Keeping customers happy is critical for customer retention, no matter the size of your business. However, even the most satisfied customers can be fickle, and if they’re not happy, they’re likely to take their business elsewhere. Unfortunately, many customers don’t bother to give feedback before they leave, making it challenging for companies to know what went wrong.
To help businesses better understand customers who ghost for seemingly no reason, 13 Forbes Business Council members share some ways to critically evaluate the customer experience, from discussing the importance of actively seeking customer feedback to using data analytics to uncover insights and trends.
1. Conduct Regular Surveys
As a record label owner, one way to critically evaluate the customer experience is by conducting regular surveys and collecting feedback from customers. This can be done through various channels such as email, social media and website feedback forms. In addition, it is essential to analyze customer complaints and concerns and take appropriate action to address them. – Monika Ilieva, Cafe De Anatolia
2. Implement Customer Feedback
One way I evaluate customer experience is by regularly asking for feedback from our customers at all touchpoints. In one instance, we received feedback that our software was difficult to navigate, which led to a high rate of abandonment. We took this feedback to heart and made improvements to the user interface, leading to a reduction in user abandonment and increased customer satisfaction. – Ifiok Nkem, Snapilabs
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3. Check In With Customers
I think the most important thing is checking in throughout the transaction process. Manufacturers of goods should be following up with customers during the buying process and after in regards to customer satisfaction. Service providers should check in with their clients to gain feedback, to make sure all their questions have been answered and to ensure they’re feeling good. – Hoda Mahmoodzadegan, Molly’s Milk Truck
4. Ask For Reviews
We ask our clients for reviews to find out how happy they are with us and also to see where we can improve. We’ve stepped up our social media game and have also improved our communication with clients through consistent email campaigns. Clients that feel connected are loyal and more likely to reach out if there is an issue. If they don’t feel connected, they won’t hesitate to leave your company. – Chris Clear, Clear Storage Group, LLC
5. Analyze Customer Complaints
To critically evaluate customer experience, businesses can conduct customer surveys or feedback sessions as well as analyze customer complaints, social media feedback and online reviews. Asking specific, open-ended questions and acting on the feedback is crucial to improving the customer experience and increasing loyalty. – Chase Hughes, Pro Business Plans
6. Create A Constant Feedback System
The best way to critically assess customer experience is to create and implement a constant feedback system that allows you to collect customer experience data more regularly. This will help you find areas where you are failing and create solutions to address them. Constant feedback also helps to evaluate your customer service strategy, monitor progress and identify failures and successes. – Erik Pham, Health Canal
7. Determine Where Improvement Is Needed
One way to critically evaluate your customer experience is to gather feedback. By asking customers for their input and conducting surveys, you can gain valuable insights into their satisfaction levels, identify areas of improvement and make strategic changes to your business operations. It’s also important to address any complaints or concerns quickly and make sure customers feel heard and valued. – Tomas Keenan, Step It Up Academy
8. Ask Open-Ended Questions
One way to critically evaluate your customer experience is to conduct a customer feedback survey. This can help you gather valuable insights into what your customers like and dislike about your products or services and can provide you with actionable feedback for improving their experience. Consider asking open-ended questions that allow customers to provide detailed feedback in their own words. – Patrick Mensah, WallStreet Investment
9. Offer Money Back
We offer a full money-back guarantee for 30 days after a purchase and a one-year guarantee for our plants to grow. This turned our business around and created long-lasting relationships and excellent customer satisfaction. After all, the main objective of a company is to meet customer satisfaction demands. – Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery
10. Combine Approaches To Go Deeper
Always know your customer. Companies should use multiple methods to evaluate and improve their relationships with customers because situations change. For example, Net Promoter Scores evaluate overall trends. In order to understand why a customer stays or leaves, go much deeper by asking meaningful directed questions. Also, if a buyer leaves without having a relationship with the people at the company, you might lose the customer for good! – Jerry Cahn, Age Brilliantly
11. Speak With Customers Through Various Channels
When your customers and clients aren’t happy, they begin to churn. Though this is a feeling that every leader resents, it is a critical point of valuable reflection. To maximize your customer experience, it is imperative that you survey your non-returning customers to identify what brought them to this point. These surveys can come in the form of an email, questionnaire, phone or video call. – Christian Brown, Glewee
12. Put Yourself In Your Customer’s Shoes
Take a step back and objectively analyze every touchpoint of their journey with your brand. Are there any pain points that could be improved? Seek feedback proactively and show that you care. Don’t let unhappy customers leave without understanding why. Prioritize customer satisfaction to gain their loyalty. Remember that a happy customer is a loyal customer. – Chris Kille, Payment Pilot
13. Leverage Regular Communication Opportunities
Regular communication between customers and whoever manages their account can help prevent negative experiences, along with regular survey opportunities that allow these customers to provide honest and open feedback. In the same way that we should be performing employee exit interviews, we should be performing customer exit interviews. This is a valuable feedback opportunity you shouldn’t miss out on. – Ty Allen, SocialClimb
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