The best customer loyalty strategy? Don't settle for average
Exceeding customer expectations is the key to customer loyalty. It's important to know that everyone in your company contributes to creating an exceptional customer experience at all times. These are not individual experiences, but elements that form a whole. If each experience is consistently above average, your customers will be fully satisfied and develop a strong, positive bond with your company, which will influence ROI, sales, referrals and customer loyalty.
To shed some light on this topic and answer three crucial questions about customer loyalty, we interviewed Matej Kukucka, Marketing Director at LiveAgent. Matej has spent over a decade designing perfect customer experiences at LiveAgent and continues to learn from the best in the business, including Shep Hyken, author of The Cult of the Customer.
How important is customer service compared to sales or marketing campaigns when it comes to building customer loyalty?
Matej Kukucka
Customer service is largely underestimated when it comes to improving customer loyalty. Of course, it's fine to spend money on sales and marketing campaigns, but it's important to reallocate some of that budget and time to training customer service staff. The aim of this training should be to reduce customer effort, to make everything as seamless and easy as possible, because as soon as there are complications, you start losing customers.
It's important to remember that the better the customer experience, the more likely customers will be to return and make further purchases. Obviously, loyal customers spend more than new ones. Numerous statistics bear this out.
So my advice is to put more value on customer service. Think of it as an investment, not an expense. By eliminating customers' problems, you can easily build loyalty, even more so than with a well-executed marketing campaign.
What kind of experiences should companies create for their customers to keep them coming back?
Matej Kukucka
Many companies are afraid to improve their customer experience, because they think they have to reinvent the wheel or go beyond their capabilities. But this is far from the case. All you need to do is deliver an above-average experience.
There's no need to overdo it. And if you're consistently above average, your customers will say, "Wow, you're amazing! And when they realize it, they'll come back because they won't settle for anything less.
How can you offer them above-average service? This varies from industry to industry and region to region. For example, in France, if you go into a bar or café and order a drink, the waiter will bring you some aperitif cakes.
However, in Slovakia, where our company is based, this is not common practice. So, if I were running a bar or café, the first thing I'd do would be to offer aperitif cakes, as this would show that I cared about the customer. In reality, there's nothing revolutionary about it, and I simply give something more than the average customer is used to.
What advice would you give to companies who want to exceed their customers' expectations with every interaction?
Matej Kukucka
I'd say train your customer service agents to ask additional questions that will help them go the extra mile for your customers. For example, if your customer tells you they need to solve a problem very quickly, your agents need to be trained to follow up quickly. Your agents need to be trained to follow up on this type of request by asking, for example, what the deadline is, rather than simply replying "OK".
Everyone may have a different conception of what speed is, so it's essential to be on the same wavelength. By knowing the customer's expectations, your agents can either meet, exceed or redirect those expectations, so that the customer isn't disappointed if they aren't met.
To continue with this example, let's say you can't solve the problem as quickly as the customer wants. In this case, after realigning his expectations, go the extra mile and promise to keep him informed no matter what. Whether you solve the problem or not, let them know what you've done so far and what information you're waiting for. Simply keeping your customers informed can do wonders for their satisfaction and loyalty.
Remember, business moves fast, and if you leave your customers in the dark, they can turn away in an instant. In most cases, one bad customer experience leads to lost business.
In addition to asking "follow-up questions", ask your customers how you can improve their next experience. This may seem logical, but many companies don't do it. When was the last time a call center agent asked you how they could have improved your experience, and what they could have done better or differently?
Thank your customers in a way that makes them remember you. You can do this by sending them an e-mail or giving them a call: "Thank you for your call and for all your valuable comments. It helped me enormously. If you ever need a hand again, give me a call and I'll be happy to help. You can be as creative as you like. You can even send them gifts to say thank you.
This will make them feel valued, because they'll see that you've thought of them and made an effort. We tend to forget that customers want to feel appreciated and valued. And rightly so: they're the lifeblood of our businesses. In general, 20% of our loyal customers account for 80% of our sales.
Key points to remember
In short, don't underestimate the power of customer service- it can be your greatest asset in building customer loyalty. Train your staff to create the best customer experience every time, and find ways to learn from each other. Try not to get overwhelmed, and just realize that you're helping people and can make a big difference to someone's day. Ask extra questions and strive to be above average.
Article translated from French