6 Factors that Influence Customer Experience

Regardless of industry, experience, or current reputation, no business can afford to offer a lackluster customer experience. Quality customer service is essential to business success for a myriad of reasons. How you treat your customer base will affect your retention rates, marketability, and, ultimately, your bottom line. Given that fact, today we’re going to look at the six factors that influence customer experience –– and highlight what your team can do to make your business more accommodating:

Response Time

When customers reach out to your business, they should always get a response. That much is a given. Yet, plenty of businesses struggle to interact with their customer base in a timely manner. If it takes your team days to touch base with a customer about a question or concern, then you risk alienating and upsetting your clients. Automated response emails can be a great way to let your customers know that your staff is working to address a problem –– even when no one is available at the moment.

Friendliness

There’s simply no substitute for kind, friendly employees. People who come to work every day with a smile and who are generally pleasant to deal with are integral to a customer-support team.

Convenience

Modern consumers are often willing to overlook a number of other issues if a business offers a convenient service. As such, any “friction” that delays product delivery also works to erode customer satisfaction.

Atmosphere

How your business looks, sounds, and smells can have a big impact on how much your customers enjoy their experience. A good business atmosphere can be difficult to define, and it may vary depending on the nature of the company. Nevertheless, keeping your space clean and well-lit is a good standard for all retail-based businesses.

Expectations

Naturally, business owners want their patrons to be excited to visit their company. With high expectations, though, comes greater pressure to perform. That’s why it’s crucial that you promote your business in an honest manner. The last thing you want to do when launching a new business is to set unrealistic expectations that your team can’t possibly live up to.

The Product

Last, but certainly not least, no business will find sustained success if it doesn’t provide a decent product. Whether you specialize in pharmacy point of sale service, or you run a fast-food restaurant, your product will eventually define your company –– either positively or negatively. True, great marketing and customer service are necessary for a business to thrive, but without an effective product or service, a startup is all but doomed to failure.