When customer centricity first became a hot topic, many companies interpreted the concept to mean putting customers’ needs first. While taking the customer’s perspective is essential to offering him the best brand experience, companies sometimes fail to acknowledge how the entire organization needs to be involved in such an effort. Creating a customer-centric experience is not the sole responsibility of your service agents. Rather, your company must develop a culture that enables every employee to cater to your customers’ needs. Here are five ways to create a customer-centric brand culture.
First and foremost, all employees should be engaged in learning about your customers on an emotional level. For example, they may spend time listening to recorded calls, reading customer communications, and observing focus groups to better understand what needs are being expressed. Once this information is discussed, employees may determine how they can show empathy toward these customers. Sales and marketing employees, for example, might identify how to approach sales calls more efficiently, whereas service agents may create customer personas that guide them to better serve people with different emotional needs.
In addition to developing empathy based on customers’ different personalities, employees must understand the actual problems your customers face. To do this, analyzing feedback is ideal. Ask your employees to examine all customer feedback closely as well as metrics such as satisfaction scores. Once your staff determines recurring issues, they may suggest ways in which service may be improved. For example, better communication across departments may be necessary, or perhaps employees need more training in the use of new technology.
Reducing customer effort means increasing loyalty to your brand. When sales and customer service agents are well qualified for their roles, they can engage with customers meaningfully and offer them seamless experiences that don’t waste time. In this manner, employees exude greater confidence and are more satisfied with their work. By matching employees to roles that suit them best, you can deliver the kind of service that customers want.
Sales and marketing employees are in the perfect position to offer customers the experiences they want. Through analyzing customer feedback, sales history, and click-through rates of promotional offers, these employees may determine optimal practices that drive sales and customer satisfaction. A truly customer-centric experience means getting relevant marketing offers that drive one to action.
Of all your employees, the service agents undoubtedly spend the most time interacting directly with your customers. Keeping an empathetic approach in mind, these agents should be trained to handle every customer question thoroughly. While you might think that reducing average handling time is important for contact center efficiency, remember that first contact resolution often leads to greater customer satisfaction. For this reason, agents should be permitted and encouraged to listen closely to customers and take the time to resolve each case until the customer is truly happy with the outcome.Customer-centric experiences begin with building a brand culture that fosters critical thinking, empathy, and, ultimately, action. When you engage your entire organization in understanding the customer’s point of view, you will earn the kind of loyalty that makes a brand shine above the competition. To deliver the very best customer experiences, learn about Vocalcom, a global leader in AI-powered contact center software solutions and premium omnichannel customer interaction platform.
