Let's talk about CX!
Good or bad, consumers love to talk about customer experience
Imagine you’ve just spoken to a polite and efficient customer service professional that helped you trace a lost package, or revealed that a particular product came with a life-changing hack, or provided you with a discount on your regular bulk buy … How likely is it that you would go home and tell your family? Or a like-minded friend who uses the same company? Well, 89% of consumers in the UK said they would.
According to the latest research commissioned by Yonder Digital Group with independent research organisation MindMetre Research, if consumers have a great customer experience with a company then they will usually tell their friends and family. This should be a wake-up call for companies that too often don’t take into consideration the championing skills of their consumers, worrying too much about avoiding negative reviews and social media call-outs, rather than acknowledging the powerful natural evangelist in the happy customer.
The ‘chat factor’ shouldn’t be undervalued; Yonder Digital Group’s research, in fact, reveals that nine in every ten people will share their positive experiences, whether they are in their twenties or in their sixties. Contrary to popular belief, the younger generations are not solely focussed on clicking the ‘like’ button: 84% of consumers between the ages 18 and 24 would physically talk about their positive experience with friends and family. This key statistic highlights how word-of-mouth and real-life interactions are still powerful and relevant in a digital world.
Another key outcome of the research reveals that social media users are now more likely to share positive brand experiences, rather than complaints: only 31% of UK consumers would post about a negative experience compared with 38% who’s broadcast a positive one. Far from being a liability risking exposure of a negative customer rant about late delivery, slow customer service, a faulty product or whatever, social media are increasingly becoming a platform to endorse companies that have gone the extra mile and provided top-class customer experience.
Providing a top-class CX, however, is easier said than done, but there are some facts that companies should bare in mind to try and make their customers as happy as possible. For example, a previous research report by Yonder, showed how important live interaction is to consumers: 87% of UK consumers stated that they require live agents to be part of the channel mix offered by a business when they need to get in touch. Being multichannel is one of the biggest advantages that a company can offer to its customers and 84% confirm that they prefer to have access to more than one channel to communicate with a business in order to feel that a good service is provided –further reinforcing that eliminating live agents from the channel mix should not be considered!
Businesses should instead be looking for ways of integrating social media platforms into their customer experience systems and for strategies to encourage customers to loyally share, review and discuss the positive aspects of buying with them. Harnessing social media and user endorsements, however, is impossible unless brands are already applying a rigorous strategy to their customer experience process, identifying favoured channels for communication, understanding the customer and tailoring the sales process to each individual and empowering customer service representatives to make timely and relevant suggestions. Ensuring a good customer experience brings more than one benefit. Happy consumers will not only share the good news with their friends but they will also go back to the company that provided them with a good service, thus instilling brand loyalty.