Four Ways To Put The Customer First And Build A Good Reputation

Fast-paced commoditization of merchant sectors like consumer electronics, household goods, and travel essentials – once dominated by prominent companies – is continuing unabated in the digital space.

This has created a world of online retail that’s full of competition. Hundreds of thousands of businesses are attempting to reach the same customers in meaningful ways. As a result, it has become more challenging than ever to close sales and retain customers.

Still, there is an opportunity to stand out and improve brand reputation by putting customers first.

“Customer first” refers to providing value to customers in every possible way, by proactively engaging with them before, during and after the purchase process. Incorporating customer-first initiatives into your online marketing strategy can bring significant competitive advantages. Gartner’s research revealed that 89 percent of companies will compete on the basis of customer experience by this year.

Watch revenue soar and build a good reputation by implementing these four customer-first tips.

Focus on High-Value Interactions

The quality of customer interactions determines whether people will continue to buy from you or choose another brand. Brands can free up their contact center staff to put greater effort into high-value interactions by choosing the right inbound call center system. Modern systems feature sophisticated routing ability to transfer calls to the right support agents at the right hour. They also have the capability to automatically display customers’ data on agents’ PCs so the issue can be resolved quickly. Moreover, customers can be allowed to perform routine functions via intelligent IVR using voice input.

Create Some Content in Collaboration with Influencers

Influencers are engines of authenticity, which is why they’re the lifeblood of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. Collaborate with them on content creation to free up marketing resources. Since these campaigns will involve content that is written by trusted individuals, prospects are more likely to respond in a positive manner and consider the content as authentic. In addition, the conversations generated about your product/service will be from unbiased individuals who join hands to engage about a brand they like working for.

Consider Multi-Channel Engagement

These days, consumers want to reach brands fast, and they easily get frustrated with businesses that just provide email support. To gain a competitive edge in terms of customer experience, consider providing your audience with multiple options to contact you. For instance, if you’ve been using social media networks for customer support and feedback, use more than one platform actively. Announce that people can reach out to you on both Twitter and Facebook rather than on just one of these platforms. This approach will reduce frustration on consumers’ part and help you resolve more issues in a day.

Reward Loyal Customers

While acquiring new customers is the order of the day for most retailers, they miss the point that it can cost 5 to 10 times more to sell to new customers than to existing ones. And because an existing customer base is nurtured already, they often spend more than new customers. Therefore, companies should try retaining their existing customers. One way to do that is by rewarding loyalty. A loyalty software can be used to differentiate loyal customers from infrequent buyers, then rewards can be given to the former.

Being a “customer first” company is the Holy Grail towards gaining a competitive edge. Use these tips to improve your customer experience and gain a positive reputation in your industry.