Four Ways You Could be Turning Away Customers
Ever wonder how many people search your company but for “some reason,” just aren’t compelled to complete their purchase? It’s probably happening more than you think.
Before a person becomes a customer, they enter the first two phases of the Customer Journey:
Awareness: where they become aware of your brand; and,
Consideration: where they build trust with your company and have their questions answered.
The biggest problem we see?
Successful businesses get so caught up in operations and growth, they forget to update and maintain their Customer Experience, resulting in new customers turning elsewhere.
Think you could be losing customers? See if you’re guilty of these four common mistakes.
Your Business Information Is Outdated
More likely than not, the first spot potential customers will seek you out is online. Did you know 80-90% of customers will visit a businesses website before ever visiting them in-person? Yet when was the last time you updated your website? What about checking all the links or “about me’s” in social media? Is your Google My Business information relevant?
We help businesses strengthen their brand by adding value and consistency to their Customer Experience. For most businesses, their customer’s journey starts online. The main goal of an online presence is to provide value, build trust, and answer questions potential customers could have. Make it easy for customers to do business with you.
It’s critical to consistently update your basic business information like:
Store hours
Contact information
FAQs, pricing, etc.
Online services / products / menus
All too often, we see businesses which have outdated store hours or even worse, links to information that is no longer relevant. Ensure all relevant information is updated on social media platforms, yelp, Google My Business and business website.
Our advice? Set up a process! Check your online business information quarterly. Schedule an update in your calendar so you remember.
You never know exactly where customers go to find relevant information, but wherever it is, the information needs to be consistent and up-to-date.
You’re Communication Channels aren’t Diversified
Does this sound familiar? You send an email to customers with a new product or service update, but forget to highlight that same point across social media, your website, or an in-store flyer. Or you post an update on Instagram but never send out communication via your other channels, just assuming everyone will see your news on social media.
Are you forgetting to spread your message across all your communication channels?
In the business world, best practices call for the use of multiple platforms to enhance your messaging. The formal term is called “omni-channel marketing.” The idea is simple: for the best results, you need to create plans and strategies to market your information across multiple channels. The stats are real: companies who use omni-channel marketing consistently retain 89% of their customers, compared to companies who don’t (their retain at around ~30%).
Why? Communication is about adding value to your customers and meeting them where they are! And often, you’re customers don’t even see your message the first time.
Only 25-40% of people read your email; and,
A tiny ~6% of social media followers will ever see a message.
The more places you can communicate an update, the more effective that update will do. Plus, people are forgetful. Don’t be afraid to remind them about what’s happening with you.
Be careful though, you don’t want to blast your social media channels with sales and promos since they are visual mediums by nature. If done properly, you can highlight a new product in a social media post, or take a picture of the shop and announce a promotion.
You Have Brand Inconsistency Across your Platforms
I had a negative experience once due to inconsistencies between online perception vs. in-person experience. I was in need of a hair cut and found a new barber with great reviews online. From the website, it looked sleek and portrayed a hipster vibe (to match my beard, though I’ll never be as cool as a hipster).
When I visited the shop in-person, the in-store experience was so different from the online website that I was taken aback. Instead of a hipster establishment with modern vibes and men in suspenders, I found an outdated atmosphere that looks like it hasn’t been modified for 30+ years. This was not what I expected.
I felt letdown, like the company broke my trust. They weren’t who they said they were. And they no longer have my business.
No matter the channel, whether it’s social media, in-person or your business website, it’s critical that each channel conveys a consistent and realistic vibe that is reflective of the business you want to portray. Your Facebook wording and photos need to match your website. Your Instagram style and persona needs to match your in-store experience.
Social media and your website should be a handshake to make a first impression and that relationship continues in shop. Once in shop, it’s time to surprise and delight, ensuring you have a way to provide excellent customer service to close the deal.
You Unknowingly have Bad Customer Service
The only way to truly test this is to gain as much feedback from your customers as possible. Don’t have any new customers? Offer your products or services for free or at discounts in exchange of an internal review.
Here’s some tips:
Gather customer feedback (internally, do not rely solely on Google or Tripadvisor reviews) at least quarterly.
Host VIP only events for your best customers in order to gain personalized feedback.
Answer your Customer’s questions ahead of time:
When you have a potential customer reaching out via phone, email or FB messaging, make sure you respond as quickly as possible. We recommend responding in 24 hours (unless you are closed over the weekend and it’s obvious you’re closed).
If you can’t respond that quickly, consider hiring help or investing in chatbots
Create an FAQ section to your website or in-store experience, providing relevant information for customers.
Hire an expert to review your Customer Experience / Customer Service. We are experts who will review and make recommendations to help improve your Customer Experience. An improved Customer Service / Experience can boost profits by 16%!
We offer this service for both online and in-person experiences. Learn more here.
Since we launched our Customer Experience Evaluations, we’ve impacted numerous businesses and have been blown away by the value we see our client’s gain within a short period of time.
This idea of improving your Customer Journey and enhancing Customer Service is critical to success, yet most people get distracted by the day-to-day. Convert more customers and stop making these four mistakes today!
If any of these sound too familiar, Contact us to help evaluate your customer journey. Become the business known for it’s exceptional Customer Experience and get more customers now.