Customer experience is something small business owners should know about and be focusing on.
Whilst bigger companies have been improving their customer experience over the last ten years or so, many small business owners aren’t aware of it. Yet it’s proving to be a real competitive advantage.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. And there are things that you can do now to make a difference to your CX.
Kenneth B. Ellitott’s quote perfectly describes how a customer focussed business should think about the people they serve – and how lots of companies or their teams actually think of their customers.
One of the 5 key elements of emotional intelligence, you can use empathy to improve your business.
It also makes you a better person, friend, worker and leader.
Empathy has been recognised as an essential part of creating an exceptional customer experience.
Customer personas should be useful and hard working documents.
If you created yours and then wondered what you’re supposed to do with it now, then something’s not right.
Perhaps I can help you find out why your persona’s not working for you – read on!
If a product or service doesn’t match our expectations we feel disappointed and let down. But often we don’t care enough about it to complain.
So when we do complain our emotions can be running pretty high. If we’re on the receiving end of that complaint, it can sometimes be pretty intimidating.
You’ve identified your niche and written a detailed customer persona.
Have you included your customer traits?
These could be key to finding out what your customers have in common or what sets them apart.
Customer traits highlight what your customer have in common.
Every contact we have with a customer influences that customer’s future decision whether to buy from us again.
EVERY contact.
It’s not just about when you or your team are in contact with your customers. It’s about your customers coming into contact with any part of your business, your team, your messaging, your brand …
As people we do everything for a reason – because of our emotional drivers. If anyone’s observing and trying to understand why, it might not be immediately obvious. In fact we might not consciously understand it ourselves!
If you can understand your customers’ emotional drivers you can better influence their behaviour and their perception of your brand.
What is expected of you? What’s expected of your products and services? How do you serve your customers?
Are you confident you know?
Regardless of what industry you’re in, your customers are comparing you to what they’ve experienced elsewhere.
Ask your customers if their recent experience met, exceeded or fell below their expectations. Then ask why.
Create a holistic view of your ideal customer by using psychographics. By understanding how what you offer fits into your customers’ lives you can create a sophisticated profile of your niche.
