Customer satisfaction — the extent to which a business succeeds at providing products and services to fulfill customer needs, inquiries, and expectations — should be a priority for any company for a variety of reasons. 

One study observed that 92% of companies that have placed high importance on customer satisfaction and experience have reported an increase in customer loyalty, with 84% reporting an uplift in revenue and a cost savings of 79%. If you want your business to thrive, it is crucial you implement customer satisfaction solutions within your business strategy.

Conversely, your business could suffer if customers are dissatisfied with your products and services. Microsoft has reported that 61% of their respondents to a study have switched brands due to poor customer service. Additionally, customers might voice their dissatisfaction with your company — possibly reaching thousands through social media.

The impacts of customer satisfaction are too large to ignore and could be the difference between your company flourishing or floundering. If you would like to reap the benefits of finely-tuned customer satisfaction practices, you’ll need to take a look at your company culture, how you interact with customers, and how you monitor your success.

1. Create a Vibrant Company Culture

If your employees are happy, it could easily show to your customers. Nobody wants to deal with a disgruntled employee who can’t provide them with answers.

Embodying a company culture where employees are empowered and feel they have a purpose can facilitate a much more positive tone of communication with customers. Companies may benefit from instructing their employees on company values, mission, products, and services to ensure every employee will be capable of answering any question a consumer might have. Happier, more engaged employees can make it easier to attract and retain talent, as well as better serve your clientele.

Customers will largely appreciate prompt answers and quick solutions to their problems. Providing this information with a positive tone can reflect favorably on your brand and help build brand loyalty.

2. Set Expectations With Customers

While you may want to do the most for your customers, inflating the value of your products or services can hinder your customer relations. Grand promises can set the bar too high, and if you don’t deliver, your customers may feel taken advantage of. 

It is best to set realistic expectations with your consumers and let them know exactly what you’ll be delivering. This way, if you provide quality products and services you’ll end up impressing your clients without getting their hopes up.

Advise your employees not to over-promise. Everyone should know exactly what your business can do and provide and should be able to set expectations with clients accordingly to not let them down. Consumers will appreciate knowing exactly what they’ll be paying for and will be pleasantly surprised if you over-deliver.

3. Provide Omnichannel Support

The traditional method of providing customers with answers about your business would be over the telephone. While a phone call might be the preferred method for some consumers, it isn’t the case for all.

In today’s digital age, many people would rather chat via social media customer management software or chatbot software.

It has also been reported that 73% of customers want the ability to solve product/service issues on their own. It would be advantageous for a company to partner with a business automation software solution provider to:

Businesses that provide services on-site or that manage vehicle fleets, including pest control, cleaning, and lawn care vehicles, should provide their employees with software that can provide the above straightforward and easy support, facilitate communication between business and customer, and provide a superior level of customer support.

4. Measure and Track Customer Satisfaction

Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to provide your customers with the services and communication channels they prefer to get a hold of you, you’ll need to keep a close eye on things to maintain consumer satisfaction.

Tracking analytics such as production, time of service, service location activity, GPS reports, and giving the customer the chance to rate your service are all analytics necessary to get a better understanding of customer satisfaction, where your company is doing well, and where it needs to improve to maintain clients.

5. Share Feedback With the Team

If you know what analytics to track to get a firm understanding of your customer service efforts, share them with your team to let them know what they are doing right, and where they need to get better.

For instance, if you are finding that some consumers have voiced frustration about a product or service, share this with your employees so they can fully explain how this service will be carried out — scheduling, dispatching a team, the work to be done, and everything else a client would like to know to make the process smoother.

6. Act on Negative Reviews 

Negative reviews should be looked at as a good thing. Seize this opportunity to analyze this feedback and take action to improve customer service.

Any concern about your business can be alleviated if you take the time to listen to your customers. Their responses can help you understand where you can alter and enhance business practices to give the customer more of what will make them happy.

Hearing your customers out will help avoid negative reviews in the future if you adjust your business operations for them. This feedback is valuable for the future success of your business and for retaining and gaining more clientele. It is always wise for a company to understand how to get more reviews to see where they stand in the consumer’s eyes.

7. Benefits of Improving Client Satisfaction

The advantages of improving your customer satisfaction can directly contribute to the success of your business in a variety of ways. Improving customer service can:

  • Maintain and grow your customer base. Customer satisfaction will increase brand loyalty and these customers will refer you to others — a powerful marketing tactic.
  • Set you apart from the competition. If your customers have been disappointed with competing businesses’ customer service, your company will be a welcome relief if you show them you are listening and you care about providing them with solutions.

Maintain and improve business costs. It costs more money marketing to new customers rather than retaining your customers by adjusting current processes for their satisfaction. Additionally, these existing customers may refer you to others — without you spending money on marketing.

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Author

Digital marketer who has researched extensively into field service industries, identifying problems and discovering solutions for your field service business.