These days, customers have a wide range of options when it comes to acquiring products and services. So how do you ensure your business stands out from the competition and captures those sales? You need to provide a great experience for your customer.
According to Oracle, 86 percent of customers will actually pay more for a product or service that offers a better customer experience. That's because consumers aren't just looking for the lowest price--they're looking for the best overall experience. They want to feel good about their purchase and the experience you provide can make that happen.
When most people think about customer experience they think about customer service. While service is a very important aspect of the overall customer experience, it's just one part of it. Customer experience encompasses the entire relationship between customer and business--it includes ease of use, accessibility, loyalty, communication, community, shared values, quality, and of course service.
Keep reading to learn how you can build an effective customer experience strategy that helps you connect with customers and grow your business.
Know Thy Customer
The first step in creating a customer experience strategy is to know your target audience. After all, you can't meet the needs of your customers if you don't know who they are. There are many ways to discover your customer base. One of the best ways to understand your customers is to ask them questions.
Customer surveys can help you get to know your clientele a little better including what they want, what works for them, and what they would change about the experience you provide. QLESS for Retail includes an SMS customer survey feature that allows you to send a short survey via text shortly after the customer's transaction is complete. With higher response rates than traditional email surveys, you'll get valuable, actionable feedback -- instantly.
Furthermore, using our solution you can track valuable customer data. This can be used to offer your repeat customers an individualized experience. You can recommend related products and services based on customer purchase history, create targeted marketing campaigns that fosters community, and even roll out new products and services based on customer behavior.
Make It Easy to Pay
When a customer is ready to pay, you should make it easy for them to complete the transaction. Limited payment options restrict your clients' ability to purchase your goods or services. Consider accepting a wide range of payment options--cash, credit cards, and debit cards are a must. You should also consider accepting digital wallet payments like Apple Pay or Google Wallet.
Minimize Customer Wait Times
Your customer experience strategy needs to include some quantitative improvements as well. Minimizing customer wait times is a great way to improve service and increase customer satisfaction. Using a dedicated queue management system like QLESS can help you reduce wait times and provide better service.
When used as a customer experience management tool, QLESS gives you the ability to create a positive customer experience, boost satisfaction rates by 75%, and reduce operational costs by up to 45%.
Listen to -- and Invest in -- Your Employees
A great customer experience strategy includes listening to your staff. After all, your staff interacts with your customers the most and have a better understanding of what they want and need. They can help you identify what works, what doesn't, and where you should be heading. Because they have more hands-on experience, they understand how to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Schedule monthly or quarterly meetings with your staff to hear their feedback and listen to their ideas that could improve customer experience. Reward staff for ideas that deliver results--you could give them a gift card, better shifts, or even a promotion. When your staff understands that you reward their good ideas, they'll be more likely to recommend other ideas too.
Data Is Your Friend
Surveys and staff reports can only tell you so much, you need to use hard data to inform your customer experience strategy. Smart customer experience management requires you to utilize real-time data for each department and location you manage. What's more, data and analytics gives you concrete information you can use to drive procedural changes and create a more positive customer experience.
Using data garnered from QLESS Reports, you can identify your most productive employees, reallocate resources as necessary to better staff peak periods, and identify operational inefficiencies.
Build a Complete Experience
Customer experience isn't just something that happens at checkout--it's a complete process. It starts with your storefront and website. Your storefront, whether physical or digital, should be clean, well organized, and easy to navigate. Likewise, basic information and help should be easily accessible.
Once the purchase is finished, the experience doesn't end. Your customer experience strategy needs to include a customer retention plan. That should include follow up communication, membership offerings, recommended items and service, and much more. Customer experience needs to include community and connection.
The best way to create and implement an effective customer experience strategy is to work with experts. The QLESS queue management system can help you create a strategy that minimizes wait times, automates processes, and creates a positive customer experience from start to finish.
Request a demo to learn more about QLESS and start creating a better customer experience for your business today.
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