How to train employees to provide customers with memorable experiences
There’s an old adage in business which says that you’re not selling things, you’re selling experiences. This rings true when it comes to customer experience, which addresses the overall ease and usability of your product or service.
A good customer experience drives customer retention, which is the backbone of profitability. If your employees have been properly trained in providing excellent and memorable experiences for your customers, there is a high chance that you can convert your buyers into brand ambassadors.
But what are some of the best ways to create those memorable experiences? What kind of customer service training should your employees undergo in order to enrich the overall customer experience?
Read on to find out.
Impress the customer
When trying to create the perfect customer experience, it is important that you impress the customer. You need to create ‘wow’ moments, or instances where you do something for your customers that is so impressive, it makes them stop and marvel at how efficient, effective, and pleasant it is to work with you.
To that end, your employees should be constantly trying to go above and beyond in order to provide your customers with excellent moments and experiences.
How can you do this?
The key to impressing your customers is to find innovative solutions to the problems they are facing while using your product or service.
Something like addressing a shipping mistake with same day emergency delivery provides an agreeable solution to what was a horrible problem and shows the customer that you can be trusted to ‘make it right’ when things go wrong.
Another way that you can impress your customers is by doing something personal, like reaching out to them on their birthday or remembering details about their lives.
Obviously, no one is expecting you to intimately know the lives of every customer who walks through your door. But a detailed database comes in very handy for personalization of services. In these databases, you can take notes on every interaction a customer has with your company and go back to refresh yourself on who they are, what they’ve done, and how you can best help them.
Such actions can build strong loyalty and confidence in your brand, creating brand ambassadors who will not only continue to pay for your services but also promote your company, free of charge.
How does this translate to actual dollars?
Americans will pay 17% more on average to do business with a company which provides excellent customer service. Another 52% of consumers say that they have made additional purchases from companies based on a positive customer service experience.
One needs to only look at the example of Disney Parks to understand why. Disney hikes price on a yearly basis, and their theme parks and resorts are not cheap. To top it off, their Orlando-based resort area is surrounded by more affordable accommodation and entertainment options.
Despite that, they are constantly at capacity all year round because of their level of innovation and unmatched customer service. Disney goes above and beyond in order to provide customers with ‘wow’ moments, and that is reflected in their massive success.
Show that you care
Customers want to know that the companies they do business with care about them and their experience.
You need to feed into this and create positive associations for customers when they think about your product. This is called brand association.
The customer won’t associate the positivity garnered from their interactions with a specific customer service representative. It will instead be passed onto the company as a whole.
You can achieve this by providing updates and proactive communication to your customers instead of waiting for them to contact you in the event of an emergency.
Customers will usually reward loyalty with loyalty, and it will be harder for competitors to sway them away from you.
Proactive customer support
As we mentioned briefly in the last section, proactive communication is important, especially when it comes to customer support.
By reaching out to your customers to provide support before they reach out to you, you’re showing that your company is honest.
One area in which proactive support can be helpful is when there is a company-wide issue which impacts the performance of your service. In these moments, you should try to reach out to customers by either phone or email.
Let them know what’s happening, apologize for the issue, and also let them know what steps you’re taking to correct it.
You should also follow up on both negative and positive feedback in a personalized manner.
When a customer’s account changes, take proactive measures to reach out and touch base with them.
Proactive support shows that you have nothing to hide and instills a sense of trust in your customers.
Personalize the experience
Customers want personalized attention. It comes from a desire to be communicated on a one on one basis. It shows the customers that they are not just a number, and that their individual experience matters in the grand scheme of things.
While this task may seem daunting, it is possible to use AI systems to send personalized email messages and promotions to your customers.
A good AI Helpdesk can help you respond directly to customer feedback. An immediate phone call or email thanking them for their comment or suggestion goes a long way.
In conclusion
You may have the greatest product or service, but it is your employees who make or break the sales and retention process. Ensure that your employees are properly trained and can create memorable experiences for your customers for years to come.
