In the business world, everything revolves around the customer. When it comes to your brand and its reputation, customers matter most to the stability and growth of your business. The goal of a business is to indirectly and directly fulfill customer expectations and needs. You want customers to stay loyal to your brand and come back for more. Here are 4 best practices to make sure your business puts your customers at the forefront of your decisions.
Implement Pathways for Integrating Feedback
Feedback can help build a stable relationship between the business and customer. Not all businesses have a stable reputation. A lot of businesses go through rough patches because they are not willing to accept constructive feedback. According to Entrepreneur, in life you will have goals to achieve both personally and professionally. These cannot be achieved without some type of guidance which comes via constructive feedback from your boss, parents, and senior managers. As a business, accepting feedback is not a bad thing. It’s a chance for you to improve your brand. Rejecting feedback is like not allowing yourself to feel better after you catch the flu. You want to embrace feedback in a positive manner so that your business can soar rather than fall.
Pay Attention to Small Details
Paying attention to small details will not only show that you care about your business, but it also shows that you care about the customer. Customers want “perfect”, even though there is no such thing as perfect. However, paying attention to every tiny detail in your products and services goes to show that you want your customers to see experience a perfect version of your brand. Tips and tricks include making lists, maintaining a routine, making quality a priority and staying organized. Everyone makes mistakes in life. But the goal is to not let those mistakes define you.
Accuracy, Availability, Partnership, and Advice
Accuracy
As a brand, your products and services need to accurately match the needs and expectations of the customer. One question to always keep in mind is whether your product/service was delivered to the customer as they expected. In order to retain your customers, you need to get them exactly what they asked for. This is the first step to ensure that they will come back for more.
Availability
Customers will always want to know if you will continue to be there for them. According to Forbes, it is important to “check in with your customers after the sale is closed”. Find out in between if they have any questions or concerns about your products. This is important for implementing any constructive feedback that they may have for you to improve your brand. Availability also relates to the possibility of returns and exchange for products. Should a customer want to exchange or return a certain product, you need to ensure it is available to them.
Partnership
It is crucial to understand customer needs and expectations without directly asking them. They appreciate it when you try to have a personal relationship with them. A loyal customer means a happy customer. Happy customers result in a positive reputation and more traction to new customers. A bad experience is a life-long memory for a customer. It never goes away. Bad experiences lead to a negative reputation online and offline. You want your customers to stay loyal to your brand for as long as possible. That means having a stable relationship with customers.
Advice
When a new customer encounters an unfamiliar business, they want to be educated. For example, when a customer visits a bank seeking to create a new savings account, they would want to be aware of all the benefits and consequences that come with it. They would want to know the minimum account balance to be retained, any penalty charges…etc. When you educate a customer, they appreciate the service which will result in a stable relationship between you and them.
Honesty is the Best Policy
Customers want honesty. The truth may not always be a bed of roses, but it is important for the customers to know the downsides of the product/service. According to Forbes, “telling the truth enables you to work with them to make the best decisions and find the best outcomes, based on their resources and priorities”. Honesty will prevent the customer from feeling cheated by your brand. This comes hand-in-hand with valuing your customer.
Conclusion
Want to ensure priority for your customers? PxidaCX can help you put your customers first by help you design surveys that can help figure out their needs and expectations.