It has been said that customer service is everything. You hear it every day, things like… “Good service is good business,” a quote from Tom Siebel. We all know that without customers, there is no business. In other words, if (when) your customers walk away from your waiting line, your business walks out the door along with them. It’s worthwhile, then, to examine how many customers are leaving your business and why (do you know?), to make appropriate corrections and to do everything possible to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction you can. Happy clients make for healthy business. There are various junctures within a purchase journey where customers are served. Historically customers may have tolerated “waiting their turn” at these points, but not any more. Today’s commerce landscape is an on-demand environment and waiting at any juncture can negatively impact how a customer feels served (or not) - whether they feel seen and important or ignored and taken for granted. If a customer doesn’t receive the type of service they expect, then you can expect that to be the end of the line for that customer relationship. Competitors are just a click away in many cases. And most unhappy clients don’t complain, they just go away.
Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. ~ Damon Richards
A recent Walker study reports that by the year 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Customers demand anytime anywhere service. If they must wait, they want to choose to do it on their terms when it works for them. So what are their terms? What are customers really needing and wanting in order to stay? And why do they leave?
Lack of Attention
Superior service today means understanding what customers want and giving it to them - right away. Customers don’t want to be told what they want. And they don’t want to wait for someone to make their request. They expect you to already know, and then they want to be served, according to Forbes. It’s critical to know (or find out) and then build your operations around your customers specific needs. For example, TimeTrade reported that 85% of consumers say if they try on clothes in a dressing room and find they need a different size, but no associate is available, they would consider abandoning the dressing room and leaving the store altogether. Time is money has been taken to a new level and service must be speedy to be considered superior today.
Poor Service Attitude
You might be surprised to hear 68% of customers leave because of poor attitude or indifference on the part of the service provider. Since 89% of businesses are soon expected to compete mainly on customer experience, organizations that take customer experience seriously will stand out from the noise and win loyal customers over. Include nonverbal communication as a way to convey care to customers. Subtleties like eye contact and tone of voice make a big difference in how customers perceive the quality of your care. Managers are wise to consider integrating technology, such as footfall analytics, into the queue to monitor and better predict and/or respond to customer demand by adding more staff when needed. In turn, agents can feel less stressed and better equipped to engage positively with customers.
Lack of Convenience
Today’s customer wants convenience - in their timing and even on their chosen device. According to Google, 90% of Americans switch between a number of devices daily and it’s more important than ever now for companies to tend to customers across many channels. In fact, according to SuperOffice, companies with the strongest omni-channel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, as compared to 33% for companies with weak omni-channel strategies. Incorporating digital solutions in your queue management can increase convenience - whether it’s through an entirely virtual queue, text reminders, or interactive displays in queue.
Lack of Perceived Value
As you build out omni channel communications and engagement it’s also important to build in value. Customers today expect communications, and even surveys to provide feedback. But customers don’t want solicitation, they want value. If you keep in touch to give customers opportunities to engage, also make sure you’re giving them a clear opportunity to benefit every time as well, even while they wait in line. Allowing customers to control their own time with a virtual queue and/or engaging them with interesting merchandise or entertainment during a required wait can leave them feeling more respected with a sense of productivity and added value into their day. One way or another, utilize your queue to create a valuable experience for your customers. For more advice on how to design the most intelligent queue management system for maximum conversions as well as happy customers talk to a Lavi expert today.
