So you’ve decided to start your own business. Congratulations! You have a revolutionary new product and great ideas for your business model. You’re excited to introduce it to the public.
However, the products you create or the services you offer are not the only considerations in opening and growing your business. There are more things you need to learn before officially launching your company.
Customer Experience (CX) Optimization is something you should pay attention to. Detail your plans from initial contact with clients to customer retention strategies.
What is customer experience optimization?
To put it simply, customer experience is your customers’ perception of how your brand treats them. It’s the quality of all interactions and every point of contact. It includes visiting your social media pages or watching your ads, making queries using the live chat services on your website, or purchasing your products—these, and a lot more.
An essential part of the CX is the emotions associated with each interaction, such as expectation, satisfaction, loyalty, or disappointment. Think of it as the totality of your brand’s relationship with an individual. These interactions, along with associated feelings and perceptions, affect behavior.
Customer experience optimization, then, can be understood as making the process of attracting customers, engaging with them, and improving their perception of your company better. This is key to striking a balance between the customer’s expectations and your brand’s goals.
In today’s world of oversaturation and competition, a top-notch customer experience will set you apart from the crowd. Positive brand recognition is just one of the benefits that start-ups can enjoy, thanks to CX optimization. Here are some tips you can use.
1. Create a loyalty program
Attracting customers to buy your products once is good, but clients who regularly support your company are better. Making your customers feel valued builds brand loyalty. It will also make you the most profit in the long term.
One of the best ways to do that is by having a loyalty program. This can look and function differently depending on the products you offer, but the goal remains the same. In restaurants, for example, birthday celebrators get free cupcakes.
Stamp cards, often used by cafés like Starbucks, encourage customers to buy more frequently to get stamps for their every purchase, of course, with the promise of a reward in the end. These can be free drinks on the house or products like tumblers or pens. The Starbucks planners are trendy and practical. Since you cannot buy it without purchasing a set number of drinks, customers will spend more.
Additionally, these products can serve as promotional merchandise. Giving discounts to repeat customers is also a common practice. The cost of implementing a loyalty program often pays for itself by driving extra sales.
2. Be present on multiple channels
The development of social media platforms, messaging services, and the like has provided many opportunities for better CX. Your website or your emails are not the only points of contact you can establish anymore.
You can take advantage of social media by making a presence on all relevant channels. Social media sites and apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all used by companies. Such tools aid in engaging with their current user base and attract more potential customers. Each platform has its features and communities that you can take advantage of.
Messaging services can also make it easier for direct communication between you and your customers. The instantaneous response time expected is more favorably received than email. Also, make sure to prioritize the mobile interface. Smartphones are now used in going online as much as laptops are, and your website needs to adapt to this change.
3. Regularly monitor reviews and complaints
A bad review from one customer can quickly go viral in minutes and do significant damage to your brand. To prevent this, it is a good idea to monitor your Facebook page, for example, or any popular review sites where your customers may be present. Complaints may result from a misunderstanding on the customers’ part. Responding can clear your name to prospects who base their opinions on other customers’ reviews.
4. Request feedback from current customers
You can glean lots of helpful insight from asking your current customers. You can, for instance, learn exactly why they buy your products or services. There may be specific reasons for different groups of customers that you can take advantage of. Happy customers may have suggestions that can increase the good experience of other customers.
Identify areas for improvement to provide better service. Are there any aspects that they feel dissatisfied with, for example? Does the overall service meet all their expectations? You may even scope out potential interest in future products or offerings.
Giving customers discounts for their feedback makes them more likely to stick around and entice them to buy more. You, in turn, will have data that you can use to improve your business. It’s a win for everyone.
5. Be responsive
Customers often feel valued when they get quick responses to their feedback or inquiries. Whether through email or messaging services, they don’t want to wait for answers. Faster response times make it easier for you to capture customer interest as it comes and lead to higher success rates. Answering customer queries immediately can be challenging, primarily if your start-up is composed of a small team.
Having auto-responders or chatbots is an excellent solution to this. You can use auto-responders to set expectations for when customers can hear back from you. Chatbots can answer common questions that do not necessarily need your team’s attention.
6. Put your customers first
Good quality products and low prices are not the only deciding factors for customers anymore. Customer Experience is now widely considered essential for businesses. Companies are prioritizing CX optimization over other factors like pricing and product development. Start-ups especially need to focus on the quality of CX they offer, as initial performance in this area can affect the growth of their business.
Following these tips will undoubtedly help start-up owners optimize the buyer’s experience and retain customers.
Author: Trevor Michael
Author Bio: Trevor Michael is a Customer Contact Industry Specialist of Select VoiceCom. He has operated successfully within this niche industry for over ten years across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. He enjoys writing, golf and going to social events.
