Keep it simple: get your customer experience humming

How can you ensure a great customer experience even when times are tough? Mat Wylie says it’s all about keeping things simple.

There’s always a lot to do when you’re running a business, especially during tougher economic times when you may be dealing with staff shortages, stretched resources, or a decrease in customers.

That’s why our clients often ask us how they can ensure a great customer experience even in challenging situations. In our experience, the trick is to keep it simple.

Communication is key

When you’re short-staffed, under-resourced, or facing other issues, it can be challenging to maintain the level of service you desire. However, effective communication with your customers can go a long way in avoiding problems.

Imagine you have a dentist’s appointment. You’ve had to leave work early to get there, but when you arrive, you end up waiting 45 minutes because they’re running late. You could have utilised that time at work instead, and as a result, you feel quite annoyed.

However, if they had sent you a text message to inform you about the delay, your perspective would be completely different. You would have had the option to decide when to leave, and you would have appreciated their proactive approach. Something as simple as a text message can significantly alter how you perceive their service.

We can’t always control if a team member calls in sick, if an appointment takes longer than expected, or if a new employee is still learning. However, we can control how we let these things affect our customers.

We have observed numerous instances where something as straightforward as communicating a delay or change can prevent it from becoming a problem in the first place.

Empower your team

How can you make your team feel empowered to do what’s best for the customer?

Recently, I had a conversation with someone who shared a story about trying to get a smoothie from a kiosk at the local mall. The person working there simply said, “Sorry, we’re all out of milk.” Interestingly, she wasn’t the only staff member present, and there was a supermarket just a minute’s walk away within the same mall. My friend was struck by the fact that the staff didn’t feel like they could easily go to the supermarket and get more milk, resulting in turning customers away.

You don’t need to provide your team with complicated training to handle every minor challenge, but you can give them the freedom to make decisions that best serve the customers (we call this TLC – Think Like a Customer).

Do your team members feel empowered to take actions that benefit the customer?

Reach out to your current customers

As business leaders, it’s natural to focus on new business growth, even though we know that acquiring a new customer can cost up to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. I’ve certainly fallen into that trap before! However, now is a good time to remind ourselves that it’s worthwhile to take simple steps to care for our current customers.

Engage in conversations with them to explore how else you can be of assistance. Can you create an offer to encourage them to spend more with you? It doesn’t have to be elaborate, time-consuming, or expensive.

A local business near me excels in this regard by sending out a straightforward email with an offer or a free add-on that doesn’t cost them much, but if you book within the next few days, you can take advantage of it. It’s not complicated, but it is effective.

I’ve spoken to many businesses that feel under-resourced at the moment, asking how they can maintain a positive customer experience when resources are limited. Fortunately, we’ve discovered that some of the most impactful strategies are also the quickest, easiest, and most cost-effective to implement.