There are a few restaurants, retail stores and even an auto service repair shop where the staff remember my name. Usually the manager or owner comes out at one point to chat a little just to catch up. Sometimes, when something new is going on in their business, they usually can’t wait to share it with me for my feedback. If anything was ever to go wrong, which is rare, they immediately correct it and provide something to apologize for the error.
With service like that, I visit these places very regularly. If friends are looking for suggestions, I will glady recommend these places as well. Sure the food and convenience is great, but the fact that I’m treated well, like I am the most important customer, matters more to me than anything else. Thus creating lifetime loyalty.
It’s a great feeling when an employee or business owner goes out of their way to be helpful. There’s something quite memorable about the personal touch, or a business taking ownership of a problem and going out of their way to make it right.
There is overwhelming evidence that treating customers well, as if they’re your one and only customer, will drive value to your bottom line. In fact, people will spend more because of a better experience and stop buying and visiting because of a bad experience. And with social media and online reviews, bad customer experiences tend to be talked about more than anything else.
So why don’t more businesses follow this model of providing a personal touch and memorable customer experiences? Certainly a great question.
If you want to beat out your competition, small businesses especially, should focus on one big thing– emotions.
Focus on Your Customer’s Emotions
Research will tell us that 70 percent of the customer’s buying experiences are based more on how your customers feel they are treated and less on the price, product or service. If your customer feels they are being treated extremely well it will lead to repeat business, spending more and referring others. It is that simple. Why, because your customer has already developed a feeling about the first purchase or how the visit went and is looking forward to receiving it again. In other words, their hooked!
By providing more positive emotional experiences for each customer you will create more wins and higher profits for your business. If you treat your customers like they’re your one and only customer, they’ll reciprocate that love for your business and continue to business with you instead of your competition.
Customer experience and happiness is the new marketing strategy. If your customers feel that you are taking care of them, then they’ll stick around and tell others. This is how your small business can compete with the big box stores and online retailers. It is much harder to compete with them on volume, low prices, or logistics. But it’s much easier to compete on the personal touches, doing a little more, going the extra mile and treating customers like humans, not numbers.
The more you understand your customers, their needs , wants, desires, feelings, problems and outcomes, the more you can feel with them, be in their shoes and the better you can serve them. This kind of experience is more than just the lip service corporate speak of “you matter to us”. To provide exceptional customer experiences, it takes specific actions and to put strategies into place like listening, understanding and empathy towards your customers.
BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT:
- What can you do to ensure that your existing customers feel both happy and acknowledged?
- Where can you exceed expectations at every customer touch point?
Good customer service isn’t about simply achieving the norms of courtesy. Being prompt, answering questions and treating customers with respect is just doing the basics and will make you and your business average. Where your business can thrive and stand out is when you exceed your customer expectations, through personal touches and connections, building relationships and treating your customers like they’re very important (hint: they are) Now that will be “magical”!
Need help with specific actions and strategies for your business and team that will drive customer loyalty and higher profits? Contact John today! info@johnformica.com or (704) 965-4090.