There are many factors to be considered when attempting to provide best customer experience, including quality and pricing of products or services, and the degree to which a customer feels comfortable in the service/sales environment. Undeniably, the biggest feature of good customer experience is customer service, which encompasses a policy on the importance of clients, individual employee relations with patrons, types of sales tactics, and methods for handling customer complaints. Giving clients input on the business is also worth considering.
It’s hard to please customers if quality and/or pricing of products and/or services are not reasonable. Quality doesn’t necessarily have to be the highest, but products or services should meet normal expectations. Price should also match quality; a pair of well-constructed jeans lacking a designer label shouldn’t feature a designer price. Similarly, selling a Hyundai® at a BMW® price doesn’t make sense. In all cases, goods or services should meet minimum standards, and anything falling below this needs improvement.
Making customers comfortable in the service environment is another way to improve customer experience. This is achieved through thoughtful architecture and design, attention to temperature control, by making it easy to navigate the location (especially in shopping), and by keeping all facilities thoroughly clean. There are a number of businesses that fail on this last point, and though a few clients may not notice a mess, others will and will report a negative customer experience.
A business' attitude toward customers can greatly improve customer experience. Companies should remember that they sink or float based on how clients perceive them. Adopting the attitude that the customer is worthy of respect, the driving force of the business, and almost always right are important. These attitudes need to be supported by actions that are customer-centered.
All employees should be trained in basic manners, learning to interact with clients in positive and respectful ways. Businesses also benefit by having specific ways to handle complaints, usually by involving management to take care of any extensive issues. In most cases, customer complaints should be resolved, even if there is some doubt as to their legitimacy.
Sales methods are another area of consideration. Businesses may lose lifetime customers when they sell goods or services they do not want. Hard sell approaches notoriously drive customers away if the person ends up with a good or service he regrets purchasing. Sales tactics that focus on creating customers for life sometimes means being honest and not making a sale in the short term. Most people will find that type of customer experience attractive and refreshing, and might trust the business for future needs.
It might be worth using tactics that involve customer input. Many savvy companies give their customers opportunities to comment on what they like and dislike, and the smartest companies use online or physical bulletin board suggestions to make improvements to their businesses. This reinforces to the customer that his views are important and that he has involvement in running the business too, which fosters loyalty and positive feelings.
