6 Ways to Improve Customer Experience in Your Service Business
The number and types of service businesses are increasing, ranging from beauty services, educational consultants, digital marketing experts, to financial analysts. The success of service-oriented companies depends on how well the customer experience they create. In the service industry, the point of attainment is not only in the ability to meet customer needs, but the ability to exceed their expectations. So, what can you do to improve customer experience in your service business? Find the answers below.
1. Understand your customers well
The key to building strong customer relationships is understanding them. Before you start a business with your customers or clients, you need to really understand their needs first. Provide consultation sessions for them and ask them essential questions that can help you provide the right services for them later. Dig deeper into their needs, even if they have no questions for you.
For example, if you run a beauty service, you can make a complete list of questions concerning your clients’ expectations or the outcomes they expect from your beauty treatments. Also, ask if they have allergies to particular skin care products. It would be better if you could learn from your clients’ experiences by figuring out if they’ve previously used a service similar to yours. That way, you will be able to know what to improve in your service business.
2. Provide them with easy access to your services
If you have a long list of customers on a daily basis, then a telephone is not the best medium to answer each of your customer inquiries, unless you have a large number of agents. I used to go to a clinic that only handled reservations by phone. Within a day, the clinic could receive tens to hundreds of patients. Imagine how many potential leads they probably missed due to their super busy line.
In order to improve your customer experience, you should provide several mediums to make it easier for your customers to contact you. You can provide a live chat application on your website, allow your customers and prospects to contact you via email or WhatsApp, and more. This will encourage your staff to be more productive and also help you get more opportunities.
3. Compete on value and quality
What makes your customers or clients prefer your service company to other service companies? You must have more value to offer in order to be able to outperform your competitors. So, the best way to win in the service business is not to lower your prices, but instead add services that elevate your business. You can use a bundling technique by offering a more complete package of services compared to those offered by other service companies. Your customers will see it as an interesting offer that is too good to resist.
4. Simplify your reservation management
A complicated booking process can frustrate your customers, so they might end up looking for another service provider whose reservation management is faster and simpler. This will also reduce your chances of getting qualified prospects. Therefore, you should start using a reservation management software that automates your reservation management and appointment scheduling.
The reservation management software allows you to manage all your reservations online. You can send reminders to your customers regarding to the upcoming consultations or appointments. Your customers can easily place a reservation at a specific time and know which staff are available for appointments. The software also simplifies the payment process for your customers by allowing them to make payments online.
5. Ask them for feedback
Even if you’ve worked with your customers or clients for a long time, their perspectives are still important for the improvement of your service business. As a business owner, you may think that you’ve completely won your customers and that they will never choose other service companies but yours. This way of thinking prevents you from finding ways to improve the quality of your services.
You shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Your existing customers are your valuable assets. Therefore, it is important for you to ask them for feedback concerning the quality of your services. From there, you’ll be able to find out how satisfied your customers are with the services you provide.
6. Keep in touch with them
Stay connected with your existing customers through personalized email marketing campaigns, postcards, and SMS. Send newsletters related to your latest services or success stories from some other customers. It would be great if you could provide special offers for your loyal customers to make them feel exclusive.
Also read: 7 Ways to Maintain Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty