Pop quiz: how is customer satisfaction affecting your business?
In the third quarter of 2023, overall customer satisfaction increased by 1.3% in the U.S., directly growing consumer spending by 4%, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Plus, in a WiserOwl survey of 1,000 consumers, 91% said they would rather leave a company than repeatedly endure bad experiences, while 64% valued customer experience (CX) more than price.
When you connect these dots, there’s a clear link between exceptional CX and business wins, but only when brands elevate their experiences to provide consistent, convenient journeys that catalyze customer loyalty.
Let’s look closely at these three critical elements of exceptional CX and explore how to bring them to the forefront of your customer satisfaction strategy.
Convenience: Customers’ Time is Precious, so Prioritize It
Convenience is about making your customers’ lives easier by reducing friction and simplifying processes.
How long are your customers waiting on calls? How quickly does your CX team resolve issues? How easy is it to access support through every channel under the sun?
When customers reach out for help on live chat, email, social media, voice, SMS, or even video, their experience should be as seamless and enjoyable as chatting with a friend—the smoother the journey, the happier the customer.
For instance, fashion retailer Zara provides omnichannel support that allows customers to interact with agents via various channels, eliminating the need to repeat their issues or provide redundant information. Likewise, H&M has implemented 24/7 support with chatbots, which solve basic customer queries related to order tracking, product availability, and general FAQs.
While technology is essential for maximum convenience, human agents—or Ambassadors as we call them at Activus Connect—remain a crucial part of any CX strategy.
With an accessible team of well-trained, experienced, empathetic Ambassadors, customers can enjoy human-led support to solve their most pressing issues, saving time and building stronger brand relationships.
Now that’s convenient!
Consistency: Let Customers Know They’re In Good Hands
Consistency in CX means customers know what to expect when interacting with your brand for support.
Brands like Apple, Starbucks, and Ritz-Carlton understand the importance of consistency, with high customer service standards across the board. Whether they’re demonstrating a new device, brewing your morning coffee, or welcoming you into their hotel, their staff are empowered to go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.
Consistency starts with standardized training for your CX Ambassadors. This includes familiarizing them with your brand’s values, communication style, and problem-solving procedures. When a customer reaches out with a challenge, they should receive the same quality of attention and care every time, assuring them that your brand will meet them with a familiar and reliable level of service.
Equally, technology platforms like CRMs can provide a single view of the customer across all channels, ensuring that no matter who the customer talks to or on which platform, their experience stays consistent.
It also helps to regularly monitor and review customer interactions and use customer feedback to identify areas for improvement. Showing you listen and take action consistently will encourage loyalty while contributing to a memorable, reliable brand image.
Speaking of loyalty…
Loyalty: Building Brand Ambassadors for Life
When brands do convenience and consistency right, customer loyalty naturally follows, leading to repeat business, reduced marketing costs, and the likelihood that customers will recommend you to others.
Still, building loyalty requires developing a bond with your customers, offering experiences that resonate so well with them that they can’t help but come back for more. It’s less about traditional rewards programs and more about establishing a meaningful, ongoing relationship that makes people feel understood and appreciated.
Some of the most incredible examples of loyalty building come from the clothing retailer Zappos. From sending free shoes and bouquets of flowers to sick and grieving customers to spending 10 hours on call just because the customer was lonely, Zappos’s CX stories are legendary.
Brands like Zappos understand that people want to be heard, empathized with, and attended to and that proactive, personalized communication is one of the fundamentals of building loyalty. Keeping customers around requires a strategic focus on meeting their individual preferences, such as addressing them by name, referencing their past purchases, or providing recommendations, all of which bring more value to interactions.
But the main driver of customer loyalty is consistently providing accessible, convenient, high-quality, empathetic, and responsive service. Delivering on this demand includes ensuring well-trained customer service teams—empowered by the right tools and technologies—who are genuinely passionate about solving people’s problems.
By combining these three key elements—convenience, consistency, and loyalty—Activus Connect helps brands like yours maximize customer satisfaction and take your CX to new heights. Get in touch today, and let’s chat about setting the foundations for elevated CX.
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