Finding ways to improve the customer experience (CX) is essential for companies. One of the main issues is, many effective approaches that boost CX are cumbersome, taking a significant amount of time to implement and even longer to assess the results. Luckily, there are some simple strategies that can boost CX efficiently. Not only are they easy to implement, but they can also lead to meaningful improvements in less time. If you need to improve CX, here are some simple strategies that you can start using right now.
Simple Strategies to Boost CX
Walk in the Customer’s Shoes
Often, company leaders struggle to understand the customer experience fully. While having an intellectual understanding of the processes is critical, it isn’t enough to identify pain points proactively. If you want to determine where your CX is potentially falling short, start by walking in the customer’s shoes. Go through every communication avenue that’s available as though you were trying to solve a commonly experienced problem.
Additionally, ask others in the company to do the same. Along with contact center managers and supervisors, have some representatives take part. If possible, record their full experience. That way, you can easily identify obstacles and challenges, making it easier to determine where changes could potentially do the most good.
Personalize the “Thank You”
Many companies take a moment to thank customers for their business when they reach out for support. However, while saying, “Thank you for your business” is a nice touch, it isn’t the most impactful option. Instead, find a way to personalize the “thank you.” Include the customer’s name as a starting point. If your company offers subscription-based services, mention how long they’ve been a customer, too. For instance, “Thank you, [customer name], for being a [company] customer for the past [number of years] years. We genuinely appreciate your continued business,” customizes the experience. If you have other logical opportunities for personalization, consider integrating them. That way, the “thank you” makes the customer feel valued as an individual, increasing its impact.
Prioritize Quality Over Speed
Many contact centers focus heavily on call time metrics, often asking representatives to shorten call times as much as possible. However, this approach isn’t customer-centric. In order to meet productivity guidelines, representatives might be pressured to rush through calls, leading to less-than-ideal results. Plus, it may prevent issues from being resolved during the first contact. In either case, CX suffers. If you want to boost CX, prioritize call quality over speed. Give representatives space to take more time when a call genuinely requires it. That way, customer satisfaction can be the priority, resulting in better outcomes and improved CX.
Rethink Your Chatbot Use
Many companies find that chat-based support – particularly those supported by chatbots – is more efficient on their side of the equation. However, not all customers will agree. Certain issues may be inherently complex. If customers know before reaching out that a bot isn’t going to have the solution they need, being forced to go through several back-and-forth interactions with it is going to harm CX.
Similarly, penalizing callers who don’t interact with the chatbot first – such as by having longer wait times – isn’t going to benefit CX. There can be many reasons why a customer would prefer not to use a messenger or communicate with a chatbot. By positioning bots as a required part of getting help, you’re potentially alienating those customers.
While having chatbots available is an intelligent move, rethink bot-based requirements. Give customers a simple way to reach a live representative through messengers. Additionally, make sure callers aren’t penalized for choosing to pick up the phone. That way, every customer can choose an approach that’s best for them, boosting CX.
