When you think about building your brand, customer service should be top of mind. Aligning customer service to your brand is a critical, yet underutilized, way to boost brand loyalty. When done well, high quality customer service can create a sustainable competitive advantage.
Customer service is a layman’s term for how people perceive your business based on the way they are treated. Poor customer service, even when paired with a superior product and marketing strategy, can turn customers away from your brand. Conversely, superior customer service can make people feel good about your brand, thereby increasing sales through repeat business and referrals.
Here are five (5) simple steps to align your brand to a superior customer experience:
Create an emotional connection – research shows that over 50% of the customer experience is based on emotions.
Educate the customer – Customers should see you as helpful, reliable, and trustworthy. Relationships are a two-way street; you must give something of value to build customer trust leading to purchase. Share reputable information; educate your customer base.
Design brand-aligned processes - customer service processes often involve multiple tasks, people, and potentially organizations. All touchpoints must supply quality service standards. Clear documentation and training ensures proper delivery. Touchpoints occur anytime that a brand representative/ad “touches” the customer.
Be Flexible - rather than a strict set of rules on how cases are handled, your team should have the ability to develop custom solutions based on individual need. This allows for genuine and sincere attention to specific problems with a solution that meets the client expectation.
Use brand-aligned metrics – a critical misstep in customer service is the misalignment of brand strategy and service metrics. Create and track measures that align with your product, service, and customer ideals.
Good Marketing convinces customers to try your brand; Customer Service keeps them coming back! It is not merely about telling people what makes you different, it’s about replicating a positive experience. Put customers first and create a good feeling.