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How to measure customer satisfaction effectively

Most businesses strive for a high level of customer satisfaction because happy customers mean a good reputation. But how do you know whether your customers are happy or not? Measuring customer satisfaction would be an obvious answer and the correct one. In this article, we will delve into the basics of client satisfaction measurement.

Benefits Of Customer Satisfaction Measurement

Understanding your customers is essential to keeping your business up and running. Why? Because unless you listen to your consumers you won’t be able to create a product or service that meets their needs.

In other words, knowing what your customers want and what they think about your service will allow you to develop ways to advance your business and gain a competitive edge. Other reasons to measure customer satisfaction include:

  • It helps you to enhance customer lifetime value. If clients are content with your product or service, they are likely to spend more on it.
  • It is a point of differentiation. It sets you apart from the competitors in your niche where every brand wants to retain its clients. Customer gratification is crucial to maintaining clients in a challenging business environment.
  • It minimizes negative feedback. People will always talk about your brand, regardless of their experience. If you are doing everything possible to keep your customers happy chances are you will not be getting much negative feedback.
  • It reduces consumer churn. Tracking and monitoring client satisfaction are vital for keeping your customers. Keep in mind that It is cheaper to retain existing clients than to get new ones. Providing excellent service will enable you to sustain your clients. If you cannot keep your customers, you will likely lose them to establishments that offer better service. So it is important to always keep improving your customer service.

5 Types Of Customer Satisfaction Metrics

So how do you measure customer satisfaction? We will answer that question by defining the metrics by which customer satisfaction is measured. Having enough data about your clients will allow you to provide them with a superb experience.

Here are the main types of customer satisfaction metrics:

1. Net promoter score (NPS)

This metric indicates the level of your customer loyalty and how likely they are to recommend your services. Here is how it works. In a survey, you ask your customers this question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend?” Base on the received answers, you can calculate NPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

2. Customer effort score (CES)

This metric indicates how much effort the customer has to put in to get the service they requested. The survey would usually ask: “How easy was it for you to get your problem fixed/question answered/etc?” The scale usually ranges from 1 to 5. As you can guess, the low score indicates that your service is easy to use.

3. Customer churn rate

Calculate how many customers you lose and at what point. Then, find out why they didn’t proceed with your business by sending them a short survey. Analyzing your churn rate is important as it can help you to treat an issue at its root cause.

4. Customer reviews

This is a great way to find out how your customers feel about your service. While previous customer satisfaction metrics give you information about certain aspects of your service, customer reviews can provide in-depth insights. Simply ask your clients to provide feedback about their experience with your brand.

5. Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

This is a very general score as here, customers rate their overall satisfaction with a brand. Therefore, their feedback can relate to a variety of aspects. Usually, the question goes like this: “How satisfied are you with our product/customer service/etc?” Usually, there are several response options: very satisfied / somewhat satisfied / somewhat dissatisfied / very dissatisfied. The higher the rate the better!

All these metrics will give you the information which you can use as a tool to create the service that meets your customer expectations.

How To Improve Customer Satisfaction

Since client gratification is a determinant factor for business progress, make sure you do what is necessary to keep them happy. What can help you improve customer satisfaction? Here are some tips.

Remember that you must listen to your customers in order to understand their demands and meet them effectively.

Manage customer expectations. Don’t promise more than you can provide, but always strive to exceed customer expectations. You will enjoy a good relationship with clients if you can achieve their expectations. Know what they want and provide it.

Take initiative. Don’t wait until an issue appears to talk to your clients. Make it your habit to keep checking on your clients consistently. It will enable you to know what they want and meet their needs effectively. This will help to prevent many challenges in your business. Excellent communication with clients enables them to have a rapport with your venture.

Another way to improve customer satisfaction is by adding a personal touch to your interactions. You could wow every client who gets into contact with your product or service by adding as much personality as possible. One of the most common practices of a personal touch is including the first name of the person when sending the message. In this way, the client can immediately feel that they are talking to an actual person.

Final Words

The bottom line here is that the satisfaction of your customers is critical for the sustainability of your business, and you must find innovative ways of maintaining such satisfaction.

This article has provided simple information to help you manage and improve your customer satisfaction. Look for more of such articles to take the right direction in gratifying clients. Keeping your customer satisfaction rate high is not easy, but you can achieve it if you use the metrics discussed in this article. Take time and learn what you must do to retain all your clients.

You could get assistance from WOW24-7, which provides a broad spectrum of call center solutions using multiple channels to cater to all of your customer relations needs.

Why are customer complaints important for business?

The Customer Rocks The Crown

You’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘The customer is the king’ or ‘The customer is always right’. Your boss might have even reprimanded you because of responding to customer complaints and disagreements rudely or aggressively.

78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience. (Source: American Express Survey, 2011.)

The logical question is, how to deal with a customer complaint? Most or all of us must know how to deal with customer complaints and use them to improve our business. Ironically, we might have been that difficult customer in an alternate situation. We always tend to see only one side of the coin, but the truth is that 24/7 customer service is an every-person game.

  • Some customers are too picky.
  • Some customers want too much detail.
  • Some customers are particular about their privacy and customer service.

Companies and their superstructures understand that losing a customer from a disappointing experience that wasn’t resolved means losing them FOREVER.

Forbes estimates that companies lose about 62 billion dollars each year due to poor customer service, and the ripple effect translates to years.

However, an emotion that grows out of genuine disappointment is always below the facade. Most customers can forgive a one-off incident because they understand that the folks working the command lines are also human.

If you have the same caller complaining about the same thing three times a week, it definitely means something is amiss on your side as a company. And addressing it correctly shows a blind spot to consider and improve your business, starting with top-notch customer complaints handling.

It is crucial to pay gross attention to your customers’ complaints about the business. This way, the clients can improve your support team operation or the product/service you sell. Instead of a low moment, turn that harsh word into a win for you and your company.

The Golden Age Of The Internet And Social Media

In this day and age, where everybody is connected by the Internet and social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, a single customer complaint could cost you millions. Replying to customer complaints badly could get you on the receiving end of the hate of millions. 

Big companies hire responsible managers for both social media content and outsourcing eCommerce customer service. Most businesses are now located on the Internet, so people who buy online will overlook your social media presence.

For example, in 2017, United Airlines made headlines when a customer got thrown off a plane under unclear circumstances. The incident was recorded and quickly went viral, especially on Twitter, and one can imagine how that was settled. But they definitely used this case to improve security measures and show the importance of customer complaints.

How To Respond To Customer Complaints?

Most of the complaints you get will be in text form. People rarely dare to call and express their anger. So, emails or messages need to be written so that you restore the customer’s confidence in your company and regain their goodwill.

Below, we provide some examples of how to resolve customer complaints as positively as possible.

Acknowledge customer concern in the first sentence

Wrong: “We are sorry and embarrassed. But, most of all, we are deeply sorry.”

Correct: “Thank you for your email. I’m sorry you are experiencing problems with your software product keys.”

When you start an email by recognizing the customer’s problem, you delight them with your concern and personal approach to handling customer complaints.

Apologize regardless of who is at fault

Firstly, you should apologize whether the problem is your company’s fault, the customer’s fault, or an act of nature. Try to apologize without placing blame. 

Wrong: “It is not our fault that you damaged the product at home.”

Correct: “I’m sorry for any misunderstanding/inconvenience you may have experienced.”

  • A genuine apology can strengthen a customer’s emotional bond with a company.
  • When an apology is genuine, customer satisfaction increases 10-15%.
  • Apologizing helps you create rapport and rebuild trust. 

Secondly, when you react to a customer complaint response, you need to apologize in any part of your message. It can be in the opening paragraph or somewhere in the body, but after stating a problem.

Explain how or why the problem happened

Explaining to the customer what might have caused the problem helps you to reestablish trust in your company and regain customer goodwill. What is a customer complaint? In its essence, it is a desire to understand why the item they bought isn’t working. You look more sincere and reliable when interested in a sold product or service. 

Example: “Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this. Here’s what we think may have happened.”

Customer Service Directly Translates To Revenue

Happy customers always come back. Customers always talk about good or bad experiences with others, which is how most companies stay afloat ─ by wowing existing customers. As a business, you need to be empathetic and responsive but, most importantly, quick when handling customer complaints.

Make the customer feel loved, cherished, and respected. Things might get terrible, and you may even increase your prices, but customers always stick with you. 70% of buying experiences are based on how customers feel when treated. Therefore, every customer care team must be properly trained and know how to handle customer complaints in call center.

Conclusion Or Customers Never Forget

Customers always make a mental note of good and bad incidents. They say people forget what you say but never how you make them feel. Customers might quickly forget about previous customer service complaints as soon as they are replaced with more amicable support. However, they will never forget being made to feel unworthy or uncared for.

Taking time to understand, respond to, learn and improve from a customer complaint or a nasty incident will get your business on the right track to promised growth.

If you are still struggling with angry customers, do not hesitate to cooperate with outsourcing customer service. Choose us, book a call, and we will definitely “wow” your clients.