It’s no secret Burger King is struggling − and for all the wrong reasons. This is despite the that it has released some of the most innovative advertising campaigns in recent years. Obviously, advertising only gets you to one point. No matter how great the ads, they can’t fix varying food quality, bad customer service, old and dirty-looking outlets, and insufficient staff. As Bill Bernbach once said, “Great advertising can make a bad product fail faster; it gets more people to know it’s bad.” So, here’s some ‘do this‘ tips to help you!
Promotions are not all-powerful
You may be promoting your business with award-winning ads, but on the flip side, you are ignoring your clients. That is exactly Burger King’s problem. Like them, many fast-food outlets need a master’s class in customer experience. Your core focus as a business should be customer experience.
Let’s talk about your real focus – customer experience
Why should you even focus on customer experience? This is a critical part of your business. This applies to any business that interacts with people, which means basically all businesses. If your customers have a great experience, they will tell people how well your business performs and is likely to be performing. Word of mouth speaks volumes.
What is the customer experience?
Customer experience, or CX, includes the full gamut of customer touchpoints. More so, the customer experience begins at the product’s customer journey or sale life cycle. It ends with the client returning frequently, thus becoming a brand ambassador for this business. What this experience includes is all the customer interactions, as well as the call center staff interacting with customers, the ease of the eCommerce shopping experience, as well as the after-sales responses.
The significance of the customer experience?
Customer experience is essential in establishing brand loyalty from patrons. When there is a great overall customer experience, the chances are greater for these to become loyal customers. Such consumers will frequently return to make another purchase. They will be quick to recommend the product or brand to a friend. The opposite is also true – a bad experience can be a PR disaster. Besides that, the client does not return; they can spread through word of mouth or even on social media channels their experience with the brand. In the end, customer experience can influence your profits. It can affect your chance of expanding, and fighting off the competition, retaining your client base.
A Good Customer Experience
When you have a good and effective customer experience strategy in place, you will enhance your client’s relationship with your brand. However, there are some considerations to take note of:
Make it seamless
Clients don’t want hassles − they want a seamless sales experience. This is not just limited to your physical stores but more so to your eCommerce stores when it comes to selecting and paying for products. If the process is broken, you will have a high chart abandonment rate. It is, therefore, key to regularly check your systems. This way, you will ensure that all is working perfectly and seamlessly. The client should not have hurdles or difficulties strewn in their path.
Make it personal
Personalization is still big. It helps clients to connect to the brand more rapidly. You need to consider your customer. This might be obvious, but amazingly, many entrepreneurs forget this little step – and tend to follow their own path. Don’t forget – focus on the customer. Luckily, there is software that you can use to track your website visitors, such as Google Analytics and your other analytics on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There you can learn more about your clients, their needs, and their wants.
Be reliable
An easy way of boosting loyalty among your client base is by offering a consistent (and high-quality) customer experience. Clients want to know that when they return they will receive the same experience. They will then be willing to continue spending more of their money with you. It is therefore vital to have great customer support. The good idea is to hire virtual customer service agents to provide this for you.
Safeguard a great customer experience
To offer your clients the best customer experience, consider this:
Generate a customer experience strategy
Create a framework with a focus on customer experience management (CEM) strategy, which can outline the way you plan or address your customer’s requirements, in addition to meeting customer expectations head-on. If you have a solid strategy in place, this can ensure that your messages and methods are constantly focused on offering a good customer experience. Such will reduce your customer numbers from decreasing while watching your budget and income.
Take your customer feedback seriously
Obtaining customer feedback can be extremely valuable − customers offer insights into their journey. You need to take note of the critiques and complaints clients provide on their experience. You can use all feedback − you will know what to fix and where you have problems. For instance, if there are difficulties with your website, a website designer must be found to fix the problem.
Appreciate your customers
In making sure you are offering customer satisfaction, knowing what your clients want is key. You can utilize customer relationship management (CRM) services that assess customer engagement and offer customer experience metrics to grasp better your client’s journey (from the beginning to the end).
Offer superb customer service
Keep your focus on exceeding your customer’s expectations by going beyond the ‘just’ standard customer experience. Make sure your support staff and your sales team fully understand your services and products.
Also, add social media or other channels to boost the experience
This could well mean hiring virtual customer service assistants to offer top-notch support. Such a move should be considered. However, beware of total reliance on automation – clients want to engage a real person. Many people find a bot frustrating to deal with. Pressing phone buttons to get somewhere is also tedious.