Businesses must continually work to attract consumers and convert them into happy customers. The business that fails to make a lasting impression is the business that increases its chances of being put on the chopping block. Sometimes that’s figurative and sometimes it’s very literal. Unhappy investors may try to force a sale of the business for lack of sufficient customer growth and venture capitalists may try to encourage the founders of the business to consider what’s called in the entrepreneurial or startup world “pivoting,” that is, switching directions and going in a new product or service direction, one hopefully more profitable. While conventional means of drawing interest from customers, such as providing good customer service, a knowledgeable technical support team and good deals, are used time and time again, these features aren’t what always keep customers around, or create “stickiness.” There are more surefire ways to improve customer satisfaction that most businesses, no matter what the size, miss on a routine basis.
Here are three missed opportunities to improve overall customer satisfaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
When visitors drop by a website, they may find entire sections on the business’s services and products. For retail sites, there will be information about return policies and tons of product images to seduce visitors into parting with their debit or credit cards and buying some merchandise. What visitors may not find, however, is an FAQ section. Some sites have one, but the vast majority do not. That’s a huge missed opportunity. Here’s why: Everyone in business will agree that listening to the customers is arguably the most paramount way to improve customer satisfaction. What better way to show that a business is really listening to its customers than to post a section where their pertinent questions are addressed. The section is a vehicle for not only demonstrating that the business is listening, but more important, that it’s responding, something that’s even more valued. An FAQ section also enables the business to save time and costs; there’s no need for the support team to field routine questions on products and services if there’s a central location where consumers and customers can have these questions answered.
Credit Card Processing
Today, fewer people are using cash for transactions. Technologies are being put into place to make society as cashless as possible, it seems. Witness Android Pay and Apple Pay and a host of other payment “wallets” that enable customers to buy without ever having to whip out either a greenback or even a piece of plastic for that matter. If a business lacks a way for customers to pay with a debit or credit card, it’s money down the drain. It’s imperative to meet people where they are, not where the business is, so if customers are reaching for debit or credit cards more and more these days, then businesses should be accommodating them with sufficient means to accept both cash and credit cards. In line with that, a business would do well to make sure it works with a good credit card processing company to ensure frictionless transactions and, therefore, a seamless customer experience.
Product Demonstrations
Seeing is believing. There’s no better way to show potential customers what a product or service can do than with an actual demonstration. You see this sometimes online on sites that are trying to sell you some kind of technology product or maybe it’s a course you’re being invited to take. Demos are given in-store, as well. Think of grocery stores like Costco that have become now known for its tasty samples that it provides to customers completely free in the hopes that customers will purchase the item. A demo gives customers valuable hands-on experience, which they may need to make up their minds about whether to buy. Nothing really compares to this sales tool. It should be said though that not every demo is a good demo. The best demos emphasize the benefits to consumers and don’t bombard them with every feature or functionality of the product. Demos that fail to connect with potential customers’ real needs won’t produce sales.
Wrap-up
There may be countless ways for businesses to attract potential customers. However, there are fundamental ways that they miss out on opportunities that could produce meaningful connections with consumers. Employing an FAQ section on its website shows the public that the business is listening and responding to them. By accepting other forms of payment beyond cash, and more specifically, by accepting credit cards, a business can significantly increase its sales opportunities. Sales can be further enhanced by using strategic demos to help eliminate any concerns that the public may have about the product being offered.