Posted by on November, 15 2019 8:29 pm
How important are your consumers’ feelings? While you may not give it much thought - your job is their satisfaction, after all - it is actually very important to the job you do.
Research has found that when it comes to call center customer experience, emotion plays a big role. While a consumer may forget the words that were said to them or the exact interaction they had with an agent or a brand, they are unlikely to ever forget how that interaction made them feel. Most of our buying decisions are impacted by this exact formula - feelings over everything else.
If you’re looking for ways to improve the call center customer experience you’re offering to your callers and clients, the best way to start is to find out how you're making them feel. If the answer isn’t overwhelmingly positive, it’s time to reevaluate your priorities and readjust your strategies. Nothing makes for success like happy customers, after all!
Here, we’ll talk about some of the factors that influence the emotions of your consumers - and how to impact them positively to create a better call center customer experience.
While any decent person would want others to be happy, seeing how important it is to your business’s bottom line will likely help motivate you to make it happen. So, what is the relationship between positive emotions and great customer experience?
Consumers are more lenient and more forgiving when they are given a positive experience - and this begins with being made to feel good about the interactions they are having. When a consumer feels heard, valued, and respected, they are less likely to be frustrated that their wait time was long. They are less likely to be angry if things don’t go their way. They are much less likely to leave negative feedback of report an overall negative interaction, even if the reason for their initial call was very negative in nature.
That’s why agents should be trained to prioritize empathy. Being a more personable conversation partner - whether via phone call or any other communication channel - is important when providing a great experience. Making the customer feel good about their time interacting with your agents should be at the top of the list for things agents do during every call or conversation. Train your team toward this goal.
Now you see the connection between happy customers and better call center customer experience. But do you know just how big of an impact emotion can truly have on creating better experiences for consumers - and better profit margins for your business?
One of the biggest benefits of a positive customer experience is the fostering of customer loyalty. Creating loyal customers doesn’t happen instantly; trust is earned through actions and integrity. When you deliver positive feelings to your consumers, you are giving them reasons to choose your brand or business over your competitors. This kind of loyalty will continue to pay for itself well into the future.
Happy customers are also more likely to become brand advocates. This doesn’t mean they’re going to wear officially-licensed merchandise and star in your commercials, but it does mean that they can become small-time advertisers for your brand by using genuine, word-of-mouth exchanges.
A consumer that is satisfied and happy with their experience is more likely to recommend that brand, product, or service to a friend. While that might seem small scale, think about the world we live in today. Everyone looks up to social media “influencers” to help them decide what to buy, where to go, and what to do. If your brand wins the genuine love and approval of just one of these social beacons, their following becomes your audience - all without you having to do any extra legwork to reach them.
Brands that routinely prioritize consumer emotional experience are also shown to fare better than their competitors in terms of raw sales numbers. Those with happy, loyal fan bases do as much as an 80% stronger business when placed in direct competition - even if actual customer satisfaction is exactly the same. It just goes to show that a great product isn’t enough; you have to make your buyers happy, too.
Making your consumers happy begins with great service, of course. Before you can focus on meeting emotional needs, it is important to ensure that you’re meeting the more basic, straightforward needs - the reason they’re calling in the first place. Be sure you have strategies in place to provide answers to questions, address concerns and complaints, and accept feedback as necessary.
Beyond that, it’s all about making your consumer feel valued and validated. A great call center customer experience brings together satisfaction at having concerns addressed with positive feelings that come from being treated well. That is something that you can’t automate.
Think about customer experience and the emotional journey from your consumer’s perspective - don’t try to make it fit your company’s ideals and priorities. Check in regularly throughout the purchasing and service process to reestablishing emotional connection and provide a positive experience at every step. Your consumers - and your bottom line - will thank you!
Before you can give your customer all the “good feels”, it’s important to have the right tools and technology to meet their needs. Customer satisfaction and a great call center customer experience begin with having your needs met and end with feeling pleased with the interaction you had along the way. Deliver both by outfitting your operation with the industry’s best technology - work with ChaseData to do exactly that.
For more information on what ChaseData can do for you and your customers, give us a call today!