The saying “The customer is always right” still holds weight today. However, its true meaning has long been lost. Businesses in 2022 have become obsessed with the idea of trying to please their customers. They neglect basic customer etiquette in favor of trying to charm customers with free coupons or giveaways and end up losing them altogether. This rush to charm customers rather than to connect and help them first can be detrimental. When we ask how we can “Wow the customer”, the answer is far simpler than all the fancy charms.

What customer philosophy does Expertise Accelerated have?

Expertise Accelerated’s customer philosophy revolves around quality service and process simplification.

A word about Expertise Accelerated?

Expertise Accelerated (EA) is Connecticut-based outsourcing and staff augmentation specialist for accounting & finance services, committed to delivering 60 percent quality-assured payroll savings to its US clients amid the prevailing inflationary spree and labor market crunch.

Where does this philosophy come from?

Expertise Accelerated’s customer philosophy comes from the vision of its CEO Haroon Jafree (CPA).

A word about Haroon Jafree

Haroon Jafree (CPA) who has 20+ years of US CPG industry experience and has served in C-suite positions for over a decade. Haroon is a turnaround expert with specializations in trade spend management, business process reengineering, and cost optimization.

What Does the Customer Really Want?

Fulfilling the basic needs and wants of the customer efficiently is the first step to building loyalty. There are hundreds of companies that people interact with daily, most of which do not follow this step. So, when the customer comes across one that does, it leaves a lasting impression and builds trust in that brand. It is only after this that charms like coupons can leave an effect on the customer.

With that, let’s talk about some fundamentals which are key to wowing your customers every day.

Communication is Key

Consider an example of you as a customer. You bought clothes online, but they turned out to be the wrong size. When you call the company, who would you like to talk to and how?

The common answer would be that you would like to talk to a store worker and have the problem resolved as quickly as possible. It sounds very simple, but many companies do not try to give you that experience.

The 2019 State of Conversational Marketing report shows that up to 34% of customers have issues just getting answers to simple questions. This means that customers usually get stuck in long calls, or do not get an answer at all. That’s where you can wow them.

Make your customer support responsive. Don’t waste anyone’s time and be as respectful as possible. Customers appreciate it when they get their problems solved fast, and it builds trust between the brand and the customer. Your brand can skyrocket with this simple change.

Keep It Simple

Customers do not want to jump through hoops just to buy a product, so keep it simple. Streamlining the process can give you a major leap against the competition. Make the customer experience easy and you will rarely see customer resentment.

A good example is Dominos, who saw massive growth after they made the ordering process simple. They wowed their customers and won the market.

Reward Loyalty

Just creating trust with good communication is not enough. When you foster trust with a customer, it is necessary to provide them some incentive from time to time as a gesture of goodwill. This shows the customer that the company is a caring one.

Companies do this all the time, whether it be via a point system loyalty card, or special discounts for continued patronage, and it is a proven successful method of customer retention. When you give your long-affiliated customer a little surprise, you get paid back big time.

Train Your Representatives

Your customer service representatives must be properly trained. If a customer asks for help, they should never get the response: “I don’t know”. Educate your staff on how to best deal with customer issues and become great brand ambassadors. In addition to this, the staff needs to be taught patience and pressure management. Just one act of discourtesy by a staff member is enough to devastate the brand image.

This may sound basic but all of us have at some point come across poorly trained customer representatives and know how it feels to be a frustrated customer. Patching this hole can make the customer experience healthier.

With all that said, the key thing to note is the distinction between charming customers versus satisfying them. This means analyzing customer feedback and constantly adapting the experience to deliver a satisfied customer journey is more important than just trying to win them over with gifts.

The punchline

All customers want is care and compassion, and anything on top of that is icing on the cake. So, to wow your customers every day, deal with them with care and compassion.