Tis the season to show gratitude. But do your customers feel your appreciation?
Customers can tell when brands are excited about their business. But on the other side, customers can also tell when they aren’t valued or supported by a brand.
Customers are your reason for being in business. They are central to your success, so show your gratitude. This holiday season, share your appreciation with customers through words and actions.
Here are six ways to show customers you’re grateful for them:
1) First interaction/call resolution
Customers get frustrated when a brand can’t solve their problems right away and they have to keep calling back. Every customer wants their issue resolved the first time. The best way to improve first call resolution is by equipping agents with the technology and decision-making power they need to solve customer problems. When agents have the tools and authority and are treated like royalty, it improves the culture and your first call resolution rates.
2) Talk to your contact center agents
Your contact center is a gold mine of information, but too many brands ignore it. Talk to your contact center agents, learn what’s happening in the contact center, and gain valuable insights. Some of the most innovative companies get their best ideas from frontline workers who interact with customers every day.
3) Invest in technologies so agents can do their jobs
There’s a reason your call time is too long—agents are shuffling between windows on their computers instead of serving customers. It’s not unusual for agents to have 40 windows open at once. They just need one view of the customer with great technology that gives them the tools to provide a top-tier customer experience.
4) If you outsource your contact center or any other related thing, that partner needs to match your brand identity
Every partnership reflects your brand and is part of the customer experience. Make sure every partner has the same values and treats your customers the same way you would. I recently signed up for a credit card from one of my favorite department stores to get a discount. But the card never showed, the discount expired, and I ended up canceling the card because the representatives were so rude. The brand lost a valuable customer, and I was left with a frustrating experience and a poor taste in my mouth about a brand I typically love.
5) Do what you say you’re going to do
Customer-centric brands have a consistent say-do ratio. You have to keep your promises and follow through instead of making excuses. Doing what you say you’ll do isn’t always easy or comfortable, but it builds customer trust and shows you value them.
6) No small print, or tricking customers into hidden fees or contracts
Customers don’t want to be tricked or duped. There’s nothing worse than feeling coerced into a deal or contract you don’t want. Make it clear to customers what you stand for. Simplicity is beautiful because it’s easy to understand and can’t hide tricks or traps. Don’t get so focused on hitting metrics that you lose sight of the customer.
Every day is an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships and show gratitude.
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Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist and the bestselling author of The Customer of the Future. For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here.