Customers satisfaction improvement tactics: 10 ways to improve it

Customers are instrumental in the growth of any business, and basically, if you can improve your customers satisfaction, you can increase your profits. According to a survey conducted by the CFI Group, the rate of customer satisfaction has witnessed a decline in the previous years. This is indicated by a 68% customers satisfaction score that was recorded across different sectors of businesses.

10 tactics to increase customers satisfaction

However, business has also seen a positive increase in customers satisfaction levels. So, could this year be the turning point for your business? Here’s how to boost your customers satisfaction.

1. Have In-depth knowledge of your product

Nothing can be more disappointing than a customer service representative who lacks knowledge in their field. That’s because it can ruin your customer service department and consequently drive hard-earned customers away. The fact is that if your customer service reps have no adequate knowledge of your products, it will be hard for them to respond to customers’ inquiries appropriately.

Therefore, hire agents who know the technical side of your business inside-out to build their confidence and serve in their various capacities for customers satisfaction. Also, assess the knowledge depth of your support team, and fix their loopholes if you detect any.

2. Use customer service communities

A lot of top companies are leveraging customer service communities to garner ideas, put their new products to rigorous tests, and improve their customer satisfaction levels. In one study, about 72% of companies said that they use communities to obtain feedback on their products. 67% of the participating companies also employ these groups to collate ideas on the performance of their new products.

The insights you glean from communities can help you build high-quality products to increase your customers satisfaction. So consider having communities test your beta products and original prototypes before you finalise your design. This way, you will minimise the risks of putting square pegs in round holes.

3. Be nice to customers

The rule of thumb is to be nice to customers so that they will be nice to you. If you are a business owner who wants to be a customer’s favourite, your best bet is to treat them like you would treat yourself. For this to work effectively, you need to encourage your staff to see customers as the lifeline of the business. Statistics show that about 51% of disgruntled customers may not return to do business with a company that mistreated them.

On the other hand, satisfied customers will always choose your brand as long as you maintain or improve your standards. Business leaders need to monitor their sales departments and offer training to sales employees geared towards increasing the satisfaction of customers.

4. Launch a perfect product

Every customer wants nothing but the best product that guarantees them value for their money. Apple Inc is a living example of how perfect products can win the trust of customers, and increase the net worth of a company. An Apple iPhone or MacBook may be a lot more expensive than other computing devices. But they guarantee good security, beauty, and advanced functionalities for users.

The bottom line is that instead of rushing to launch a substandard product, you may want to take your time building a great product; it will sell itself. Only a few customers will want to trade off quality for a low price. A perfect product needs to be designed while taking into consideration unforeseeable circumstances that may lie in its trajectory. You can start by supplying your technicians, engineers, and product development teams with all the requisite tools that are needed for perfection.

5. Launch at the opportune time

You’ve got to respect timelines even as you try to launch an excellent product. It’s customers, market and industry trends that always determine what time is appropriate to own anything. Consequently, launching a good product at the wrong hour is more or less the same as building a defective product. So, on-time delivery is the best way to introduce a superb design and gain massive returns on your investment.

An online retail giant such as Amazon has shown much improvement in its fast online delivery services. And that’s one of the secrets behind Jeff Bezos’ success. For brick and mortar business owners, timelines are also important. Customers who visit your store only to find out that it’s empty will be forced to search for online alternatives. So, understand your customers’ definition of a perfect time before you launch an amazing product.

6. Resolve problems with immediate effect

Customers have little time to wait for service breakdowns to disrupt their schedules and no response to their issues. So, develop a business culture that has a listening ear to the concerns of clients. Breakdowns are crucial moments in the customers satisfaction relationship that exists between a business and its customers. And if you address problems in time, it will have a great impact on the overall customer satisfaction level of your business.

More often than not, customers who believe in your business and its problem-solving capabilities will stay in touch with you during downtimes. An effective solution doesn’t end with whether you can overcome the challenge, but rather, what steps you have put in place to prevent similar troubles in the future.

7. Set up live chat support for your website

Why should a customer choose you when they have several options to choose from? Well, you need to make a difference in how you serve them offline and online. Many companies today run online shops to meet the changing needs of their consumers. Forbes business analysts say that it’s six to seven times more difficult to win a new customer than to retain your existing loyal clientele. Also, about 55% of customers who have good intentions to patronise a brand eventually cancel their thoughts because of bad customer service.

But if you had a live chat support system for your business website, you could remedy the situation with increased customers satisfaction. In recent years, the use of live chat support features has grown in popularity. For example, in 2019, businesses that used live chat support were able to increase their customer satisfaction rates to more than 80%. 75% of customers now prefer live support to any other medium for support. Add live support chat to your website and provide help to your customers in real-time, and they will thank you for that by sticking to your brand.

8. Make your employees feel good

Essentially, pleasing your employees can, in turn, please your customers. It may be hard for you to boost your customers satisfaction if the very people serving them are not satisfied. You can start by providing conducive working conditions for your employees to serve consumers. Studies have confirmed that many workers can deliver their best performances when they know that their contributions are valued.

To business owners, this means that they have to offer attractive rewards to their hard-working employees to encourage them to do more for the business. When employees take pride in their jobs because managers have got their back, it translates into a desire to meet customer satisfaction goals.

9. Create room for customer reviews

The business world changed dramatically in the age of the internet. And so, you may want to use online platforms to listen to customers’ feelings about your product or service. You can’t always judge a book by its cover. So, don’t conclude that you have made a good product until the customers attest to that fact. A perfect product may still have a hidden weakness that will never expose itself to your design team.

But when your consumers use and discover the downsides of your products, their honest reviews can help you address flaws in time to meet their demands. Therefore, set up a medium for customers to have a say about your product. Use customer review channels to find out the likes and dislikes of your end-users.

10. Personalise your services

Everybody will like to feel special, especially as a customer. And so it’s high time you saw your customers as unique individuals with diverse needs. Customers have evolved to love companies that recognise their identities. That means you may have to know your customers by their names, and sometimes their date of birth. These and other information will allow you to customise their experience with your brand to suit their identities and make you stand out from the others, giving you a competitive advantage.

So, what are you waiting for? In every little decision you’re making, ensure that you factor in your customers’ demographics and geographies. Even if your customers live in the same part of the world, they may still have different requirements altogether. So, as much as possible, tailor your services to suit them individually instead of viewing them as an entity. As far as business is concerned, what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander.

Conclusion

To summarise, customers dislike bad customer service, just as you resent it yourself. So, consider adopting the above effective strategies to improve your customers satisfaction, and drive forward your growth.