To an extent, all businesses provide some level of customer service, even if it could be perceived as bad. It is important that from the offset, a business provides a consistent customer service in order to offer a great customer experience…but what is the difference between the two?
Customer service is considered the service you provide customers before, during and after a purchase. Customer experience is what your customer thinks about your company through any form of interaction.
Customer experience is more than a one-off event – it is the entire relationship you have with your clients. By creating a great customer experience, you build upon how your customers perceive your brand and increase your reputation.
So what should your business be doing to provide a great customer experience?
- Provide consistency – May sure that all your employees know what standards are expected and put protocols in places to deal with different customer service scenarios.
- Understand your customers – If your customers prefer interacting with you on the phone than via email, have you got these provisions in place?
- Be proactive – It is important to keep in contact with your customers, making sure that they are happy even if this is simply a quick email now and then.
- Reward your customers – Nothing makes a customer feel more valued than being appreciated by a business. With 80% of sales being considered to come from your current customers, it can be beneficial to offer little incentives now and then.
- Always be honest – Not being truthful with your customers is one way a customer experience can turn bad. If there is a problem, it is vital that you are completely sincere with your customers, even if the issue can’t be solved straight away. Honest is always the best policy.
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