There are an overwhelming amount of product choices for consumers on the market. So how do you make your product stand out?
Customer’s consider 3 main items when making purchasing decisions:
- How much the product costs;
- The quality of the product; and
- What their experience with the product is, both pre- and post-sale
The market dictates price – if you come in too high, you better have a premium product to back it up. And if you come in too low, well, those costs are being forfeited somewhere. And we’re sure your product is flawless (but let’s face it, nothings perfect.)
So how do you put your company in a position for a sustainable competitive advantage? Lead with an exceptional customer experience.
Why you should care about customer experience.
This goes beyond the age old, “the customer is always right.” Your technology or product offerings might get a potential client through the door. But the customer experience is what motivates them to stay.
Relationships matter
The quality of your technology helps build trust within your brand. But, unless you’re a tech company with a patent, others can replicate your product offering. You know what competitors cannot replicate? The human connection and interpersonal relationships built through consistently delighting customers.
It’s cost effective
A customer-centric company maintains higher adoption rates and sees higher client retention. It’s a lot more cost effective to retain a current customer rather than acquire a new one.
This benefits your customers and your bottom line. A 5% increase in customer retention can increase company revenue by 25-95%. (hubspot.com)
Easy ways to up your business’ customer experience.
Clients want an exclusive experience. Ok, that sounds intimidating. But in reality it’s not. Start by focusing on factors you can manage – communicate, stay friendly and be patient.
Delight your customers
We talked about how relationships matter. A key component to building relationships with customer is through delighting them.
Delighting customers goes beyond providing the bare minimum of support. According to Forbes, it means exceeding expectations, providing real value and surprising them.
Go the extra mile
Make your customers feel special (because they are!) Remember their birthday or big life event, and send them a card. It doesn’t take a heavy lift to make a big impression.
Social distancing measures and work from home have become the new norm. So the impact human connections have on the customer experience has drastically increased.
As the great Maya Angelou once said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”