“It costs 6-7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.” This statistic, as reported by Bain and Company, is one of the most popularly quoted statistics related to the importance of customer retention.
Another commonly referred to statistic is the concrete example of the famous Pareto Principle – “80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers”.
The two aforementioned statements greatly highlight the importance of customer retention. But what actually makes customers happy enough to be repetitively loyal to one particular vendor or brand?
Many have the misconception that price is the main reason for customer churn. While having competitive pricing is still vital, the long-term effects of a bad customer experience are often overlooked. High quality customers would even be prepared to pay a somewhat higher price if guaranteed a better after sales experience.
The majority of customers who encounter a bad service experience will not speak up about it to the vendor, but they will simply leave and never come back. The better part of these customers will also share their experience with others, with the increase of customer review sites and groups on social media making it very easy to do so.
In this way, negative customer experiences can actually have a domino effect. Potential customers tend to do their research before buying, and a recent social media study by ClickFox found that more than 60% of consumers are “influenced by the perceptions and experiences of their communities”.
The following are four useful tips on how to provide exceptional customer service to encourage repeat business from customers.
1. Know Your Customer
Customers like to be treated as individuals. Keeping a record of past interactions with a customer will help to develop a personalised customer profile, which will allow you to provide a tailored service to all your customers.
2. Be Organised
There is nothing more frustrating than calling a support line and having to explain an issue multiple times to different people. It is essential to set up a structured support process and to make sure that front-line employees are well informed and know the first person of contact for different issues.
3. Keep a Close Eye on Social Media Platforms
While being a great platform for marketing and communication, social media can also taint a company’s reputation in seconds. Any negative public comments have critical response times and should be dealt with as soon as possible.
4. Gather Feedback
It may be useful to follow up with customers to check whether or not they are satisfied with the service they received. Doing so does not only give you an overview of staff performance, but it also gives you the chance to mend a negative experience and show customers that their satisfaction is important.
The bottom line is that great customer service is essential to retaining a loyal customer base. Zendesk, the leading customer service software company, will be hosting their first event in Malta in collaboration iMovo, their official local partner. If you would like to enjoy a free, fun and engaging afternoon where you can learn more about customer service and help desk best practices, be sure to visit https://www.imovo.com.mt/first-zendesk-malta-event/ for more information.
