Tag Archive for: customer engagement

4 Emotions Driving Customer Loyalty

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Companies are learning that good customer loyalty is a vital part of their business. It’s no longer enough to rely on new prospects; companies are recognising the importance of repeat business and customer advocacy.

What is Customer Loyalty?

Customer loyalty is an attitude and behaviour where customers favour one business brand over others. Usually, a company earns customer loyalty through satisfying the customer’s needs and requirements, whether it’s a service or product (or both!). It can also be born out of a sense of familiarity with a brand’s image, and, more and more, a company’s corporate social responsibility.

Also read this article for more information: How To Improve Customer Experience

Why is it so important?

The Gartner Group discovered that 20% of existing customers generate 80% of a company’s profits. This is backed up by marketing data, which reveals that selling to brand new customers if only 5-20% likely, versus a whopping 60-70% for current customers.

That is customer loyalty at work.

A customer who has previously been satisfied by the quality of a product or impressed with the level of customer service, is more comfortable with the brand in question and as a result is far more likely to purchase again. And recommend that brand to others, enter customer advocacy.

What drives Customer Loyalty?

People tend to be driven by emotions. Customer loyalty comes from the emotional response to a successful business transaction. Are they happy with a product? Happy enough to come back and buy again? That ‘happiness’ is the driving factor, and must be maintained over time to stop the relationship from deteriorating.

There are many emotions and states of mind that play a part in this. On the whole, however, the following four take the lead:

Gratitude 1. Appreciation & Gratitude

These two emotions go hand-in-hand. A grateful customer is a loyal customer. They feel appreciated by the business because they’ve been looked after. In turn, they appreciate the business for performing up to their expectations, a great way to win customer loyalty!

Winner2. Comfortable

While not strictly speaking an ‘emotion’, this has to do with how comfortable customers are with a brand’s image. It’s about familiarity. People are more likely to use a brand they recognise and know to be ‘safe’ than step out of their comfort zone to try something different. This isn’t just about big business; today, with the Millennial consumer focussing on corporate social responsibility, smaller businesses with strong ties to the community, for example, have the power to outperform the large businesses in this area.

Surprise
3. Surprise!

Surprising a customer – in the right way – can ensure that a business stands out in a crowd. Being different is important to outdo the competition. More than that, however, surprise is one of the strongest emotions to tap into when it comes to maintaining customer loyalty as it will keep brand messages from going stale.

community4. Inclusion

People like to feel as though they belong and are part of a community. Being able to generate the feeling that customers are included in decisions, ideas, festivities, is a great way to increase customer loyalty, and a good way to stand out from the crowd. People are less likely to swap businesses if they feel like they are part of a family.

Of course, these aren’t the only emotions driving customer loyalty. People are too complex for us to assume that everyone reacts the same way or wants the same thing. Some of us just want to walk into a store and buy a pair of shoes, or a sundae, without being bothered that it’s not our ‘usual store’. But, let’s be honest, we do get a nice buzz when we walk into our favourite cafe and the barista goes “Hi, Sam, the usual?…One pumpkin-spiced double-frothed skinny latte, extra hot, extra large, with cinnamon dusting, to go, coming right up!”.

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Managing Customer Expectations to improve Customer Loyalty

Customer expectations? What’s the big fuss? A customer comes in, makes a purchase, goes away again, right? No big deal? We all know that it’s more than ‘no big deal’. A customer’s expectations are what we, as responsible companies, strive to meet.

What do you mean with ‘customer expectations’?

In a previous article, we discussed how customers want to be reassured that they’ve made the right choice. They want the product or service they bought from a company to meet their expectations. They don’t want to feel like they’ve lost time, been tricked, or – worse of all – wasted their money. A customer who leaves feeling used is never coming back, and they will spread the word. People are far more likely to share negative feedback than they are to share compliments.

Promising someone the stars and only coming back with a faintly glowing rock, is not the best way to get return customers. If you promise 100%, then you have to deliver 110%; that’s just the way customer service works. People want to feel special – they want their decision to use your company validated – and as a result, managing customer expectations is one of the key skill-sets required in the customer service game.

Another thing to remember is that not everyone has the same expectations. Or the same interpretation of what we, as companies, think are customer expectations.

Defining the Expectations Clearly

Last week, we talked about why knowing how to have a good conversation can empower the frontline team and drive the bottom line. It’s great to carry a good conversation; part of that is to have the same conversation. It’s not so great if the customer has a different understanding of the words that are coming from your frontline.

If a sales rep is talking about oranges and the customer is hearing apples, there’s going to be some issues!

Similarly, companies can be overzealous when it comes to promising quality. When was the last time we saw an infomercial at 3am that promised us smooth abs and great triceps in six weeks? Think back to the last advertisement you watched for a car, with the fine print warning that the clip was shot in optimal conditions and ‘real results may vary’. It’s difficult to manage customer expectations and boast the quality of your service or product.

Again, if we promise 100% then customer expectation is at least 100%. Any good customer service rep will do their best to make sure they’re giving 120%.

A Note about 100% Satisfaction

Everyone has different opinions, so how do we make sure we’re meeting customer expectations? Legally speaking, the promise of 100% satisfaction is all about the judgement of a ‘reasonable person’ [Source]. In this way, companies can protect themselves from irrational demands and unreasonable expectations.

How far do we go?

This is a good question. The answer varies depending on the practicality of the request. A customer coming into a green grocer to buy apples when there are none, is easier to please than a customer who walks into a car show demanding to buy t-shirts. Is there a practical way to meet their expectations? Then use common sense and strive to meet them! Unreasonable customer expectations? Do your best, but remember that there’s just no pleasing some people no matter how hard you try. Some people who will never be satisfied. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it our best shot though.

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Using Good Conversation to Empower your Business

A good conversation is the best way to create a loyal customer, an engaged employee, and overall, a great company. Having a good conversation leaves people feeling satisfied and confident. It boosts self-esteem and has been likened to the same high experienced when eating a favorite food or even having sex.

What makes a good conversation?

A good conversation isn’t just about the words that are said. It’s about how things are said. It’s about body language and facial expressions. Good conversations communicate so much more than just words. More than that, a good conversation can leave us delighted!

Next time you see two people talking, take a moment to look at them properly. How are they interacting? How does one react to the other? What nuances can you pick up on without even hearing what they’re saying? A good communicator knows that a good conversation is an artful balancing act between active listening and constructive speaking.

Also read this article: Retail Customer Service: Reality of Retail Industry

A good conversation is made up of a few straightforward elements:

  • Empathic and Active listening (constructive responsiveness): don’t just nod your head, but understand and participate in the conversation, this is about making others feel interesting and important.
  • Honesty: being truly invested in a conversation is reflected by whether you are showing genuine interest.

The art of carrying a good conversation is a valuable tool when it comes to a company as well. It isn’t just about creating a strong rapport between a salesperson and a customer in order to close a sale either. It’s also about encouraging communication between team members and the company and their employees.

Good communication, internally and externally, leads to a great experience for everyone.

Having a Good Conversation inside a Company

Customer Engagement starts with a conversationFor an employee, being able to have a good conversation with a manager is vital to their job satisfaction and, as a result, their performance. A good conversation allows an employee to express their concerns, needs/desires and suggestions in such a way that managers can understand them and meet them. Similarly, the manager can give voice to their own requirements and opinions, representing the company in this relationship. This two way street provides both parties with the opportunity to actively listen to each other as well as offering useful solutions for any problems. The aim of any good conversation is to leave all parties feeling validated and satisfied that they’ve both been heard and had their requirements met.

The result is a strong relationship between the employees and the company. The open line of communication lets the company empower their entire staff, turning them into engaged employees. Engaged employees are motivated to drive sales because they believe in the cause, thus increasing the bottom line and customer satisfaction. All because the company knows how to have a good conversation.

Encouraging this ongoing communication has internal effects. Employees who communicate with the company are more likely to connect with coworkers as well. This improves internal efficiency! Being a good communicator allows team members to get ahead of any issues and this strengthens the company as a whole.

Building Customer Loyalty through Good Conversation

As human beings, we like to know our needs are heard and met. As customers, this is amplified through expectation. When we got to business, we expect to receive the quality and service that was promised. We want our choices to be validated.Good conversations on the stairs

Customers are companies’ most valuable assets. We all accept that without customers, companies can’t do business and cease to exist. That’s just a simple fact, and until someone discovers how to create a business completely non-reliant on customers and breaks economics as we know it, that’s the way it’s going to be.

As a result, learning how to have a good conversation with a prospective customer is a solid way of creating a lasting relationship with that customer. Even if a sale isn’t made in the first meeting, the foundation for an ongoing relationship has been made upon which to generate future sales.

“Make a customer, not a sale,” Katherine Barchetti said. And she was right. A loyal customer is a returning customer. They’ll advocate your brand and will keep buying your product, simply because they trust you.

So, good conversations…what do we think?

Great customer service experience comes from the ability to connect through good conversation. If we need to improve the way our companies
communicate with our employees and our customers, then it’s time to put some effort into mastering the art of having a great conversation.

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Bridging the Generational Gap with PokémonGo

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Different generations do things differently and bridging the generational gap can be a trick in itself. 2016 has experienced some major changes in how the different generations view each other. The year’s only half done.

We’ve witnessed a massive conflict generations in the United Kingdom with Brexit, in which the divide is pretty clearly split across the generational divide. The new (and successful!) Star Wars has allowed grandparents, parents and children to talk to each other about something other than changes in fashion, the price of bread, and ‘that horrible stuff you call music’.

And now there’s PokémonGo…

What is PokemonGo?

If you were a child anywhere after 1996, you’d have grown up with pokémon. There were cards to collect, video games to play, television series to keep track of, movies to watch and millions of dollars worth of merchandising that you just had to have. I myself still have the Pikachu stuffed animal that I insisted on having, and I’m pretty sure many of us still have the card decks we studiously collected, traded and won. Pokémon have been a Millennial obsession.

We now have competition for that obsession:

“Omg! The sweetest thing just happened! I was sitting here watching Netflix when all of a sudden I hear two cute little knocks at my front door. A boy and a girl, like 12. I asked what’s up? They said, “excuse me, sir, but there’s a pikachu in your backyard and my sister and I were wondering if we can go in and catch it?” I look down at these two young Pokémon trainers and see myself in the little boy. So I slam the door and run to the back yard. GUESS WHO HAS A PIKACHU…” [Source]

Which raises the question for the uninitiated: what in the name of all that is holy is PokémonGo?

First, we have to assume by this stage that you’ve been hiding under a rock the entire month, but we’ll forgive you and explain. Basically, it’s the latest outbreak of what’s been fondly referred to as ‘pokémania’ [source]. A free Android and iOS based game that involves using your phone to find and ‘catch’ pokémon in the real world.

Creating a Product that Closes the Generational Gap

When a new product or service is launched, marketers tend to target a specific demographic. We pick who, what, where, and why – it’s easier to track the impact this way and we can better guarantee positive outcomes.

Say we’re in charge of creating an advertisement campaign for the latest smartphone. We’ll be targeting the younger Millennial generation and Gen Zs, people who are ‘good’ at adapting to new technology and are eager to upgrade at every given opportunity. We might segment even further, maybe we’ll aim at the male population, specifically in western Europe and North America rather than Asia and Oceania. Every segmentation made will determine the style and design of the advertisement: what colours we’ll use, whether we use a voice-over – what type of voice we’ll use! – what message we really want to send. Why do we want you to buy this phone? Because it’s cool, and it’ll help you win the attention of gorgeous women like Scarlett Johansson.

How we market well we market the product will determine how many sales we make and that means knowing our target audience.

Now imagine we’re twenty years into the future when Gen Z is in full-swing and are baffled by the super-virtual-worlds of the Alpha Generation (assuming that’s what we’re going to call them! [source]). We come up with a brand new smartphone-equivalent that we Millennials find just as interesting and easy to get into as our Alpha grandkids.

Congratulations, we’ve successfully closed the generational gap and created an omni-generation product that sells to pretty much everyone on the planet. Nice work. Bonuses all around.

Entertainment values aside: This is what Star Wars: The Force Awakens accomplished. This is why everyone is talking about and playing PokémonGo.

What’s the big fuss?

The generational gap is often ignored because it can be incredibly difficult to bridge them. Why would you waste time, effort and money attempting to market to the entire world when you can narrow your target and generate better ROIs?

From a sales and marketing perspective both Star Wars and PokémonGo are powerful examples of the possibilities that are out there. Innovative ideas sprung out of ideas from the older generation can give rise to powerful opportunities to create better communication across the generational gap.

For those of us in business, understanding these innovations and really learning what makes them tick can give us deeper insight into our marketing and sales strategies.

And it never hurts to have a little fun on the side. Just remember, work first, pokémon later.

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Why can Improving Empathy help me Improve my company’s Customer Service Experience?

Empathy is one of the driving factors of good customer service; without it, it is impossible to imagine what a customer’s position is. Why are they upset about something? Why are they shouting at you over the phone? What is it that they really want? Why do they respond to your smile?

What is Empathy?

Some of you may be sitting there wondering what this video has to do with customer service and when I’m going to get to the point; others among you may be nodding your head. That’s fine; we’re all here to learn.

What this video does is explain ‘empathy’; we can deduce that empathy comes in a variety of different forms but on the whole is reflective of how well we understand each other’s emotional responses to situations.

Most of us are capable of imagining what another person is going through. We have a certain level of empathy; some of us have more than others, but mostly we’re all capable of it to some extent.

Also read this article: Retail Customer Service: Reality of Retail Industry

For example, if my best friend won first prize in a competition and was bubbling over with excitement I could well imagine what that might feel like. When you read a story about someone who is diagnosed with a terminal disease, you might feel sad for that person but it’s not until you imagine what it must be like to be that person that you’re acting on your empathy.

What role does Empathy play in Customer Service?

Empathy allows a good customer service agent to read between the lines. As customer service agents it’s important that we know how customers feel – but there’s a distinction to be made here between imagining what a customer wants and assuming to know what a customer wants.

Picture a little girl named ‘Sally’. Sally comes into an ice cream parlour with her mother for ice cream. It’s fairly simple to come to the conclusion that Sally is there for a treat and will now go through the process of choosing what flavour she wants for her one scoop of ice cream. There’s very little imagining to be done here.

Next, picture Mickey, a young man with a skateboard who’s come into a shoe store, presumably to buy new shoes. An bad sales consultant might just make a snap judgment and try and sell Mickey a pair of sneakers that might go with his current look. A better consultant would ask Mickey what he’s after – apparently Mickey has his first job interview at a tech company and he needs a pair of dress shoes to wear. That’s great stuff, that sales consultant now knows what Mickey wants and needs. What next? Sure we could just sell him a pair of shoes, but what about the next time Mickey needs shoes? Or if his friends need a pair? We want Mickey to tell his friends about our store and what a great experience he had when he bought his swanky new shoes.

This is where empathy comes into play.

Imagine what Mickey is going through. He’s off to his very first job interview at a tech company. Is he nervous? Is he confident? Does he think he has a good chance at landing the job? An empathetic sales consultant will pick up on Mickey’s mood and be able to talk with him about what he’s going through.

Empathy is the key to making good customer service a great customer experience, two vital sides of the coin and the differences between which I’ve explored here.

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