Customers want to be in control of where, when, how, what, and why they buy what they buy. To give them the control they need, provide your workers with meaningful insight into customer behavior, outstanding digital technologies that allow anytime-anywhere access across all devices, and an engaged workforce to deliver on their needs. Here are some ways to provide customer-centric service:
1. Predictive Metrics
Being customer-centric means being prepared with tools that create original content specific to your target audience. Platforms equipped with predictive intelligencecapabilities (like Salesforce Marketing Cloud Einstein) can provide your workers with vital customer data that then informs and strengthens their interactions. Predictive Intelligence gathers information, maps customer interactions, engagement, and awareness, and provides opportunities for delivering unique communications to individual customers in real time.
2. Be present, on every channel
You’ll gain ground reaching your customers if you engage them in modern and flexible ways that provoke a feeling of comfort and friendliness, while also adding value to your offers. When creating your CX strategy, be considerate of customer needs — which includes research to identify which avenues will serve your customers best. In the end, be available to your customers on every channel they use.
3. Listen to and learn from customer ratings
The Net Promoter System, which uses Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to survey and examine customer relationships, measures customer satisfaction. NPS surveys are used to determine whether or not customers would recommend your business to their friends or family.
As Forrester explains, “The score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters — hence the Net aspect. It is a best practice to couple the NPS question with a follow-up question that asks customers why they gave a certain rating.”
Business leaders should use NPS metrics to determine a plan of action for their teams and implement critical changes to the current CX.
4. Respond to your reviews
Responsible businesses leaders are responsible for creating a transparent workplace and empowering their workers to respond to both positive and negative reviews online. Responding in a professional way to both compliments and complaints improves your credibility with customers.
Show that you’re fully invested in CX while becoming more transparent to your customers by directly addressing negative comments.
(Note: If you’re a company with a young audience, you’ll gain bonus points for responding in a unique and meme-like fashion.)
5. Be conversational on social media
There’s no better way to turn off your customer than by awkwardly trying to ‘sell’ your product or service on Facebook. Instead, engage community interaction by turning every post into an opportunity for a conversation.
Have a voice that is unique. Let your customers get to know your business and workers personally.
6. Provide consistent branding
Because there’s heightened focus around customer service conducted online and through self-service, it’s becoming more difficult to ‘remind’ your customers of the service value you create for them. Be thoughtful about the way your logos, colors, and branding are visible on customer portals so they will associate your branding with your service.
Keep your customers front and center of every task, interaction, and transaction — because they are the most important thing to the success of your business. Learn how to satisfy customers and how to stay customer-centered in our new ebook, “Satisfied Customers: An Outcome of The Virtuous Cycle.”