5 Easy Ways To Show Customers They Matter

5 Easy Ways To Show Customers They Matter

by | Nov 26, 2021 | Retention & Loyalty

Communicating “thank you” is not overrated. It is so simple, yet people don’t express it enough. While November is known for Thanksgiving holiday in the USA, every month is an opportunity to thank people and intentionally show gratitude. Simple acts of kindness go a long way.

My friend Jeremy Watkin tweeted a thought-provoking Customer Experience Question of the Day (CXQOTD) about “How can you tell customers that you appreciate them?” The following are some of my favorite responses, and my own words of wisdom too.

 

5 Easy Ways To Show Customers You Care About Them

 

1. Send a thank you note.

When was the last time you sent a note of thanks just for being a customer? It’s a rare occurrence. Yet,  a personalized, handwritten note means a lot especially in the high technology world we live in. Consider sending a postcard with a few sentences of gratitude. It requires only a few minutes of your time and about .99 cents to send including postage. One of my favorites is Postagram.

2. Pick up the phone, the old fashion way.

People know to call your customer service 800# when they have a problem. Yet, hearing from a company proactively to express words of thanks helps build trust and connections.

As Debbie Szumylo explains:  “A call out of the blue to tell them they are appreciated” means a lot. Try calling a customer with no ulterior motives other than to say “I appreciate you.” Sean Hawkins once worked with a contact center agent who said, “Thank you for your partnership and business. Without you, we wouldn’t be here.” And I agree with Tanuj Diwan that we must always “be genuinely appreciative.” Customers know the difference.

3.  Send thoughtful gifts based on customers’ preferences.

People love presents IF there are no sales pitches attached. MentalMarketer reminds the importance of “surprise and delight.” Be sure to tailor gifts to customer needs and habits. I also recommend empowering your staff to correct mistakes when they happen, and errors happen because they’re human.  Read examples and apply my best practices.

4. Spotlight customers publically.

Rick Denton suggests “featuring customers on your marketing and social media.” I also advise making sure you have people’s permission as some don’t like publicity. Yet, customers who do approve may greatly appreciate and benefit from help in growing their online brand.

5.  Ask for feedback and close the loop.

Contacting customers and listening to their perspectives demonstrates that they matter. Infusing “voice of customer” (VoC) into your CX practice can actually be your game-changer, and what I call Doing CX Right®‬. Other customer experience professionals share more perspectives:

  • *Leslie O’Flahavan: “People just want to be heard. Listening (or reading) is the most intimate, affirming thing you can do for anyone, including customers.”
  • That CX Guy: “use customer feedback to “Deliver more value. Fix bugs, add features, and ultimately make the product or service better.”
  • Craig Stoss: “actioning feedback and saying thank you to those who gave you the feedback is the ultimate appreciation.”
  • Jim Bass:  When you take action based on customer feedback, “be sure to let them know the reason you took action is because you appreciate them and value their relationship.”

Get more actionable tipcs about delivering Wow Moments and applying Voice of Customer best practices. Listen to Shep Hyken’s show  

If you like this article, read my 10 authentic tactics to thank employees.  

As Simon Sinek says, Customers will never love a company until employees love it first.”

3 Ways To Measure Customer Experiences Beyond NPS

3 Ways To Measure Customer Experiences Beyond NPS

by | Nov 14, 2021 | Metrics & Measurements

How do you know if your customers are satisfied and will refer your company? What are ways you can measure customer experiences as well as predict future behaviors?

Most people are familiar with the Net Promoter System.  The  NPS score is derived from a simple question: “On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how likely are you to recommend [the company, brand, or product] to a friend or colleague?” There’s a lot of controversy about this metric simply because people don’t fully understand the system.

I interviewed Rob Markey, co-founder, and pioneer of NPS at Bain, who explained in simple terms what NPS is and what it is not. He also shared proven tactics to measure customer experiences and maximize satisfaction that goes beyond the price of products and services.

Press the play button below to hear DoingCXRight®‬ Podcast episode.

My conversation with Rob Markey prompted me to think more about how customer experience leaders can expand their measurements because we need a holistic view to improve “pain points” along the ENTIRE customer journey.

 

3 Ways to Measure Customer Experiences & Understand The WHY behind your Net Promoter Score (NPS)

To measure customer experience (CX), service, and support, you can add metrics such as: value enhancement score, customer effort score (CES), and customer satisfaction (CSAT).  Gartner research provides three helpful definitions, originally posted here.

Value enhancement score (VES)

According to Gartner, “Enhancing the value that customers perceive through service interactions boosts their loyalty by raising their confidence in the purchase decisions they’ve made — and in their belief that they can achieve more with the company’s product or service … Measuring VES validates the impact that customer service’s value enhancement efforts have in boosting loyalty.”

 

Customer effort score (CES)

As Gartner explains, “CES measures customers’ perception of how easy it is to handle their issue or question during customer service and support interactions … CES is also a key predictor of disloyalty. Knowing who experiences high effort enables customer service and support leaders to proactively identify at-risk customers and mitigate churn.” If you are interested in learning more about measuring customer experiences as it pertains to Effort Score, listen to my podcast interview with Adam Toporek about creating a frictionless experience to get and keep customers.

Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

“CSAT measures customers’ perceptions of whether a company’s product or service meets their needs and expectations. Service and support leaders can primarily use CSAT to measure the satisfaction level of specific aspects of their interactions, such as the CSR they spoke to or the channel they used. CSAT feedback is most commonly captured through a post-transaction survey but also can be captured through speech analytics or other voice of the customer (VoC) methods,” Gartner explains. There are many ways to improve CSAT scores and utilize the data to impact other business objectives. Contact me if you want to discuss further.

 

Bottom Line:

1. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. So, make sure you are measuring customer experiences and digging deep into how customers think, feel and perceive your brand. Net Promoter (NPS) is valuable, however, do not over-rely on one measurement.

2. Customers know if you are “checking a box” and pretending to be customer-centric. If you ask for feedback and do nothing with the insights to improve experiences, you’ll end up impacting customer frustration resulting in less revenue and retention over time.

What would you add to the list?