Andrew
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba
“The single most important thing is to make people happy, as a side effect, they will be happy to open up their wallets and pay you” – Derek Sivers
When you unlock happiness in your customers, money will also start flowing into your company’s pockets.
In my last article, I wrote about giving the customer satisfaction because it is good for the business.
There are far more benefits that the organisation as a whole and its brand tend to benefit from happy customers.
Today, I want to unpack the harvest that companies can reap if they give attention to the happiness of their revenue sources.
Satisfaction breeds loyalty
In almost every aspect of life, when one is entirely satisfied, they will become loyal.
The same principle applies to business-customer relationships. A satisfied customer almost always becomes loyal to that brand.
Loyal customers will always bring repeat business, as well as new business with them.
According to research by Bain & Co, 5 percent in customer retention produces a more than 25 percent increase in profit.
This is why research has proven that it is cheaper to keep loyal customers than to acquire new ones.
You will never get loyal customers if you do not give them satisfaction, otherwise they will churn and stop doing business with you.
When customers approach you, they have certain basic expectations that your organisation should fulfil, such as meeting their needs, getting solutions to their problems, and to nurture them.
As you try to meet these basic expectations your customer service should also be on point.
Customers need to have positive interactions at every touch-point of your organisations, for instance, your website, physical store, your product and your direct contact staff in general.
Have you ever walked into a shop and you start to feel awkward because all the staff members in there just give you unwelcoming blank stares?
I have experienced that quite a few times, especially in these small shops and boutiques.
They hire people not because they are qualified for the jobs, but because they provide cheap labour.
The sad part is that they do not make an effort to train them on how to treat customers, so as to steer growth and ensure repeat business.
In most cases these employees act like they are doing you a favour by serving you, when in actual fact it is the customer’s patronage that will be helping to keep their business afloat.
Positive experiences start with simple things like warm facial experiences by the staff, who have direct interactions with customers.
Business and product decisions are based on customer satisfaction.
When customers have a challenge with your product, the best way to solve this is by fixing the problem first before prospecting for new customers.
People that are into cars can elaborately tell you that any model of a car has its own personal problem that can be identified with it.
For instance, Eddie (the master technician with AMC Chinhoyi branch) is one guy who has vast knowledge in cars, and the problems associated with almost every brand.
This is important product knowledge that is useful to have before making a decision to buy a vehicle.
Brands that are persistently associated with certain problems while showing no desire to quickly find solutions will surely lose existing customers, as they will simply switch to their competitors.
Potential customers will not even attempt to try the products or services of a tainted brand.
In Harare, people building new houses are installing boreholes because the Harare City Council has consistently failed to provide constant and reliable clean running water.
There is no need to stay where there is no satisfaction.
Last week I mentioned that not all customers who give you business are satisfied customers.
It is true, but it is also very true that a lot of customers, when they have an option and can afford to, will gladly switch to your competition without a twinge of regret.
Research has shown that it takes up to 12 positive experiences to make up for one negative experience, and most customers do not have the patience to wait that long.
When customers talk about positive customer experience, top-of-mind is usually the ease of doing business right from the start of the customer journey right through to the end of it.
This is why it is important to avoid frictions and delays when serving a customer.
It is impossible to delight your audience without first providing them a seamless ease way to transact.
However, some mistakes are inevitable, and when that happens as an organisation you must surely make up for them.
Nonetheless, some companies think that being customer friendly is an end-all.
Unfortunately, it is not enough.
On top of being friendly, the product or service must have a solid quality and a market that sees value in it.
*Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast with a strong passion for customer service. For comments, suggestions and training, she can be reached on [email protected] or on 0712 979 461, 0719 978 335
NEW: Why giving customer satisfaction is important – Part 1
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba
“The single most important thing is to make people happy, as a side effect, they will be happy to open up their wallets and pay you” – Derek Sivers
When you unlock happiness in your customers, money will also start flowing into your company’s pockets.
In my last article, I wrote about giving the customer satisfaction because it is good for the business.
There are far more benefits that the organisation as a whole, and its brand tend to benefit from happy customers.
Today, I want to unpack the harvest that companies can reap if they give attention to the happiness of their revenue sources.
Satisfaction breeds loyalty
In almost every aspect of life, when one is entirely satisfied, they will become loyal.
The same principle applies to business-customer relationships. A satisfied customer almost always becomes loyal to that brand.
Loyal customers will always bring repeat business, as well as new business with them.
According to research by Bain & Co, 5 percent in customer retention produces a more than 25 percent increase in profit.
This is why research has proven that it is cheaper to keep loyal customers than to acquire new ones.
You will never get loyal customers if you do not give them satisfaction, otherwise they will churn and stop doing business with you.
When customers approach you, they have certain basic expectations that your organisation should fulfil, such as meeting their needs, getting solutions to their problems, and to nurture them.
As you try to meet these basic expectations your customer service should also be on point.
Customers need to have positive interactions at every touch-point of your organisations, for instance, your website, physical store, your product and your direct contact staff in general.
Have you ever walked into a shop and you start to feel awkward because all the staff members in there just give you unwelcoming blank stares?
I have experienced that quite a few times, especially in these small shops and boutiques.
They hire people not because they are qualified for the jobs, but because they provide cheap labour.
The sad part is that they do not make an effort to train them on how to treat customers, so as to steer growth and ensure repeat business.
In most cases these employees act like they are doing you a favour by serving you, when in actual fact it is the customer’s patronage that will be helping to keep their business afloat.
Positive experiences start with simple things like warm facial experiences by the staff, who have direct interactions with customers.
Business and product decisions are based on customer satisfaction.
When customers have a challenge with your product, the best way to solve this is by fixing the problem first before prospecting for new customers.
People that are into cars can elaborately tell you that any model of a car has its own personal problem that can be identified with it.
For instance, Eddie (the master technician with AMC Chinhoyi branch) is one guy who has vast knowledge in cars, and the problems associated with almost every brand.
This is important product knowledge that is useful to have before making a decision to buy a vehicle.
Brands that are persistently associated with certain problems while showing no desire to quickly find solutions will surely lose existing customers, as they will simply switch to their competitors.
Potential customers will not even attempt to try the products or services of a tainted brand.
In Harare, people building new houses are installing boreholes because the Harare City Council has consistently failed to provide constant and reliable clean running water.
There is no need to stay where there is no satisfaction.
Last week I mentioned that not all customers who give you business are satisfied customers.
It is true, but it is also very true that a lot of customers, when they have an option and can afford to, will gladly switch to your competition without a twinge of regret.
Research has shown that it takes up to 12 positive experiences to make up for one negative experience, and most customers do not have the patience to wait that long.
When customers talk about positive customer experience, top-of-mind is usually the ease of doing business right from the start of the customer journey right through to the end of it.
This is why it is important to avoid frictions and delays when serving a customer.
It is impossible to delight your audience without first providing them a seamless ease way to transact.
However, some mistakes are inevitable, and when that happens as an organisation you must surely make up for them.
Nonetheless, some companies think that being customer friendly is an end-all.
Unfortunately, it is not enough.
On top of being friendly, the product or service must have a solid quality and a market that sees value in it.
*Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast with a strong passion for customer service. For comments, suggestions and training, she can be reached on [email protected] or on 0712 979 461, 0719 978 335
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