With over 30 million small businesses operating in the United States, it can be hard for your company to edge out its competition. Despite the clutter, what we’ve seen work consistently for brands that are looking to differentiate themselves is being customer-focused.
Being customer-focused is a loose phrase that embodies a swath of activities a company can take on to hyper-serve the people that purchase their products. By committing to your customers in everything that you do and being adamant about creating a unique experience for them, you’ll see your customer loyalty strengthen alongside your overall success.
Below, we share a handful of tips that can start you down that path.
1. Know Your Vision
Any sweeping change you make in your business starts with committing to a vision. When it comes to creating a unique experience for your customers, what does your vision look like?
Maybe it’s to treat your customers with as much care as you would a family member. Maybe it’s to always make sure your customer is worked with, no matter how difficult their needs may be.
Whatever your vision is when it comes to powering your customer experience, write it down, note what core values power it and lean on that information as you go.
2. Know Your Customers
It’s hard to hyper-serve an audience that you don’t know. Because of that, we recommend taking the time to define who your most loyal customer is.
Having a beat on details like how old your average customer is, where they live and consequently, what they may like are great jumping-off points.
Drilling into your “buyer persona” can take a lot of work and research. Just know that putting in the time can have a huge impact on your ability to craft an effective culture.
3. Capture Feedback
Perhaps the easiest way to create a unique experience that your customers love is to ask them what they’d like to see you do. This can be accomplished by asking your customers for feedback after transactions, sending out surveys via email, or via several other means.
A lot of companies go through the trouble of collecting customer perspectives but unfortunately, very few follow through on their learnings. Don’t be one of those companies!
Customer feedback can have a massive impact on your business’ success. Never let it go unheeded.
4. Always Aim to Make Things Right
Nothing alienates customers quite like them having a poor service interaction. That’s why a key component of every experience audit should be conflict resolution.
Customers that are given the benefit of the doubt during times of conflict will feel safe to buy from you in the future. Customers that are treated dismissively will not only avoid your business in the future but they’ll make sure their friends and family follow suit.
When resolving customer conflicts, leaning on the mantra that “the customer is always right” can go a long way. Even if it hurts to concede to your customer’s needs, believe us when we say that doing so is an investment in your future.
5. Audit Your Business Regularly
There are improvements you can make to your experience today that will support your customers better. Discovering where those low-hanging fruits are is as easy as pretending to be a customer yourself.
Try calling into your technical support team. Place an order in your online store.
The more you learn about your customer experience the easier you can flag areas that can be streamlined.
6. Stay in Touch
You might be surprised to find how effective checking in on your customers can be.
We’re not talking about spamming your customer with your mailing list promotions. We’re talking about actually sending them a personalized note or giving them a call just to see what challenges they may be facing and how you may be able to support them.
This personalized touch means of brand building is becoming an increasingly popular how to build trust strategy; it can do wonders for fostering loyalty.
7. Find New Ways to Add Value to Your Customers’ Lives
Creating a unique experience that customers remember often comes down to the amount of value your experience provides. Ask yourself, how can you continue to drive value for your customers?
Maybe it’s offering them extended support windows on the products you sell. Maybe it’s offering discounts during times of economic unrest.
Whatever you choose to do, make it a point to keep thinking of ways to care for the people that power your business.
8. Over Deliver Every Time
If you deliver more than your customers expect when they buy from you, they’ll take notice. Despite that, many businesses are more focused on increasing their bottom lines than they are on increasing customer satisfaction.
Don’t fall into that trap and do make it a point to exceed your customer’s expectations in every interaction you share with them.
Building a Unique Experience for Customers Lays a Foundation for Your Future
Building a unique experience for your customers takes time and will cost you resources. Those investments will pay off ten-fold if you’re truly committed to making positive changes.
Remember, your customers have a lot of choices when it comes to who to do business with. The best way to make a case that they should choose you is to always put them first. For more insight on things related to the customer journey, life, and everything in-between, check out more of the helpful content we have available on our blog.
