San Diego (PRWEB) February 13, 2014
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Walt Disney’s adage is true in all things customer service related: the customer must experience service worthy of not only their repeat business, but of a referral.
“It’s all about building a relationship that others will envy,” says Aaron Fulkerson, CEO and founder of MindTouch, the company that continues to transform product help through web, social and mobile innovations. To develop such a relationship, a good customer support program has to be thoughtfully planned and executed every step of the way. Aaron Fulkerson has put together three fundamental building blocks for setting customer service goals that get people talking, providing a positive customer success experience:
1. Build on a strong foundation. Companies too often focus on a single “band aid” (e.g., chat, community, or social channels) rather than try to set up a full-service omnichannel support system. There needs to be a balance of support across all channels with a foundation of processes and content that can accommodate faster product updates, provide effective help, and strengthen call center and support agent knowledge.
2. Focus on your customer’s success, not just supporting them. Support is nice, but focusing on customer success really allows them to fly. Tie your customer support into broader customer success programs. As customers are being supported, take what you learn works and doesn’t work, and build customer intelligence on user behavior for integration into marketing analytics for targeted marketing campaigns using automated marketing systems.
3. Develop real customer intimacy. 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated, according to McKinsey. Utilize the support channels to identify customer behaviors to drive a better understanding of what products and features they're after. Even better, use the intelligence you gather to intuit what they may not express they want. For example, analyzing customer behavior through the way product knowledge is shared can teach you a lot about where customers want to go with your product. One way to do this is by having a collaborative community network where users can share experienc¬es, best practices, common issues, and new ways to use the product.
According to the White House Office of Consumer Affair, a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience, no including any posts on social media. Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell about 4-6 people about their experience, making quality customer service a great source for promotion of a company or brand.
A positive customer success experience is crucial to making and keeping customers. Additionally, it can lead to more customers through positive referrals. How a company handles its customers can be a big differentiator from the competition. For example, if two stores offer the same product at the same price, the one that offers the better customer experience is often the winner in getting the business.
About MindTouch
MindTouch leads the way in providing the ultimate product support experience for users and customer service agents using a collaborative, self-service platform. The multi-channel solution allows clients to track and analyze customer needs and behavior in order to provide knowledge faster. MindTouch continues to create great customer experiences that increase customer retention, and reinforce your company’s brand image. MindTouch serves millions of users daily. For more information, visit http://www.mindtouch.com.
###
