While it’s true that people’s attention spans are growing shorter every year with our on-demand, always-connected lifestyles, what’s also diminished is our patience. There’s hardly ever any need to wait for anything now. Think about it: Want a product? Your favorite online retailer can probably deliver it in under two days. Hungry? A food-delivery service can usually bring you your favorite meals directly to your door in under an hour. Want to watch your favorite TV show? It’s probably available to stream instantly. Ditto for news, music, sports, and much more.
When customers choose to conduct business directly (i.e. not using a web-based service), there are a few specific reasons. Some people are uncomfortable with using technology for the aforementioned examples and are set in their ways when it comes to shopping. (This number is growing smaller by the day.) Another reason could be that the local store offers a product that is either unique, like handcrafted goods, or impractical to deliver, such as heavy or large items. And the third reason is that customer want to interact with another person for better customer service—that is, they want a human touch.
The level of control your business exerts over the first couple of reasons is relatively small, unless you choose to eschew the Internet altogether or you only deal in specialty products. That might be right for your business, but doing so also means narrowing your market.
When it comes to the third reason, the customer service, your business has the most control. For the consumers who shop based on the quality of the customer experience, you want to be top-of-mind for them. They’re the ones willing to spend a little bit more money and time to be treated well, despite how convenient it is to order something from an app or website. It doesn’t matter if a pizzeria makes the best pies or a car dealership has the most options: if they treat their customers poorly, they’ll soon find they have none.
And there is a common way that many businesses insult their customers, unfortunately. They ignore them. Whether it’s making them wait around ungreeted, not answering the phone or returning voicemails, or failing to acknowledge their concerns, employees must never disrespect customers through indifference. Your staff must always show that they value your customers’ patronage, their loyalty, and their referrals. If the experience of shopping at your business isn’t exceptional, why wouldn’t most people just fire up their smartphone and order online?
Want to take the temperature of how well your business is treating your clientele with feedback surveys? Maybe you want to draw up a best-practices sales and service process for your staff to follow? How about a comprehensive report targeting all aspects of your business, in-person and over-the-phone? The Brandt Group can help you handle all of these and more, with our signature human touch and legendary responsiveness. We’ll help you design the best customer experience possible to boost loyalty and enhance profits. Contact us today!
