Let’s dive back into Shep Hyken’s 2020 special report, continuing where we left off from last week. The next topic concerns consumer expectations, which Hyken measured by asking respondents “to rank industries based on what level of customer service they expect to receive”—not their actual experiences, just what they anticipated. We’ll consider the real results in just a moment, but let’s begin with the hypothetical.
As his chart demonstrates, different industries have different expectations associated with them. Hospitality, Financial, Food, and Healthcare rank at the top of what customers believe they will receive, as they anticipate the highest levels of customer service from them. Even airlines and internet companies, industries that are oftentimes maligned for less-than-ideal customer service, came in with at least a mid-level confidence of quality customer service. (That Government had the lowest expectations should surprise no one!)
What can we learn from this data? Besides Government, between half and ninety percent of all respondents expected quality customer service from every industry. This is important because that means that all businesses should operate under the assumption that their clientele holds them to high standards, and delivering anything less than great customer service will be noticed.
Let’s get practical now. Moving to Hyken’s next chart, we find that he also asked respondents “to share if their experiences met their expectations.” He continues by explaining that the results “were shocking, demonstrating a huge gap between expectation and experience.” On average, the difference between consumer confidence and reality was a staggering 38%, meaning that more than a third of all customers are disappointed by their interactions with those industries.
Hyken concludes, “It’s obvious. Customers expect more. It’s time for companies across every industry to double down on their customer experience efforts to bring it up to the standards of customers’ expectations.” This is critical, as customer service remains a business’s most important differentiator. Products and services face pressures of commodification, and competing on price has increasingly become a race to the bottom for profit margins. Globalization and the continued rise of e-commerce will ensure these trends continue no matter what we do, and it would be prudent to invest your company’s energies into what you can control.
As such, it’s not just important to meet customer expectations, which are oftentimes high to begin with, but to also exceed them wherever possible. This requires proactivity—don’t wait for problems to manifest, which will only serve to damage your business’s reputation. Given the proliferation of online reviews, negative experiences may haunt you for years. Even a business with better than average customer service still has room for improvement, which is just another way of saying there are opportunities for more success.
The Brandt Group specializes in developing the customer service skills of your employees and helping you to devise the most efficient sales and service processes possible. With our mystery shopping options combined with our staff training classes, we can help your business meet—and blow away—your customers’ expectations. Remember the adage: good isn’t good enough. Let’s all be great, starting today!
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