So last time I talked about why customer service is so important, and before that, I talked about how to measure customer satisfaction. But, that doesn’t tell you anything about how to make customers happy, it only tells you how to tell when they are or are not happy, and why you should care either way. Making customers happy is a general concept, because you can’t make everyone happy, people are too diverse and unique for any group to please them all.
The problem is that what pleases the majority will displease the minority, and what pleases the minority will not please the majority. This basically eliminates the prospect of pleasing everyone even part of the time. Unfortunately for the minority, the majority tends to rule, and as a result, you have to focus on making the largest group of people happy.
So, let’s talk a little bit in general about how to make customers happy. There are a number of things you can do, and you undoubtedly do some of these things as it is. But, do you realize that these things are actually capable of being more effective than you give them credit? Probably not, and as a result, maybe after reading this, the things you already do, you will put more focus into implementing for higher gains in the times to come.
First and foremost, the best way to make customers happy is for them to feel like their money is being well-spent, not only on your service, but upon choosing you over competition. This involves actually being a little underhanded. But it’s ok, customers know their illusion of savings is actually a façade, they don’t care.
In a recent incident, J.C. Penney, a popular chain of department stores in the US, decided to throw this out, and price everything at its actual price, eliminating artificial sales. When presented with the real numbers, customers were turned off, despite price points almost never being really changed in the actual outcome. So, to make customers happy, make them feel like they are saving, even if they’re not. They know it’s an illusion, so it’s ok.
Second, customers hate dealing with customer service. Having to call the support line, be on hold for a long time, and deal with hard-to-communicate-with agents. One of the biggest things you can do to make customers happy is make this less awful. Reduce your hold times, remove advertising and awful music from them, and make sure your agents speak the customers’ language not only passably but absolutely fluently.
Finally, customers want to feel valued, so if you want to make them happy, appreciate them and show it. Offer them rewards for loyalty, and offer incentives for referring you to others. This is a practice set you already do no doubt, and you should focus more on it. Don’t just do the bare minimum here, actually focus on rewarding loyalty and positive feedback. It’ll pay off in the long run, because this makes customers so very happy.
So, when it comes to how to make customers happy, it all boils down to making them value you from a financial standpoint even via illusions, making support as fast and effective as possible, and showing the customer that you acknowledge that without them, you are nothing.
