Customer satisfaction is a measure of how content customers are with a company’s overall brand, product, or service.
But why does it matter? High customer satisfaction can help retain customers, grow customer revenue, and create positive word-of-mouth. It can also help customers go through the repurchase process in the customer journey. The probability of selling to an existing customer is much higher than the chance of selling to a new one — a stark 70 percent compared to five percent. It’s cheaper to retain customers than create a new one, too. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than keeping an existing customer.
While there are numerous ways to increase customer happiness, we compiled a list of the best to ensure they’ll return for repeat purchases.
15 ways to increase customer satisfaction
Quick tips to increase customer satisfaction
1. Improve response times.
One of the quickest ways to increase customer satisfaction is to improve your response rate. Whether you focus on lowering your phone hold times or look to answer an email or text message quicker, a fast response time is a sign to customers that you respect their time and are ready to assist them. Business texting has one of the fastest response times of 90 seconds.
2. Send a customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey.
One of the best ways to gauge how satisfied customers are with your service is to send out a customer satisfaction survey, commonly known as a CSAT. A CSAT often uses a rating scale to assess how well your business meets customer expectations. Once you understand your baseline CSAT, you can focus on ways to improve it.
3. Ask for customer feedback.
While a CSAT is an impactful way to ask for customer feedback, there are other ways you can collect feedback. You can send other forms of customer surveys, like a customer effort score, or a custom survey, to gather more customer information on areas of improvement. Or, you can simply ask customers how things are going while on a support or sales call.
4. Implement customer feedback.
You asked for customer feedback. Great! But now what? You should take the time to read customer feedback to see if there are multiple mentions of a problem or suggestions for improvement. From there, you can figure out ways to implement the feedback, such as working on a project to create a new feature or addressing a problematic employee.
5. Stay connected with customers.
Customers want to know that you’re less than a phone call, email, text message, or DM away. Knowing that you’re readily available to address customer concerns or questions puts customers at ease when purchasing your products or services.
6. Offer multichannel support.
Are you on the channels that your customers are? Be where your customers are by offering multichannel support. You can take the bar higher by integrating those channels for an omnichannel experience.
7. Anticipate customer needs.
Anticipating customer needs is a sure-fire way to increase their satisfaction because they like it when you’re proactive. Sending a text to alert customers that they’re low on a product or an email to ask how you can help them are some examples of anticipating customer needs.
8. Establish a virtual Help Center or self-service content.
Not every customer wants to pick up the phone to call your business — and reducing call times can also save your agents time and money. Creating a self-service help desk, like an online FAQs page or automated voice message, makes it easier for customers to get the help they need without speaking with a representative. It also provides faster service.
Creative ways to increase customer satisfaction within your company
9. Create a rewards program.
A rewards or loyalty program is beneficial to increase customer loyalty and repeat purchases if you’re selling an affordable product or service. Customers love a good deal, and a rewards program is an excellent way for them to accumulate points in exchange for discounts or gifts. When creating a rewards program, make sure the reward is something that your customers want.
10. Host customer appreciation events.
Customer appreciation events are the perfect way to reel in old and new customers. These events don’t have to be specific to a physical store either. You can host virtual events on your website or social media to engage your customers and remind them how much you value them.
11. Set up a customer community.
Take your customer satisfaction to the next level by connecting customers. A community on Slack or Facebook Groups gives customers a platform to share their love for your product or service or gives them a place to ask other customers for help. Plus, you can entice new customers who come across your customer reviews.
12. Conduct monthly training sessions.
Consistency is key to any successful business, and your employees must be up to date on your customer brand values to give constantly good service. You can conduct training sessions as often as you think your employees need them. Typically, a monthly or quarterly refresher on your customer service etiquettes will suffice.
13. Focus on the employee experience.
Numerous studies in the HR space indicate that focusing on improving the employee experience will automatically enhance customer experience. That’s because engaged employees are more productive and likely to provide exceptional service. Some ways you can improve the employee experience include implementing a rewards and recognition program, setting up real-time feedback, and focusing on development training for growth opportunities.
14. Be transparent with diversity and inclusion.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is a massive push for consumers and brands in 2022. Customers want to align themselves with a company that matches their morals and values, and most look at a company’s D&I to determine if they’re worth their business. Focusing on your D&I and being transparent with customers about your company’s efforts for inclusion can help increase their approval of your brand.
15. Give back to charity.
As we mentioned, customers want to align themselves with brands that mirror their values. One way to show customers that you care about the same causes is to donate to a charity close to your brand values. For example, if you work in the pet space, you can contribute to a local adoption shelter.
The bottom line: Customer satisfaction generates more revenue
It’s no secret that a happy customer is more likely to return for repeat business, but there isn’t a perfect formula to creating a satisfied customer. It takes trial and error to understand what each customer needs. The best way to increase customer satisfaction is to actively communicate with each customer to learn what they need to stay loyal to your business.
