A customer’s bad experience is never an isolated incident. CX mistakes could leave a lasting impression on the customer and could seriously impact their relationship with your company. They could decide to sever ties with your brand and take their business elsewhere to one of your competitors.
An American Express Survey revealed that 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with a company again. This means that when a customer has a bad experience they could very well be considered lost. Considering how costly new customer acquisition can be, companies need to seriously consider ways in which they can reduce churn and focus on customer retention. They need to cover all their bases with all the consumer touch points. Customer service is an integral part of the overall consumer journey and experience. It should be given importance. It’s an important point of contact with the customer and has the potential to even turn around a bad experience that might have occurred earlier in the consumer journey.
Companies need to identify the weaknesses that might lead to bad CX and work on ways to avoid them. Here are five of the most common CX and customer-service-related mistakes you need to fix to ensure that your customers do not have a bad experience and retain them.
1. Long IVR Time
In today’s market customers are looking for a quick response from companies. Nobody likes waiting on the call to connect with an agent or have a long conversation with the IVR. When it comes to Interactive Voice Response, we need to ensure that the consumer finds it worth their while.
Customers shouldn’t have to answer unnecessary questions or repeat everything they just covered with the IVR for the agent as well. It could aggravate an already annoyed customer. Such negative experiences can be avoided if Agents are automatically equipped with the information gathered from the IVR when they get the customers on the call.
2. Undertrained and underprepared Agents
An agent should be able to own the conversation and display a high level of confidence. Customers lose faith in the agent if they use phrases like “I don’t know”, or “I am not sure”, or leave the customer hanging in awkward silence as they figure out how to solve the problem.
Agents should approach the issue with conviction, backed by insights and knowledge to actually help the distressed customer and avoid giving them a negative experience.
3. Unhappy and stressed-out Agents
When an anxious customer calls with a serious problem, the last thing they need is to deal with an overwhelmed agent. It can be dreadful for the customer if the agent snaps at them instead of calming them down. Stressed agents won’t be able to handle customers. It will not only negatively impact the brand image but also create friction between the brand and its customers. CX leaders need to take Agent Well-being seriously since it directly correlates to good CX. They need to equip their agents with solutions that ease their load and contribute to their well-being to further ensure a good experience for their customers.
4. No resolution or too little, too late
70% of customers said they would come back to a company despite a negative experience if the issue they faced is resolved in their favor. This highlights the importance of quick resolution and quality customer service. Customers detest calling multiple times for the same problem. They shouldn’t have to. Reaching out to customer service shouldn’t become a tedious task for them. Metrics like NPS and FCR can help companies track customer sentiment towards the brand and their own efficiency when it comes to solving customer issues.
5. Limited Reach
With the rise of social and digital media, your customers need to be able to reach you on multiple sites. It’s annoying when companies are not easily accessible. Customers want brands to be present across different channels from text to speech to email. They also want hyper-personalization on these platforms. They are more than just their customer ID or reference number and want to be treated that way. Customers want insightful and individualized service. They want smart customer service. AI-driven solutions could be the key to this intuitive customer service.
Our takeaway
These CX mistakes could cost you your customer base. A negative CX impacts your short-term and long-term relationship with your customers. According to research by Bain & Company, prioritizing better customer service experiences can help businesses grow revenues between 4% and 8%. 70% of interviewed Americans said they were willing to pay more for excellent customer service.
Xdroid can help you avoid these mistakes with your customers, and give your customers the service they demand and deserve. We can help you take your business to the next level by harnessing the power of AI-based interaction.
Let’s collaborate, shall we? Request a demo today!
