Today's customers have unprecedented access to information and can easily shift loyalties to new companies. In fact, studies show that 33% of US consumers tend to switch companies after even a single instance of poor service. Brands must deliver standout customer experiences to retain customers and grow long-term.
Why is retention so important? Studies show that a 5% increase in customer retention correlates with at least a 25% increase in profit.
In this post, we break down all the different ways that brands can deliver that superior customer experience and improve their retention.
Let's dive in.
The number one lever for customer retention is the quality of the company's customer service. Studies show that 50% of loyal customers leave a company for a competitor that was able to satisfy their needs better or stay more relevant. And loyalty is quickly waning, with 55% of customers saying that they now trust companies less than they used to.
So companies need to work even harder to keep their customers around. There are several things they can do.
First, they should offer 24/7 on-demand customer service. 82% of US consumers expect an immediate response in 30 minutes or less and rank that as very important to their experience. So a customer service team that's available on-demand should drastically improve retention and decrease customer churn.
Also, companies should be able to respond to customer inquiries and questions on a variety of channels - via phone calls, emails, social media messages, and chat. This kind of omnichannel presence is essential for companies to be able to service customers properly.
Another critical aspect of customer service as companies grow and expand to new regions is the availability of customer service reps that speak multiple languages. Multi-lingual support is quickly becoming the game's name, with customers wanting a human rep that speaks their language, and understands cultural norms and expressions in their region.
Throughout the entire customer experience, the most critical element is empathy. Team members need to be not only knowledgeable about the company's offerings and processes but also exhibit a high level of empathy and understanding. Empathy is critical to creating a positive experience for every single customer.
Customer expectations are at an all-time high with a lot of companies scrambling to deliver the right customer service experience. Loyalty, on the other hand, is waning with many customers switching providers, even ones that they were loyal to in the past.
Brands need to have a customer service team that's available via multiple channels, can offer 24/7 multi-lingual support, and can exhibit professionalism and empathy in each customer interaction. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to train an in-house team to do just that in a short amount of time. That's why companies should look for an outsourced customer service solution like Helpware to be able to provide the excellent customer experience they've been dreaming of.
Interested to learn more? Get started with Helpware today!