THE holy grail for customer care centers and customer experience experts is “customer satisfaction”.
Customer satisfaction is the yardstick that determines how happy customers are with a company’s products, services, and capabilities. It’s a major concern for all organizations for good reason – dissatisfied customers are always at risk for churn (rate). Churn rate is the annual percentage rate at which customers stop subscribing to a service.
But we aren’t just talking about customers who stop subscribing. Even if they stop short of “unsubscribing”, unhappy customers aren’t likely to spend more on your business.
Satisfied customers, however, come back for more and bring along others with them.
Customer satisfaction isn’t as simple as it seems
With today’s digital advancements, it’s hardly something easy to optimize. Modern customers’ decision-making process features many touchpoints – from the brand’s social media profile to the call center, to self-service solutions, etc. Despite connecting so many dots, here are five quick tips to improve customer satisfaction.
1. CUSTOMER FEEDBACK IS KING – Take action at once. Sure, many companies have taken customer feedback to the next level, but the feedback collected is only as useful as you make it to be. More often than not, raw feedback stays that way – raw and meaningless. Teams should be ready to take action as soon as suggestions are given. Doing so helps correct faults in your business model that you might not have noticed.
2. OMNICHANNEL SUPPORT – Omnichannel support is the gold standard for customers. Customers expect to connect with your brand across several platforms when they need help. They also expect a seamless transaction as they shift from call to chat to contact center to email and web self-service. Today, not having omnichannel support is a capital offense. It has ceased to be a luxury. In this light, companies must meet customers where they are, as often as they can. Traditional phone calls and in-person consults just won’t do.
3. TRACK YOUR PERFORMANCE. Choose the right metrics to measure customer satisfaction. Don’t settle with “reasonably satisfied” or “not satisfied”. There are numerous ways to track performance. An example would be a CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score). The CSAT Survey simply asks how satisfied customers are with a given interaction based on a range (1 to 5 with 1 being least satisfied). Another is the CES (Customer Effort Score) which asks how “easy” a specific interaction was. The CES is useful for investigating issues with customer processes and services. Last but not least, is the Customer Churn Rate – the rate at which a business loses customers to the competition.
4. OFFER SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS – Everyone loves a personalized, hands-on approach. But customers also care about how quickly service is delivered. Most of the time, customers just want a solution without having to wait too long in the queue. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) or even knowledge sections have proven to be a huge help. Ensure that your content is always up-to-date and engaging.
5. DON’T JUST INNOVATE, AUTOMATE – Automation isn’t always a workable solution for all customer service concerns, but it can work extremely well in many instances. Chatbots, for instance, can provide instant customer service. If some issues cannot be resolved by the chatbot, a live agent can then step in. More than the speed at which issues are fixed, automation can interpret conversations in real time and provide insight and in-depth information that agents need to solve problems.
Customer satisfaction certainly isn’t a one-time or once-and-done deal. It requires continuous, consistent measurement, analysis, and effort. Get your organization on the right track.
Talk to us. Choose NEARSOL!
NEARSOL is a US-based BPO and service company that offers clients custom-design solutions. With major hubs in Manila and Iloilo, it began operations in 2006 and has since gained a strong presence in the Latin American regions, the Caribbean, and the Asia Pacific, winning many awards for quality and service along the way. Most recent of which is its Great Place to Work-Certified™ Recognition, a global accreditation that tells stakeholders what employees think of the company culture.
Visit our LinkedIn to learn more about our company and our global footprint./PN
