Before we define customer satisfaction, let us know that the definition of customer satisfaction differs from one customer to another. Customer satisfaction is not an action that changes overnight. It is a long term process which comes with long term success.
Now let’s try to put the term “customer satisfaction” as a definition.
What is Customer satisfaction?
Customer satisfaction is a business term which is a measure of how the products and services supplied by a company are able to meet the customer expectations. Basically it is a feeling of pleasure or disappointment about the performance of a product or service with relation to the customer’s expectation.
Purpose of Customer satisfaction:
Data of customer satisfaction are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. This also provides the leading indicator of consumer’s purchase intentions and loyalty. There are two main principle:
- Within the organization, analysis, collection and dissemination of the data will send a message about the importance of tending to customers and ensures that they have a positive experience with the services that company provides and the goods of the company.
- Although market or sales shares will indicate how well the firm has performed, satisfaction is the perfect indicator that the firm’s customer will continue to purchase in the future. Research has focused on customer satisfaction and customer retention.
There are three main stages of customer experiences:
- When a customer’s experience with your product or service is up to their expectations, the customer is satisfied and he/she is more likely to be a loyal customer, need based customer or sometimes wandering customer.
- When your product or services serves more than the customer’s expectations, the customer is highly satisfied and the chances of them turning into a loyal customer is also high.
- When your product or service does not serve according to the customer’s expectations, the customer is unsatisfied and the chances of losing the customer is high.
Years ago there was a scenario in the business market where the focus was
“sell what you can make” and the present focus is “make what you can sell”. Along with the concept of make what you can sell, the concept of making your customers happy and satisfied with your products and services is too high. In a competitive market where there is competence for obtaining loyal customers, customer satisfaction becomes a key strategy to retain existing customers and gain new ones as well. The importance of Customer satisfaction comes with various benefits for the business.
How To improve Customer Satisfaction:
The challenge for so many business owners who are still trying to tackle is how to improve customer service and customer satisfaction. Each and every business has a different customer base with different expectations of customers. Hence there are few practices that will improve customer satisfaction of the industry:
- Listen to the customer – In order to give what customers want, you need to know what actually they want and the needs of the customers. 65% of the customers speak negatively about their customer service experience. This is something that will affect the business and the brand. But keeping tuned in to what people say is much easier than ever. By using the customer service tools, companies will be able to track the social conversations and solve the concerns immediately.
- Understand the customer – Customers are unique, understanding them on a personal level is the best key to unlock customer satisfaction. It is impossible for the marketing team and customer service reps to understand each customer with whom they interact, but by collecting and utilizing the data, the team can better understand the needs and wants of the customers and address them accordingly.
Let us discuss about the importance of customer satisfaction :
1. Helps you to retain your existing customers
A survey stated that getting a new customer costs more than retaining an existing customer. Though the fact does not mean, a company does not require new customers but you cannot avoid the fact that the easiest and predictable source of revenue comes right from your existing customers. It also costs less marketing and sales efforts as they have already brought from you. And it creates a path for a long term customer relationship management. In fact 80% of your company’s revenue will come from 20% of your existing customers. And the new customers may cost you 6-7 times more than your existing customer.
In order to retain your clients through client satisfaction make use of the most trusted CRM softwares like SalesBabu CRM Solutions. It is a cloud based CRM software which is the best business tool to increase revenue and manage your business more effectively.
Read our blog – How CRM Boost Your Customer Service & Overall Customer Experience
2. Enhances brand image
Branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room.
The success of branding depends on the how the customer has perceived the product or service. When your customers are satisfied with your product and services it becomes a strong foundation to enhance brand image. Once your business acquires strong brand image or identity through client satisfaction you can gain furthermore benefits through it. Have you ever thought why is a customer willing to pay thousands more for a product or a service though there are many other companies who provide the same products or services for a lesser price? It’s all in the name, the brand to be more specific.
3. Promotes customer loyalty
Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.
Customer loyalty is proportional to customer satisfaction or say client satisfaction. There are various other companies in the market who provide similar products and services as you do, and still if your customers tend to buy from you everytime, be happy!! You are successful in gaining loyal customers.
4. Helps to acquire new customer
Increasing your customer base is one of the fastest ways to grow your business and achieve the short term goals. Customer acquisition is a never ending marketing effort that pays off! There are various methods for acquiring new customers but one of the most quick and easy methods of acquiring new clients is through client satisfaction. You might be wondering how is that possible? Or why would companies spends lakhs together for marketing if just client satisfaction would help them gain customers?
The answer is simple. Your existing customers or say loyal customers are the ones who can market your brand more effectively than you, yourself can do. Your satisfied customers get four other customers for you. But the only effort from your side should be to make those four more customers satisfied. And this chain goes on and on. And there are also another set of consumers who prefer buying products based on the brand image, reviews and ratings etc. Thus, your customer’s satisfaction plays its card in order to further benefit you.
5. Increases profit
Client satisfaction is surely way more than profit! But let’s be practical and also focus on the importance of increasing the revenue of the business. A business is set up with one of the most important objectives of earning profit and increasing the rate of profit year after year.
The ultimate reason for the increase in profit is because of your valuable customers. In a customer centric market, revenue growth also plays an essential role for survival in the market.
As mentioned above that your satisfied customers are the ones who remain loyal to you and also help you gain customers, they are also the reason behind the increase in the profit level of your business.
Read our blog – Customer centric CRM, the way to go
So now that you are aware about the importance of customer satisfaction that helps you to grow your business, let us know more about some directions to keep your customers satisfied and happy.
When you follow the correct directions and basic milestones, you can not fail to satisfy your valuable customers. And even if the issue is not resolved quickly the customers will still trust you.
- Never avoid your customers
When your customers wants help, extend your help! If you avoid your customers by not receiving their calls , not replying to their mails etc your customers feel that they are being ignored by you. And once your customers draw such conclusions they will stop trusting you.
- Be truthful
A business that takes pride in following ethics and social responsibilities is no less than a challenge in this challenging world. There are companies who probably don’t give importance to honesty as a basic characteristic of the business activities.
Do not take advantage of your client’s situation instead be truthful to them which in turn helps you to maintain good customer relations with them in the long run. Once your customer feels that you are honest, he/she experiences higher client satisfaction and also remain loyal to you.
- Listen to your customers
The importance of listening exceeds far beyond professional settings. Listen to your customers with patience even when they have complaints from you and even when they are happy from you.
For instance, if they have a problem with the products or services they have received, understand and try to find the cause of the problem. And finally when you find a clear and precise solution to resolve the problem your customer experience the care you are showing towards them. And when your customers come to you to share their happy customer experience, listen to them and be thankful to them.
Read our blog – Why Customer Complaints Are Good For Your Business
- Close on a happy note
The final destination is to close call on a happy note. When you close the call on a happy note the impression that you retain on the client’s or customer’s mind is the one that makes them come back to you in the future time period.
Conclusion
Finally, client satisfaction is the leading trend in the business market. Your satisfied customers are a reason behind retaining them and also gaining new customers. Client satisfaction is a reason behind the success of your business, a priceless success that not just increases your revenue but also helps you to create strong brand identity in the market.
In turn you can enhance your customer’s experience by the help of a CRM software that will help you to grow your business and also ensures a well organised form of running the business activities. Check the blog Why CRM Software? To know more about the benefits of a CRM software from sales to service management. You can also visit our website https://www.salesbabu.com/ for further details and request for a free demo to know more about our solution.
