Seven steps to deliver better customer satisfaction

You don’t have to look too far these days towards sophisticated-sounding apps or training courses which claim to teach you the essentials needed to run – and maintain – a large business. 

Yet the reality is, beyond a lot of the spin and the hyperbole pumped out at business owners, one fundamental thing that will never change. Delivering a great service to your customers and clients must lie at the heart of everything you do.

Now, everyone has a different idea of what customer satisfaction looks like. But one thing is for certain, strong customer satisfaction will increase your chances of retaining and attracting business.  A recent report I read by Zendesk revealed an eye-opening statistic: it found 61% of consumers would switch to a competing brand after just one bad customer experience.

That’s literally how high the stakes are. You can lose two out of three customers for making one mistake or failing to deal properly with an issue they have.  And that’s why it’s crucial for every business – from the artisan bakery down the road to a behemoth like Amazon – to focus on customer satisfaction.

It is also why I’ve recently asked everyone working within Connectus Business Solutions to really go back to basics on this issue and to remember that customers exist at the heart of all we do.

That’s why we’ve created a dedicated Head of Client Success whose job is to ensure all client’s expectations are known and achieved. Over the past 12 months, we are proud to have achieved 99.47% customer satisfaction and we are committed to maintaining this standard long into the future.

Fundamental to the relationships we build is a desire to create compelling outcomes for our clients. Our team will always listen and focus on what our customers require and seek to deliver solutions that both add knowledge and experience to their own enterprises. High degrees of empathy, and an awareness of the challenges many customers may be facing, underpins our approach.

At CBS we are experts in tech, but we understand that not everyone else is. That’s why we will always avoid using unnecessary technical jargon so we can make it easier for our customers to understand what we do, and the details of any project or service. Our customer success program is designed so that our customers achieve their desired outcomes and have a positive experience throughout their entire customer journey.

Here are some key attributes of what lies behind a customer success program:

Proactive approach: A successful customer success program takes a proactive approach by anticipating customer needs and issues before they arise. It focuses on proactive engagement and communication with customers to address their concerns and provide guidance, and help.

Customer-centricity: Customer success programs are built around the customer’s goals, challenges, and desired outcomes. They prioritise understanding the customer’s unique needs and aligning the company’s products or services to meet those needs effectively.

Relationship building: Building strong and trusting relationships with customers is crucial. Customer success programs emphasise building long-term relationships by establishing regular communication channels, understanding customer preferences, and providing personalized support.

Outcome-focused: Customer success programs aim to help customers achieve their desired outcomes or goals. This requires a deep understanding of the customer’s objectives and the ability to align product or service usage with those objectives. The program should have clear metrics to measure customer success and track progress.

Continuous education and training: A successful customer success program provides ongoing education and training to customers, enabling them to maximize the value they derive from the product or service. This can include webinars, tutorials, knowledge bases, or personalized training sessions.

Customer health monitoring: Effective customer success programs monitor customer health indicators to identify potential issues or risks. This involves tracking usage data, customer feedback, and other relevant metrics to gain insights into customer satisfaction, engagement, and adoption.

Cross-functional collaboration: Customer success programs require collaboration across various teams within the organization, such as sales, marketing, product, and support. It is important to foster communication and cooperation among these teams to ensure a seamless customer experience.