For the first time since 2015, customer satisfaction has dropped year-on-year according to the latest UKCSI report. As customer satisfaction is directly linked to better financial performance, how can businesses improve customer satisfaction and ultimately, customer loyalty?
High customer satisfaction breeds strong levels of customer loyalty, recommendations and referrals, trust and a very enviable reputation. However, the latest UKCSI report claims that UK customer satisfaction has dropped to 77.9 in 2018. What’s significant about this is that it’s the first time since January 2015 that two consecutive UKCSI surveys have shown a decline in overall customer satisfaction, suggesting a negative trend.
The report goes on to state something that should be familiar to all businesses…
“Consistently outperforming the sector average for customer satisfaction is linked to better financial performance”
It goes without saying; outperforming your competitors on customer satisfaction would see your business benefit in a number of ways. But customer satisfaction can sometimes be overlooked.
The emphasis placed on acquiring new clients and customers can mean customer retention exercises get neglected. In fact, 44% of companies have a greater focus on customer acquisition vs. 18% that focus on retention. And yet, engaging with existing customers and reducing customer churn will accelerate business growth.
Probability of selling to an existing customer 60 – 70% (Marketing Metrics)
Probability of selling to a new customer 5 – 20% (Marketing Metrics)
No business is immune from customer churn but according to research from Harvard Business School, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25%. Understanding your customers’ pain points is crucial to improving your customer’s overall satisfaction.
Grab their opinions and feedback
Mobile devices have made it easier than ever to collect customer feedback. From a simple SMS Survey, you can discover what your customers love about you and in what areas your business could improve. IKEA found that using SMS to gain feedback rather than email doubled their response rate. The convenience and ease of use resulted in more varied responses, ultimately providing IKEA with a higher NPS score.
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”
Bill Gates
Personalised communications
Lack of content relevancy generates 83% lower response rates in the average marketing campaign. The level of personalisation should go further than just your customer’s name; delivering content that’s truly relevant to each individual customer, from their purchase history, industry or department they’re in and location. By segmenting your database into different groups you will be able to send more relevant content to your customers more easily – and, typically, more relevancy leads to more responses.
If you would like any more ideas on how your business could improve on its customer satisfaction and how we have helped other customers with this, then please get in touch today
