Trends in the Industry: Rising Customer Expectations

Think about the product or service that you are offering. What matters to your customers when they call? They don’t demand the impossible; they just expect the exceedingly reasonable. Customer expectations are rising and with an outstanding service performance, they can come into equilibrium and be satisfied.

Nearly 59% of all customers will test a new company or brand because they were not satisfied with the services provided from the last one they were using. 86% of customers are actually willing to pay for a more vigorous customer service. This means that they want to be treated with respect, be listened and not ignored, and don’t want to be transferred from one department to another.

Customers will use a company that not only provides a good product or service, but that also goes above and beyond to provide them the best customer service. That should not be so hard to accomplish, but in fact, a lot can go wrong during an exchange of information and/or sales processes.

Follow these steps to be able to fulfill your customers’ expectations:

1. Understand their needs:

   Identify the customer expectations and understand that these are constantly changing, developing and evolving.  They may include speedy, efficient and accurate services; prompt responses to inquiries; trained and friendly staff able to attend their requests immediately.

   Nowadays, based on Dan Pink’s ABCs of selling, sales are not all about the cash, but also about the commitment with the client which includes attunement, buoyancy and clarity.

2. Reconsider after the fact:

   After your sale has taken place, go back to the customer and ask about their product or service satisfaction. Review the situation to see if the representative was able to provide everything that was promised and was actually doable.

3. Apologize if necessary:

   Errors may happen from time to time; when this is the case, be honest and apologize to the client. Follow up with them and hopefully save any sale that may have been lost; remember you need to solve their problem and they must be the priority of your business.

When customer expectations are met and their satisfaction is reached, there are various benefits: they become loyal clients, your company receives more referrals, you get additional business via word of mouth, and sales increase.

For further assistance, call us today for a free quote to see how we can improve your customer service from the moment we receive their calls.