Your customers may not always be right, but there’s a price to pay when your business doesn’t take care of them. In today’s business world, greeters stand by entrances next to hand sanitizer stations offering disposable masks to customers. Signs around stores encourage shoppers to wear a mask, avoid sampling products and stay six feet apart. Outside, customers are assigned designated parking spots for pickup services.
About a year into the pandemic, businesses across the country have made adjustments to create a customer experience vastly different from what it was at the start of 2020. Your customers have adjusted their purchasing habits too. As illustrated on Black Friday, consumers spent around $9 billion shopping dollars online, a 21.6% year-over-year increase since 2019. Meanwhile, foot traffic in physical stores dwindled 52.1% from the previous year.
Some of my clients have accelerated the rollout of services like curbside pickup in response to the changes in consumers’ shopping habits. We have found that around 59% of shoppers are more likely to use curbside pickup due to the pandemic.
Many of my clients who were typically more cautious have accelerated their digital transformation projects and are now more open to testing ways to fulfill orders because they knew what was on the line if they didn’t. Today your customers are beginning to expect more and more from you.
“During the COVID times, the bar was raised because e-commerce made it a lot easier to do things, and made it faster.”
The introduction of new digital services, have helped make purchases as easy as a few taps and swipes for consumers. As more businesses provide faster purchase options, the pandemic has set a new standard for customer expectations.
Your customer’s patience levels are much lower adding that unsatisfied customers will quickly move on to a different business if their needs aren’t met. Your business is in a battle for their loyalty.”
The cost of bad customer service
There’s a lot on the line if you don’t meet your customer’s expectations. According to some surveys, about 73% of consumers will stop doing business with a business after just three or fewer bad customer experiences. Today, your customers have very little patience. It’s really a three strikes and you’re out experience.
Bad customer experiences may also cost your business revenue without you even knowing it. Less than half (44%) of your customers directly complain to the company, because leaving feedback takes effort, and only those that have particularly strong feelings about their experience usually do it.
On the other hand, if your business provides a good customer experience, 53% of your customers will tell family and friends about their positive experience.
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It takes 10x the amount of effort in your business to bring in a new customer than it does to serve an existing customer. In fact, a great customer experience may even prevent customers from completely shying away from your business in the event of a mishap or problem.
Meeting Expectations After the Pandemic
Whatever new service or experience that you provided to your customers, as a result of doing business during the pandemic, needs to remain. You did a great job in exceeding your customer’s expectations but now it becomes the norm and expected.
For example, if you provided your customers access to certain information for themselves, particularly online, they will expect that you continue to offer that same service or they will leave. If you provided a special pickup area or offered a generous return policy during the pandemic just to make customers happy and keep business going, those services must continue. If you are an auto service repair shop and you provided a service to pick up your customer’s car at their home, you may need to keep that convenient service.
Once your business, introduces a new customer service perk, it’s going to be hard for you to retract that even if it doesn’t reap any rewards for you. Also, be aware of what perks other businesses, not even in your industry has provided, because they are comparing your business with them and wondering why you don’t offer those same perks.
The reality is that the genie’s out of the bottle. You cannot reduce the services that you used to offer because it costs you more. The moment you make it harder for your customers, or take away what they have come accustomed to, they will not come back, or they will find someplace that does it better.
The key is to ask your customers what they liked that you are doing during the pandemic. If they love what you are doing then there is your proof to continue. Your customers might not always be right, but they are pretty smart. NOw that is “magical”!
Need help? Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION CALL with Coach John at info@johnformica.com