Is your business’s customer experience better than your competitors? Are your customers leaving you for a company that is easier to do business with? Read more to learn about how valuable the customer experience is and how you can improve upon yours through marketing.
While planning your marketing for 2017, put the customer at the forefront of your strategy. Instead of focusing on selling customers on your product/service’s features and benefits, shift your mindset to that of your customers – Why do they want to engage with your company? Why are they reading or viewing your marketing material? How can you make it easier for them?
Gone are the days of treating every customer like a number. In today’s digital age, customers expect more. They want an experience that is consistent across all marketing channels. They want companies to use the information the customer gives them to provide more value and offer a personalized experience. Customer experience can set you apart from your competitors and can make or break a sale.
How can you make your customer experience smoother and easier? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Are you easy to do business with? How can I make it easier?Your customers have options, and they will take their business to companies that are easy to do business with. How can you better provide a superior and low-effort experience across their customer journey, such as customer onboarding, account changes and problem-solutions? The less effort it takes for consumers to accomplish their goal when they contact you, the more loyal they become.
In Customers 2020 report it was predicted that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. In this upcoming year, work toward making your customer experience seamless. Marketing can help take the legwork out of your customer’s initial product or service research by reaching them when them right when they identify they have a need. Marketing can also provide new avenues of support for your customers, such as answering customer service requests on Twitter and Facebook. - Is your business’s web presence helping or hindering your customer experience?In today’s age, your web presence is as important, if not more important than your actual storefront.If your website is not optimized for mobile, that should be your #1 goal for 2017. According to Google’s SEO algorithms, the search engine severely docks your website for not being mobile responsive. Therefore, you are hurting your chances for your website to be found.Also, check your website, social media, and online listings to make sure no key information is missing. If your address, phone number or store hours are incorrect, you could be misleading your customers and losing potential business.Consider running a digital marketing campaign, such as Search Ads or Display Ads, to better connect your target market to your website. Digital marketing can hone in on your target market’s specific demographic and serve them an ad based on their needs that link directly to your website. From there, your website should clench the sale by directing them to the information or product they were looking for with an easy way to access it (whether it be an online cart or directing them to contact information on how to find your business).
- What are some common themes in the feedback you have received from your customers?Listening to your customer’s feedback on their user experience is key for improving upon your current customer experience. Whether you solicit feedback from you customers specifically, or they voluntarily leave reviews of your business online, it is important to listen to their complaints and praises to learn how to make your customer experience better. Find common themes, such as “easy checkout process” or “could improve on customer service,” and take them to heart when planning your marketing for 2017.
If you check out process is easy, how can you make it easier? Does your online cart save your shopper’s information so they don’t have to keep typing in their credit card number every time they buy? Would having a mobile app that individuals can access a one-click buying process benefit your customers even more? How can you make your in-store checkout process as easy as your online buying one?If you receive feedback on the need to improve upon customer service, how can you easily do this through marketing? Maybe it involves addressing customer concerns through social media? You could also increase your communication with your customers through regular e-newsletters or SMS marketing. When looking for ways to improve your customer’s experience, be sure there are many avenues for them to express their issues and concerns that are heard and responded to in a timely manner.
How your customers interact with your brand is growing in importance over time. Use 2017 to try new ways to make your company more accessible and convenient to your customers, and hammer out the hiccups as they arrive. They are looking for a seamless marketing experience that leads them through the product research stage, the purchasing stage, and the product feedback stage. For tips on how to better your customer experience through marketing, contact TRIO today!
