promised-customer-experience/
Communication is everything in all types of relationships, especially when it comes to your customers. If you ever thought customer communication is overrated, think again – 70 percent of customers are willing to spend more with companies that provide excellent customer service. The way you interact with your customers has a direct impact on your bottom line. If they feel that they’re understood and treated with respect, they’re likely to keep doing business with you.
So what about when things go wrong? It’s inevitable, things happen. How you and your frontline handle the inescapable adversity can make all of the difference. Not sure how to go about it? Here are four simples ways to get you started.
https://customerthink.com/4-easy-ways-to-impress-customers-using-communication/
