The tip I'll give in this post, despite being quite obvious, is still not a very common practice among companies.
Online review management is a well-known practice applied in the hotel industry and even in the food service segment.
However, all companies can and should leverage the intelligence derived from customer feedback. This practice helps put your customer at the center of decision-making.
And putting the customer at the center of decisions is the only way for companies that truly want to work on the customer experience effectively.
What is customer experience?
Customer experience , also known as Customer Experience (CX), is your customers' complete perception of their experience with your brand.
This experience is the result of all the interactions a customer has with your brand, from visiting your website to actually using your product or service. Everything you do impacts your customers' perception and their decision to return to your establishment.
Why should you care — and care so much — about the experience you deliver to your customer?
According to research, 89% of companies compete primarily on the basis of customer experience. However, only 22% of consumers rate their customer service experience as good or very good.
In other words, companies still have a long way to go. And looking at it from a positive perspective, this becomes a great opportunity for your business to increase market share by investing wisely in customer experience.
3 reasons why your business benefits from investing in customer experience
- More satisfied customers and increased loyalty;
- Better word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations;
- Better online reputation and better Google rankings.
1# Better customer experience means greater loyalty
Providing the best customer experience is how you win loyal customers. Investing in customer loyalty is a great business idea, as a 5% in customer retention translates to a 25% to 95% , depending on the industry.
And there's more: by investing in customer experience to retain your customers, you not only increase your revenue, but also spend less money. Attracting new customers costs five times more than retaining existing ones.
In this post we show you how complaints can help you build customer loyalty .
2# Better customer experience increases your word-of-mouth marketing
A good experience results in more positive reviews and more effective word-of-mouth marketing. Satisfied customers leave higher review scores, which helps you acquire new customers and lower your acquisition costs.
As the number of satisfied customers increases, it has an exponential effect on your marketing. According to this research, word-of-mouth has been shown to improve marketing effectiveness by up to 54%.
3# Better experience means better online reputation and better Google rankings
When a consumer writes and posts a review on Google My Business, they contribute to the indexing and ranking of the reviewed company on Google itself.
All words used in the review (online evaluation) are indexed and Google uses these words to learn and understand, increasingly better, the relevance of that site.
And by responding to these reviews, the company is also influencing its ranking. Google will understand that the company cares about its customers, considering the company more relevant to its users, and thus, the company will be ranked higher, increasing its online visibility.
Relationship between online reviews and customer experience: How companies retain and attract more customers using online reviews
What's the 'trick' to winning loyal customers? Developing the customer experience so you can meet their expectations.
That's precisely why it's so important to understand who your customer is and each stage of their purchasing journey.
And that's where online reviews come in—as a powerful tool for monitoring customer satisfaction and as a strategy for acquiring new customers.
Online reviews are a great way to learn what your customers are saying about your business, so you can correct any flaws and improve your delivery.
And that's not all!
Wunderman study advocates focusing on a new factor – 'wantedness'.
Among other things, this study found that 79% of consumers, aged 18 to 65, want companies to prove they care about their customers before they decide to buy their products/services.
Online reviews are a great way to demonstrate this. According to research, 45% of consumers say they're more inclined to choose businesses that respond to their customers.
The way companies communicate with their customers matters a lot!
Maintaining a strong brand reputation in the digital world is essential. This fosters a closer relationship with your target audience and, consequently, helps attract more customers to your business.
Responding appropriately to each online review is essential to building effective communication and a strong relationship with your audience. After all, a brand's reputation is directly linked to the information consumers share about it online and how they interact with the customer.
Online reviews are directly linked to the success or failure of your establishment, as they shape your online reputation.
Knowing how to leverage competitive intelligence, extracted from spontaneous and free opinions based on your customers' experiences with your establishment, will boost your business strategy.
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Watch our webinar on the feedback economy . What is the feedback economy and why should you care?
