Do You Really Know Your Customer?

The days of just pleasing the bottom line are over. The power has shifted to the customer and organizations that just try to solve this with technology only are in for a surprise. Yes a great mobile experience is table stakes and social like collaboration is appealing, but you have to get into the head of your customer and really understand the moments of truth that happen at customer touch points. If this sounds a little fluffy, keep in mind that it costs 4 to 10 times as much to acquire a customer than it does to maintain one. By the way, your competition is making it easy to switch. In this blog we will dig a little into the seven things customers want. If you want to hear more, sign up for this free webinar.

The Customer Wants Now and May Demand in the Future

Wants You to Know Them:

No longer can you just interact with a customer online or over the phone in the way that you want. Since they have been kind enough to give you their business, you should know what they have done in the past, how to service them in with a great experience now and what they might want in the future. This goes far beyond cross selling and up selling, though this should be the prize. This time you will have to win them with your user experience, knowledge of them and leaving them with a feeling of "You made my day". If you don't. somebody else will. 

Wants a Painless Interaction:

You just can't push customers to weirdly designed voice recognition(VR) menus that name your departments (billing, technical support and online experience). Customers want it in their lingo like "I have issues with your product/service" or "I don't understand why I have to pay this now" or "Your competition has a better offer" or "Why am I getting all these offers from you". While the smart digital assistant is a ways off, these unfriendly implemented VR menus have to go. 

Wants Fast Turnaround:

Your customer does have time to fool around with your complicated user experience or wait in line to get a single minded specialist with a script. They are under pressure to get things done as fast as possible and you do not have the right to steal their time, hoping they calm down before someone attempts to deal with their issue or transfer them to the right person. Patience is a virtue that modern times absolutely wants to obliterate. Remember customers do not necessarily have only one thing to accomplish with your organization and they don't respect your departmental stove pipes. 

Wants Complete Visibility:

The idea of only giving status when you thinks it's right is no longer acceptable. Have you ever tried to refill a prescription that needed a doctors authorization? All you know is either it works or it doesn't. If something goes wrong, you have no data to resolve it. The pharmacy blames the doctor and the doctor, who is not rewarded for refill authorizations, blames the pharmacy. With the proper visibility up and down the value and supply chains, customers will be well informed and can help you resolve things with the expected outcomes are not coming in time. 

Wants You to Beat Expectations:

It is no longer good enough to solve my immediate need, because it is probably boring at best and infuriating at the worst. Organizations have the opportunity to make the customer experience better than great. Imagine adding some entertainment options to a online servicing opportunity that leverages immediate rewards and maybe a gaming or a virtual reality experience. This would please a number of your younger prospects and customers while getting ready for their future demands of an engaging experience. 

Wants a Feeling of Well Being:

Nobody wants to be treated as a revenue annuity for your organizations, but yet this happens all the time. What is the sense in making people feel used so that you get a great bonus or an increased stock price. How about finding ways of making them feel valued and respected? 

Wants You to Care About Them:

While real business is based on buyer beware, why make it easy to leave your organization. Unless you are a sole source or a monopoly, you really need to pay attention to your customers and care for them. No you are not their mother or father, but you do need a heart. 

Net; Net:

There is more to your digital customer experience than providing mobile access. The customers journeys need to be understood in light of touch points. What are you doing to your customers? Are you driving them away or are you working all your assets to please them? This is a huge change that digital brings. See and hear more on this webinar this Friday