5 best practices for consumer satisfaction

Have you ever asked yourself why customer satisfaction is important?

Crucially, as few as one in every 26 unsatisfied customers will complain to the company directly. The remaining 25 churn and take their business elsewhere.

A happy customer can be worth their weight in gold if they speak up about their pleasant experience with you and express this through recommendations via online reviews on forums like Quora and Reddit or review websites such as Pissedconsumer.com.

With this in mind, it’s obvious why consumer satisfaction should be at the top of your list of priorities. So, what are the foundations of a positive customer experience, and how to improve customer satisfaction?

Stay true to your word

Always keep up your side of the deal. If you sell a consumer on an idea, it’s essential that you follow through. Trust is hard-won but easily lost. Communicate clearly and never rely on the ignorance of the small print to mislead consumers. Always be transparent and fulfil your promises.

A happy employee makes a happy customer

Sixty-eight percent of consumers report that a positive attitude of a customer service representative was instrumental to their satisfaction. Furthermore, 62% state that an employee’s knowledge, understanding, and initiative are the fundamental factors of a positive experience.

Enthusiasm is infectious. An employee’s passion is going to rub off on the consumer and positively impact their impression of the company and product. 

How can you do this? Paramount is firstly selling your company to your employees. An employee who believes in the company and product is far more likely to exude positivity to customers. Further to this, involve your employees in the company’s achievements, make them feel part of a greater whole and show them that their efforts really matter. 

With a healthy connection to the company’s purpose, an employee will more effectively and readily communicate your values, ideals and benefits to the customer.

Make things easy

If a consumer wants to get in touch, whether that be a query on your product or to express discontent, make it easy for them to do so. If a consumer has an easily remedied concern, one way to turn a simple enquiry into a complaint is to put the customer through a needle in a haystack hunt for your company’s contact details.

A simple, user-friendly live messenger on your website can work wonders to this end, as well as a frequently asked questions section written based on resolved customer queries.

Remove any obstacles

Here’s another area where effectively reviewing past customer feedback can work for you. The majority of customer complaints are not unique and tend to be concerned with one of a handful of common issues. 

You can effectively minimise the effort needed by both parties to deal with these issues by training employees on the best responses and guidelines to instruct the customer in overcoming the particular obstacle. 

These shouldn’t be generic responses; however, we’re talking about carefully crafted assistance based on a thorough understanding of the experiences and mechanisms involved. This way, any potential misunderstanding or escalation is minimised. 

When wrapping up, always think about your next dealing with the customer. Make your parting impression positive and memorable as such. Ensure the customer feels that their problem has been dealt with effectively and that they are not ending the interaction disappointed.

Take positive steps

The long-term prospects of any company are hinged on the company/customer relationship. Any and all investment in this area of business is worthwhile, as the dividends, if done so can be huge, just as the consequence of negative customer reviews, if ignored, can be disastrous.

Always be transparent and forthright about what you can offer existing and potential customers… and make sure you deliver. Be attentive to the needs and actual experience of your employees and make them feel part of something greater. Step into the consumers' shoes and also take insights from past feedback to solve problems before they arise.