There’s no instant formula for building a successful enterprise, but if you’re trying to make your brand more customer-centric, then you’re on the right track.
But how can you make sure that your brand, together with your call center, is doing a good job of capturing clients’ interests?
Many business owners are under the impression that they’re running a client-focused company. But those who harbor this false perception are the same ones who are dangerously complacent. They’re confident that they can make a customer happy, causing them to think that this alone can lead them to success.
Customer centricity, however, goes beyond making a customer happy. To build a truly people-focused organization, you need to place consumers’ interests at the heart of your business. It’s not just about making a customer smile whenever you’re talking to them. Rather, it’s about making them your first priority in every step of the way. Whether you’re launching a new customer support strategy, opening a new store, or designing a new product, every decision you make must revolve around the customer.
As a business strategy, therefore, building a people-centric firm requires a great deal of sacrifice. You can’t let your personal interests get in the way or you’ll only end up undermining your own success.
So how do you know if you’re really customer-centric? Here are three ways to find out.
1. Review your customer policies.
Ideally, your policies should serve one purpose: to make customers’ lives easier. If your policies are making it hard for a consumer to enjoy your products or services (e.g., complicated payment modes, tricky product return policies, etc.), then you may not be so customer-focused after all.
Take a look at your company policies and ask yourself if they’re getting in the way of the customer experience. For this, consult your company leaders. Your customer relations expert, marketing specialists, and product managers can help you evaluate and revise your existing rules. Even your customer support agents can enlighten you on what callers usually complain about when they dial your hotline.
2. Ask your customers.
Communicating with your customers is, of course, one of the best ways to find out where you’re going wrong. And yet, too few companies invest in this endeavor. Sure, this might require you to build a full-blown market research initiative. It can get expensive, tedious, and time-consuming, and that’s probably why it doesn’t sound like an appealing idea.
But you need to give your customers a chance to speak up. And you need to talk to them directly to understand their sentiments. Some specific questions you may ask them are as follows:
• Have you encountered any difficulties while doing business with our brand?
• How can we improve our products?
• What features would you like to see in our new products?
• Have you been in a displeasing customer support interaction with one of our representatives?
• Have you encountered an unsound or unfair policy while dealing with our brand?
3. Assess employee engagement.
If you’re not treating your employees right, don’t expect them to treat your customers in a good way. It sounds cliched, but only happy employees can make your customers happy. If you don’t care about your staff, they’re unlikely to care about your goals, and this immediately places the quality of your customer service at risk.
Involving your employees in company activities, giving them opportunities to grow, and encouraging them to express their creativity are just some of the ways to increase their work engagement. This is one way to encourage them to perform well and be productive.
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