Marketers are all about numbers, and brands are all about people. Focusing on both can result in better profits, while elevating company reputation in the process. It’s the hand-written note that comes with a shipment that tips the scales in your favor to go back to your online store, and the freebie flash drive with your logo that makes customers and prospects talk about your brand after the event is over. It all boils down to delivering on your brand’s promise and exceeding customer expectations: that’s what ultimately shapes customer experience, customer loyalty, and the desire to become your brand ambassadors.
However, for you to be able to provide customers with that stellar experience for years to come, you need the right level of growth to keep your company relevant, and on the map. This is where your employees come in. The people behind your brand, the ones that communicate its message daily, the ones that live out your brand’s purpose and continuously help your customers find what they need and the ones that shape your brand voice through various outlets – they are the ones that represent the very essence of your brand, and your business.
Having the right people to help your business grow means you’ll enable conversion rate growth as well, and base your existence on how you treat your customers. In addition to just saying you’re a “customer-centric” business, how you structure your customer service operations, your hiring practices, and your company culture all affect your bottom line. Here’s how you can boost conversions by impressing your customers with an excellent customer experience:
Be everywhere at all times
Waiting is not something we’re good at. We’re impatient, and growing even more so by the day. Your customers are typically in a hurry, eager to find what they’re looking for without a fuss. When they do have a question to ask, they are going to get frustrated if they don’t get a response in a timely manner, and it’s quite possible they’ll switch to a business that values their time more. You, much like every other modern business, need a team of customer service agents that is ready to respond when the customers have a need.
A survey showed that almost 70% of respondents found a speedy resolution to be the key factor linked to a positive customer service experience. Whether it’s on social media, via email, on the phone, or in person, or via any other means possible, communication should be straightforward and simple. From the customer’s perspective, you need to be an omnipresent entity, always at their service. In order to deliver on this expectation, you need trained and helpful teams that are eager to lead customers to what they need. Whether there’s a complaint, a question, or simply a kind comment, someone should be able to answer, pronto.
Mind the makeup of your business
Too many businesses rely on outdated hiring templates when they need reinforcements. The simple truth is that the world is brimming with opportunities, and many brands fail to include the right scope of candidates that can actually provide the perfect customer service experience. If you keep in mind that every single customer that comes through your door is a different, unique person, wouldn’t it make sense to reflect that same diversity in your own company culture?
Australian employers, for example, are incentivized and supported in a myriad of different ways to hire people with disabilities. As a result, brands turn to disability employment services in growing numbers as their own cultures bloom with the help of this diversity. This also allows them to discover talent they wouldn’t normally consider or have access to, which ensures a remarkable melting pot of skills, and builds a new reputation for your business. Diversity of perspective and skills can lead to greater empathy and a deeper understanding of and connection to your customers, ultimately impacting loyalty and the bottom line.
Simplicity is the name of the game
What do you do when you come across a chaotic website with too much information incoherently dispersed across its pages? You leave within a split second, fearing for your own sanity. A significant part of what constitutes exceptional customer experience in an increasingly digital world is how you present your business across all channels. That means a website that is easy to navigate, fast to load, and informative. Too often, brands opt for overly complicated design solutions trying to evoke an emotion from their customers, and end up being annoying their customers and prospects with a digital experience that is not user-friendly or easy to navigate.
No live chat feature? No easy-to-find contact page to show them how to get in touch with you? No social media buttons? No brief overview of what you offer? Then, no customer as well. Conversions can depend on your web design. You have between 3-5 seconds to leave a powerful impression, and you need to make those moments count. If you get customers’ attention long enough, you have a better chance at turning those visits into actual purchases.
Always listen to customer feedback
In addition to responding to customer complaints and queries quickly, you need to make sure you’re using that opportunity to listen, learn and improve to make sure no future customer would ever make a similar complaint. Furthermore, let your customers know you’ve made an effort. They’ll know you value their input and they’ll appreciate you taking their concerns into account.
The customer may not always be right, but the customer is entitled to your attention. Negative feedback can turn into a very successful conversion if you play your cards right. Train your customer service teams to communicate effectively across all channels, and of course, always deliver on your promise. A single negative review left unattended can deter many future potential customers from ever making a purchase from you. By taking your time to respond and resolve an issue, you will impress your current and your future customers.
Personalize whenever you can
There are already too many brands and too many customers out there. Customers know they have a choice, and they know they’re not your only customer, but they do like feeling appreciated all the same. Once upon a time, just using your customer’s first name in an email was enough to earn their attention. Now, brands need to go above and beyond in their efforts to personalize their communication with their customers and the customer experience overall in order to keep their interest and their loyalty.
To put things in perspective, personalization has the potential to boost conversions by as much as 20%. Use data to get to know your customers better, and implement personalized messages wherever you can. Share relevant content with specific customers to keep them interested, educated, and informed, and of course, whenever you can, personalize their orders and let them know you value their business.
Reward loyalty
Finally, it’s a well-known fact that it costs significantly more to earn a new customer than it does to earn repeat business from an existing one. However, it’s one thing to boost sales, and completely different to earn loyalty. That is why when someone comes back to your brand, you need to make sure they understand that they matter for your business.
Loyalty programs are excellent tools for increasing conversions and boosting sales from existing customers, and they provide you with a simple way to incentivize and personalize your offers for each person that buys from you. Teach your customer service teams to recognize opportunities with loyal and return customers so that you always seal the deal.
Exceptional customer experience results from a number of different factors and actions across brand marketing, digital, and social media, analytics, sales, communications and customer service. If you focus on the tips listed in this article, from building a stellar team to designing a great website, you will see your conversion rates reflect your efforts.
