5 Keys to Improving Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Acquiring a customer costs your business money. Every time you neglect a customer who has purchased a product or paid for a service, you are watching that money you spent on customer acquisitions walk through the door. This is why all business owners and executives, no matter how small or large the company, need to focus on customer satisfaction.

Large multi-national corporations and rich domestic companies spend a fortune on marketing and operations to find ways to reduce the cost of acquiring customers and also on how to keep clients satisfied. You, unfortunately, may not have the benefit of being able to hire consultants or firms to do this for you. If your goal is higher customer satisfaction ratings that will lead to better brand loyalty, here are five keys that you should know.

Make Sure Your Customer Feels Like Their Voice Is Heard

In today’s modern world of business transactions, customers want to feel heard. Could you imagine how mad you would be if you called a company to complain and they hung up on you? You would run as fast as you could and tell every friend you had to avoid the company at all costs. Giving your customers multiple options to reach out will keep them happy. Not only can they quickly make an inquiry, they will feel like they have options if they do have a negative experience with you.

Acknowledge Mistakes and Come up with a Solution

Customers post about their purchases, they recommend brands via Twitter, and they may even file complaints publicly through the official Facebook page. One key to retention is not necessarily being perfect, but acknowledging when your company is not. If a customer blasts your company all across the Internet on review sites or social platforms, make sure that you reach out and apologize. Saying what customers want to hear and showing that you are not sweeping the issue under the rug will have them rethink their decision to defect and will look great to outsiders looking in.

Ask for Ideas with Online Surveys

If you want to get valuable insights from actual customers, encourage them to respond to satisfaction surveys. You probably will not have a 100% response rate, but you can improve the number of participants by offering a small discount or a promotional gift. You can use the answers to the questions to identify where your company needs to improve. You might find that your pricing needs to be more competitive or that your website needs to be more consumer-friendly. Whatever it is, it can be fixed to improve retention.

Related Article: A Measure of Customer Experience

Stay in Touch and Manage Your Relationships

Once you cultivate a relationship, you need to nurture it. If you only connect with your customers whenever they come to you, they will not hesitate to do business elsewhere. This is why it is crucial that you stay in touch. You can easily manage relationships with relationship management programs provided by companies that keep track of contacts for you. By doing this, you can still handle the important business without letting your customers slip through the cracks.

Monitor Your Staff and Give Feedback

Staff that interacts with customers on a daily basis needs to be friendly and helpful. If those on the front lines are not being professional, even if you have a quality product, it will show negatively in your retention rate. Make sure your staff members are accountable for their behaviors and randomly monitor them. Be sure to review staff regularly and give feedback when you see an issue that could push clients away.

Customer service should be a priority. While some do not see it as a marketing tactic, it is. Retaining a client is much easier than acquiring a new one. By keeping these customers loyal, you can reduce your overall acquisition costs and focus on brand expansion.

Author: Anica Oaks is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here. Anica writes for SolutionReach, which provides advanced customer interaction software.