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Consumers are always looking for businesses that they can relate to, and that treat them well. These same folks will quickly leave a company behind that doesn’t deliver a stellar experience and support.
Research from Kapow explains that 68 percent of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor customer service. The overall experience of consumers when they are on your website reflects on the experience you’re providing for people who buy your products or use your service.
Technology has effectively changed the way B2B and B2C companies handle delivering quality customer experiences. Automation is one such advance that has dramatically improved the way people interact with various industries. We want to take a look at how you can implement automation to build a superior customer experience in 2019.
Deliver Targeted Content
Chances are, you decided to create a blog on your website, so consumers have a reason to come to your page in between purchases. Automation has dramatically changed the way email marketers deliver their messages and blog content.
Traditionally, marketers would send out email blasts to everyone who subscribed to their mailing list. While this is a good tactic under the right circumstances, it is simply not sufficient for building a strong, personal relationship with your audience.
Instead of blast emails, you can use automation to segment your leads and direct the appropriate email content to the right audience. For example, if you sold pet supplies on your website, you can use algorithms and automation to determine whether someone would be interested in receiving your latest blog post on taking care of dogs. You’re going to want to send out this content to customers who have purchased dog supplies or viewed other dog-themed content on your blog.
Overhaul Your Chat Service
Customer service comes in many forms. One of the most common ways business owners keep in touch with their audience is by using live chat software. They use this software and hire their own staff, outsource their customer service, or use chatbots to assist with customer issues.
If you want to streamline your customer service, you can implement a hybrid system of real employees and a programmed bot to help your visitors. The best way to approach this situation is by developing a tier system that categorizes customer concerns by urgency and severity. For example, a tier one chat message could be something simple like “Does the price include tax?” while a higher tiered item could be “I was charged twice for my purchase.”
Generally speaking, tier one complaints are common, and you can use your chatbots to help customers instantly, while more complex problems move on to your in-house or outsourced chat team. This tactic will improve the customer experience because it allows your visitors to get instant answers to their simple questions, and frees up the time of your customer service employees to help customers with complex issues.
Compile Customer Feedback
Finally, you can use automated software to collect and compile customer feedback. There’s a reason that customer satisfaction surveys are more common now than ever before. Gone are the days of hand counting responses and building reports that give you an idea of how your customers feel about your business.
Now, it’s as simple as adding a form to your website and reading the available report any time you’re curious or brainstorming ways to improve your business model. Business leaders are taking this data and looking at how they can improve the overall experience of their customers. The best part about building your customer feedback forms is that you can ask specific questions that will help you learn more about your audience and what they expect from their experience on your site.
If you notice that 50-70 percent of your audience all seems to be clamoring for one specific product feature or website addition, it’s a safe bet that you’ll improve their overall experience by acknowledging and honoring their requests.
Conclusion
It’s not easy building superior customer experiences in 2019, but with the help of automation, business owners are closing the gap and giving customers what they want. As technology advances in the coming years, there’s predicted to be massive disruption across numerous industries due to automation. Many tech jobs still require the mind and touch of a real human being, but automation can ease the burden of employees and give customers the excellent experience they expect when they visit your website.
