Going into 2019, the customer experience is still one of the biggest trends driving business success. In fact, roughly 84% of consumers agree that the key to winning them over is to treat them as people and not as numbers.
While organizations are taking note of this and changing their models to better suit the client, there are still mistakes being made along the way. This, in turn, could make matters worse rather than improve them. So, we’ve compiled a list of customer experience mistakes to avoid when building a relationship with clients. Here they are:
1. Ignoring feedback
When it comes to giving feedback, studies have shown that only 1 out of 26 unhappy customers complain, whereas the others simply leave. From this, we can deduce that indifference is what you should be careful of. But, if you listen to even one unhappy customer, you could end up implementing a change that ends up keeping the indifferent ones around. Never ignore feedback.
2. Using canned responses poorly
When used properly, canned responses can significantly increase productivity in the workplace. However, 38% of consumers get frustrated due to scripted or impersonal responses from representatives. For example, using canned responses to fake emotions is poor judgment. It makes your representatives sound like they are not real and often times belittles the customer instead of coming off as sympathetic. Rather, save the canned responses for follow-up emails and reminders as a way to show clients that you always have them in mind.
3. Forgetting your employees
Often times, businesses are so preoccupied with their customer loyalty programs that they tend to let their employees fall by the wayside. Unhappy employees can negatively impact businesses in many ways, such as having low productivity levels. But what’s worse than employees quitting their jobs? Giving up and not quitting. This can lead to poor customer treatment, which in the end reflects badly on you.
4. Spamming emails
It may seem surprising at this point, but businesses are still struggling to determine the optimal rate of email send-outs per week and per month. In the U.S., over 70% of businesses send marketing emails every day or every week. This is simply too much and is more likely to drive your customers away than keep them around. Make sure the emails you send out are kept between 2 and 3 per month — that way you make your presence known without overstaying your welcome.
5. Making it hard to reach your business
Probably one of the most frustrating experiences as a consumer is having a question or concern and not being able to quickly reach the business. To this day, we still see business pages which lack a “contact us” section. And even if you do have that section, failing to make support phone numbers and email visible on all pages of your website pages turns people away and makes your establishment look unprofessional.
The customer experience should still be at the top of your list in 2019. Building relationships in a competitive world is one of the key aspects of success. By avoiding these customer experience mistakes, you’ll keep clients happy, and the business thriving.