Practical strategies to become a truly customer-centric organisation

Not long ago, customer support was viewed as another operational cost – a necessary, but not revenue-generating part of a business. But things have changed, and a growing number of businesses are realizing the true value that customer-centricity brings: not least glowing reviews, loyalty, and decreased churn.

However, while it may be easy to see the value of a customer-centric strategy, especially in an era when customers hold increasing power, it can still be tricky to measure and continuously improve customer interaction quality across your business.

In this post, we look at some practical strategies to monitor and improve customer interaction quality to transform your business into a truly customer-centric one.

1. Aim for an effortless experience – and know exactly what that means

Customer delight has been a buzzword – particularly in the SaaS world – for several years. The theory is that by going above and beyond customer expectations to deliver a “wow” experience, you’ll in turn create a direct and often immediate effect on your bottom line. While there’s no doubt that a truly customer-centric company should go beyond providing a base level of service, grand gestures to wow customers often do more harm than good – at least according to the extensive research conducted over ten years in the book The Effortless Experience. They conclude, rather, that predictable, consistent, reliable service is what counts when it comes to your bottom line: “customer service should be less about offense—bending over backwards to please customers—and more about defense, in the sense of preventing frustration and delay.” This may include:

• Immediate access to help when your customers need it
• A low effort experience to resolve an issue, with as few steps as possible
• A speedy resolution time
• Access to knowledgeable, well-trained agents who know their stuff

2. Focus on the metrics that matter to your business

It goes without saying that without accurate data and insights it’s very difficult to keep on top of customer experience quality and consistency. That’s why it’s important to measure the metrics that matter to determine the level of customer satisfaction your agents are achieving on a regular basis. Once you’ve gathered that data, you can use it to identify gaps in your interaction handling and design solutions that will achieve a better result. Some key metrics to track include:

• Average time in queue: the average wait time helps you to gauge overall productivity and customer satisfaction.
• Average handle time: a low AHT ensures that your agents are quickly and efficiently assisting customers.
• CSAT (customer satisfaction): self-explanatory!
• First call resolution (FCR): the number of cases solved during the first call.
• Abandon rate: the number of calls that are dropped or ended by the customer.

3. Monitor and optimize all customer interactions

At the heart of any customer-centric approach should be an obsession with quality. But how can quality be measured? This is where a solid Quality Assurance (QA) program comes in. Have your CX QA team monitor interactions, from calls to zoom chats and email threads, to spot and address gaps in individual and team performance.

While some businesses rely on spreadsheets for this, the most efficient and accurate way to do it is with intuitive QA software – not least if you’re a Salesforce user organization.

The bottom line is that in 2022, it’s harder than ever to attract and retain your best customers so transforming to a customer-centric company is a necessity rather than a nice to have. Focus on engagement quality to attract and keep customers with consistent, prompt, and effortless support.

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