Simplifying the Customer Experience
Businesses spend a lot of time and money on customer service. Customers, who possess the ultimate power, have much say in how they feel about their experience. In order to keep customers satisfied, businesses have to invest time and money both into understanding the customer experience and then taking the appropriate steps to improve it. Business owners have to be able to listen to customers in order to understand what they want. Most customers are open enough about their experiences, with around 80% willing to share their opinions online. Here are tips on how businesses can simplify the customer experience.
1. Flexible Payments
According to entrepreneur Raphael Sternberg, people will go to extraordinary lengths for the convenience of paying. Universal approaches to payment are a good way for businesses to keep their customers happy, but customers must know their prices. If a customer pays an additional fee, this must be stated on the page. If the fee is too big for the customer, then it should be made clear that it must be paid in full at that time. This article recommends keeping fees simple and transparent so that customers are not confused about prices or extras they may want to pay extra on top of their base price.
2. Pre and Post-Sale Support
Many top businesses like Apple and Amazon have strong customer support teams. Their customer care team is available at any time on any day, and they offer multiple ways to contact them. The customer service team at most businesses should always aim to improve their level of service by offering more features, such as FAQs, technical support, and training videos. According to Professor Adrian Furnham from University College London’s school of psychology and management, many customers have negative feelings towards companies who are unhelpful or arrogant at the point of purchase.
3. The Ability to Contact Someone Easily
Customers want businesses to have a public face, usually with an access number or e-mail address. According to Raphael Sternberg, businesses that can be easily contacted tend to be more satisfied because they feel there is someone to help them when needed. Customers are happy when they know their questions will be answered within a specific timeframe; one of the essential things in customer service is credibility. This is increased when the business provides quick support to its customers.
4. Customer Feedback
Businesses should listen to their customers; feedback is valuable because it increases their understanding of the customer experience. Businesses can attract customers by ensuring they put themselves out there; if customers are satisfied with a business and its services, they will feel more likely to go through the time and effort of giving feedback to that business. An excellent way to ensure the customer has an enjoyable impression is to have all crucial information readily available, such as delivery times or payment options.
There are a lot of different approaches that businesses can take in order to keep their customers happy and satisfied. By providing as much information as possible about the prices and services and being responsive when customers need it, businesses can make sure that their customers can express how they feel about their experience.