Effective service resonates with customers long after the initial exchange. They will carry your brand with them to the store, in conversations with their friends, to social media, and into their homes.
This is the goal for any company; make your customers brand loyal. However, it’s easier said than done. Even the most loyal of brand enthusiasts can be swayed by discounts and deals from your competitors. Many consumers are price sensitive, and with the endless opportunities to research competitors’ pricing and previous customers’ reviews, there is a very delicate balance between keeping and losing your customers.
What Does Your Company’s Voice Sound Like?
More traditional approaches to reaching customers have utilized a mostly megaphone method, shouting your company’s message as loud and as far reaching as possible without any real consideration of demographics. Additionally, the focus has rested almost entirely on the quality of the product or service itself. This emphasis on the “what” of the company has left many customers feeling disconnected from the brand. Moving the “why” that drives your company to the forefront of your customer’s experience helps them see the value in what you do and what you offer.
The Mission Behind What You Do
As best said by Simon Sinek, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” You should aim to sell to people that believe what you believe and to make this happen you need to hire those that believe what you believe; this, in turn, is what generates brand loyalty. This focus should be a model that your entire organization seeks to adopt. Every part of your business should value customer feedback and should seek to remediate any issues or concerns. Such prioritized interaction will lead to your teams being able to anticipate and predict the next most valuable product or service the company can produce that will provide the customers with exactly what they need before they know that they need it. If you do not fully understand and verbalize the “why” of what your company does, how can you expect your customers to?
Why Should You Break Down Structured Interactions with Customers?
Changing your interaction with your customers from a presentation to a conversation can also enhance engagement. Anyone can preach advice but people will only take advice from those they trust, particularly friends. This should be the model we seek when we develop interactions with our customers. Take that extra step to get to know and listen to your customers. Demonstrate that you hear what they want and value what is important to them. Many companies are achieving this by prioritizing responding to customer complaints and engaging with customers over email, reviews, and social media platforms.
The emphasis on the personable interaction between customers and brands is being coined the “customer experience revolution” and is drastically changing the way business is being conducted. The key to staying relevant in the 21st century is learning how to replicate such an esteemed customer experience for your company.