Referral incentive programmes or gifts or both?
October 27, 20108 steps to building better relationships with your customers
October 31, 2010
In a recent article on mycustomer.com, Right Now CEO Greg Gianforte quotes an interesting new poll from Harris Interactive, where:
According to the research, some 84% of customers would be prepared to pay 5% over the standard rate for a superior customer experience, 62% would pay 10% more, 25% would pay 15% more and 11% would pay 25% more.
I believe that this research is US based but, I believe, there are probably similarities across all regions.
Some people might find these statistics shocking but I think they provide a huge opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves and improve revenue and profitability at the same time by improving their customer experience and customer service.
In another piece, Neil Davey, editor across at mycustomer.com, reports that, according to another piece of research from Vodafone, this time in the UK that:
UK brands have lost a huge £70 billion-worth of business this year because of a failure to respond quickly enough to potential customers.
Research among 1,731 workers, which included 728 senior managers in organisations of all sizes across both the public and private sector, undertaken by mobile operator Vodafone, revealed that the country’s 2.3 million businesses have lost an average of £30,000 each this year for failing to be quick enough off the mark, a rise of almost £10,000 on 2009.
From this piece of research, responsiveness seems to a key element in defining some customers experience.
But, is that it? Is that the whole picture or are there other elements that would be straightforward to implement but that could enhance a customers experience?
What about the following:
- Staff with great attitudes
- Better training for staff
- Easy of buying – easy ways to pay and purchase
- A number of channels or ways with which to connect and engage businesses and their customers
- Seeking out opportunities to delight and surprise your customers
- Providing ways to solve customers problems before they even know they have one. This could be done through blogs, forums, white papers, books, updates…..
- Creating a space for customers to connect, interact, share stories and provide input
- Understanding your customer and their history so you can tailor any communication with them to suit their needs and style
What else do you think could enhance a customers experience?
15 Comments
RT @adrianswinscoe: Who says people won't pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/a5p8e5
Great post Adrian! I think one of the keys here is defining exactly what constitutes a superior customer experience. I think often, as business owners, we make incremental improvements and then assume customers are willing to pay. In their mind, when they respond to a survey saying they’ll pay a premium, it’s my contention that they’re envisioning a completely revolutionary experience, or at least something far beyond providing a tad bit extra.
Hi Matt,
I think you are absolutely right. Incrementalism is not going to be the way that we can really separate ourselves from the crowd. We have to look at the whole picture and listen to what our customers are telling us.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting,
Adrian
Who says people won’t pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/9xd0lh
RT @adrianswinscoe: Who says people won't pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/a5p8e5
Reading: "https://www.adrianswinscoe.com/blog/who-says-people-wont-pay-more-for-a-better-customer-experience/"( http://twitthis.com/djd6nk )
RT @mikepedersen: RT @adrianswinscoe: Who says people won't pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/a5p8e5
RT @adrianswinscoe: Who says people won't pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/a5p8e5
As a prior owner of a business that provided service for over 4,000 customers a year in the collision repair space, I can validate that customers will pay more for great service. Although businesses say that customers are their first priority, their behavior is contrary to their words. That gap between their words and their behavior is the driver of “their” customer experience, which is typically driven from a business metric that comes off the income statement. Therefore, the customers sees and feels the “income statement experience” which in no way connects them to the business at a personal level. Culture beats process every time.
my .02
Make it a great day!
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your .02 and a valuable two cents too 🙂
I think you are right that businesses can fall into the trap that means their ‘income statement’ defines the way they approach their customers. This is a way of doing business that is becoming less and less viable every day. You know this from first hand experience. What did you do to make sure that you kept your focus on culture over process?
Adrian
Customer Experience: Who says people won't pay more it? | Ideas for Business Growth http://bit.ly/9xd0lh
RT @adrianswinscoe: Who says people won't pay more for a better customer experience? http://bit.ly/a5p8e5