What is customer satisfaction?

There are important keys to ensuring that customers are fully satisfied and likely to convert to or stay as loyal customers.

Great customer service is only one piece of the puzzle. A large part of customer satisfaction comes from constantly working on a product that helps them fulfill their goals or satisfy a need. Pour resources into creating a highly effective product or service, and work to always find ways to improve.

Excellent products or services are only as useful as the service and support behind them. If a customer has an issue with a product, service, or delivery, focus on innovative methods to better fulfill a customer request or issue by providing personalized support that involves a meaningful interaction—show them that they are being taken seriously and they are cared for.

Customer service may be thorough and personalized, but it can still be frustrating to a customer when the service is not delivered in a timely manner, or the organization is not responding altogether. Form a plan for quick response times while applying personalization principles to ensure that the replies aren’t only timely, but they are considerate of the customer’s problem. This can include a self-service knowledge base or chatbot, or talking with a representative who has solutions specific to the products or services the customer is using.

Coordinated departments and workflows can help an organization achieve better customer satisfaction through organization and proper communication. For instance, there may be an issue that is affecting a customer, and it is submitted to the organization. A proper workflow would deliver the issue to a team or individual who is tasked with handling the type of issue. The fewer hands an issue touches, the better—but each hand that touches it must be thorough and provide strong expertise for the issue so that they can provide a personalized solution that will keep the customer satisfied while addressing their issue.

See how the best companies are using digital technologies to improve customer satisfaction.

A product is only as excellent as its ability to satisfy the customer, and success on the battleground of growth is contingent on the ability to create the best customer experience.

In addition to responding to customers once they report an issue, either through self-service or assisted service, great customer experiences are fostered by proactive service. This means keeping customers informed through notifications, guided tours, and FAQs. It also means detecting when an issue has arisen that impacts customers, notifying them proactively while addressing the issue, and developing capabilities to predict issues so they can be prevented entirely.

The more an excellent CX is delivered, the more likely customers are to repeat business, leave positive reviews, and spread their experience through word of mouth. Conversely, a bad CX can lead to the loss of business in the same ways that business can be gained—thus, the bottom line is improved and positive experiences are reflected in revenue gain.

Many companies are still focused on creating the best and most innovative software, products, or services—but, this focus is becoming more and more outdated as recommendations are shifting toward a focus on CX rather than just product innovation.

Customer satisfaction surveys are an excellent way to gather information about how customers view your brand. A proper survey can gauge satisfaction with the brand, find areas of improvement, and determine whether or not a customer will repeat interactions with the brand. Surveys can measure perceived level of effort, the volume of interaction with the brand, and repetition of engagements with the brand.

Learn more about how customer surveys improve customer satisfaction.

There are several ways that a brand can engage with customers to gather feedback:

• Social media: Through social media accounts, a brand can ask customers to provide feedback about their experience with the product or service.
• Surveys immediately after interactions: After a point of contact with a customer, a brand can send out a survey through email, text, or even make it available at the end of a phone call. This is a great way to gauge a reaction right after the fact rather than later when the customer may not remember the details of their interaction.
• Ask for reviews: Current or former customers could be asked to provide an online review of the brand and their product or service. The request would typically be sent through email or text message, and they usually ask for authentic feedback with a text field for more specific information.
• Surveys at random intervals: A survey could be sent out daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly, etc. to gauge a customer’s ongoing or past experience with a brand. This measures satisfaction after a customer has had time to continually interact with the brand or experience the service, then sit with the experience for a period of time. It is also ideal for gathering consistent data for a span of time to analyze, then apply to a strategy for customer satisfaction.

Customers should be able to easily access information. Knowledge bases or chatbots can expedite the process before a point of contact is necessary, and customers are able to easily find answers to some questions. If a customer contacts a brand with a question or request, the brand should try to answer the question or contact the customer within a reasonable amount of time. The answer or contact should be thorough and personalized.

Finding contact options should be easy for a customer, whether it is on a contact page or available on the front page of an internet search. Customers shouldn’t have to dig to find answers and shouldn’t have to go too far out of their way to contact anybody at a company—convenience is key.

Success is a matter of doing things better for your customers than competitors. If a competitor offers a better customer experience, customers are more likely to repeat business with or stay loyal to a brand, in addition to leaving positive reviews and spreading their positive experience to others.

Identify how a competitor, or even top customer service companies, focus on customer satisfaction. Analyze whether or not customer satisfaction is their top priority above a product or service, and analyze some of their techniques to see what does and doesn’t work—implement these techniques into customer satisfaction strategies.