Keeping your clients happy should be a priority when running a business and this can easily be achieved via a range of things, such as value for money, exceeding expectations, and providing excellent customer service.
The latter is perhaps the most important, with 96% of consumers admitting that customer service is an important factor in remaining loyal to a brand. This is crucial, as without these clients, your business won’t thrive. You should be implementing effective strategies to encourage shoppers to return, such as adopting a client-first mentality, targeting your ideal audience, and providing high standard experiences to keep their custom.
The phrase “the customer is always right” generally rings true in most instances. They interact with your business and buy its product or services, so it’s vital to cater to their needs. Customers are a useful asset as they often inform companies when something is wrong, which helps to improve your business. To ensure they remain happy, allowing your business to reach its maximum potential, we have looked at some ways your business can achieve customer satisfaction.
Keep track of customer opinions
With 82% of consumers reading online reviews, whether through the company’s website, Google My Business, social media, or reviewing platforms, it’s important for businesses to keep track of what customers are saying. Consumers will leave both positive and negative reviews, which help other potential buyers make a decision.
Those who love your service or product will provide positive feedback to let others know that your business is worth investing in. However, those who haven’t had such a positive experience are likely to leave negative reviews. As a result of bad consumer experience, 91% of unhappy customers will not choose your business again, which could have dire consequences on your sales. You can track this feedback and respond in a timely manner to help solve any issues and thank individuals for using your service.
An example of a business using reviews to their advantage is lottery provider Lotto Social, who use platform TopCashback to display customer feedback to build its business reputation. While energy provider Bulb and vegetable box delivery company Riverford Organic Farmers set a good example by replying to their reviews on Trustpilot.
Customers are likely to trust these websites for fair and honest reviews as they give a rounded-image of your business, as they are used to share both positive and negative experiences. Any negative reviews offer you another chance to put things right with the customer in order to come to an agreement and perhaps sway the review to a more favourable one. It’s crucial that you respond to the comments left by customers—whether positive or negative—as it helps to build trusting relationships because it shows you value your buyers and their feedback. If customers notice that you haven’t made any attempt to fix a negative review, they could be hesitant to shop with your business.
Bad reviews can also help you to improve your service as they can highlight any issues with your business processes, which you can fix before your sales start dropping. Although they may seem bad, negative online reviews can be viewed as a free market research tool, which can prevent you from spending thousands. It can help you improve any part of your business, including marketing, product design, and your service.
Frequently revise your market research
Knowing your target audience and what they want will help keep your customers happy, as you can continuously improve your current service to fulfil their needs. When you have a better understanding of your users—like who is shopping with you, how often they do so, and what they need or expect—you can work on providing what they require, putting you ahead of your competitors.
To find all of this information you’ll need to conduct market research which, although carried out during the first stages of business, should be frequently revised to identify new competitors and avoid missing new trends. Market research can inform you on how to reach your clients effectively, so that you can create tailored marketing materials aimed at them and provide a high-quality service they will always come back to. To revisit your market research, you could check review websites, as we discussed above, or you could offer online surveys or host focus groups to gather feedback.
Seek ways to improve and grow
You should be actively seeking ways to grow your business and make it better, aside from conducting market research. By continuously monitoring your business processes through detailed record keeping and reports, you can find new methods of improving your service.
For instance, monthly reports on clients might be useful to keep track of what is working and what isn’t, it can be note-worthy for you as a business and as a record of client delivery. Having regular team meetings and one-to-one sessions with your employees can identify any problems as long as your team is completely transparent about their work.
You can also maintain your customers happiness by keeping track of your staff and how they’re performing, especially if you run a client-orientated business. You can help your employees improve their performance by investigating why they may be underperforming, implementing a positive work environment to boost morale and productivity, and by providing regular training and refresher sessions. Having employees who possess excellent customer service skills can encourage buyers to return.
With research showing that 93% of consumers are likely to make repeat purchases if they feel satisfied with the way staff have treated them. This can help you build a positive reputation and set you apart from your competitors.
