The Importance of Customer Satisfaction to The Growth of Your Business

Almost everyone has had a bad experience with a business or brand they have patronized that makes one question their loyalty. When these emotions come up, it is quite easy for a customer to move their business to the competitors.

In this day and age, customer satisfaction is not only crucial, it is a necessity. For business owners, the sad truth is that about 61% percent of customers are ready to abandon a brand or business after just one bad experience and switch to the competing brand.

Focusing on customer satisfaction is the best way to secure loyal customers who will eventually turn into brand ambassadors. All companies should treat customer satisfaction as an essential business aspect and work all together on improving it.

By prioritizing customer satisfaction, you can ensure that they choose your business every time and reduce Customer Churn. The truth is that if you do not satisfy your customers, your business will not succeed. For a business to sustainably grow, it has to eliminate the churn problem.

What is Customer Satisfaction?

It is the degree to which products or services and overall customer experience, meet the customer’s expectations. It measures how a customer feels after interacting with a brand or business.

It includes a customer’s perceived quality, value or expectation of a company and what it offers.

As a business owner, one must be very intentional in trying to find out what actually satisfies a customer because for many businesses, there is a disengagement between what businesses think satisfies a customer and what really satisfies the customer.

High quality customer service has a very high potential to earn a business repeat and loyal customers while the reverse is also true.

For all business owners, regardless of the type of business one runs, it is absolutely important to take time and learn what great customer service means to the customer and with this information, make the necessary changes.

Benefits of Customer Satisfaction

Monitoring and improving customer satisfaction can help businesses in multiple ways. Let us look into some of these:

1. Customer Satisfaction Drives Customer Loyalty

It is a well-known fact that an unhappy customer is more likely to share their negative experience with others as compared to a customer who had a positive experience.

In this day and age, where the internet is easily accessible, it has become very easy to share information either as a review on a website, via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.

So in the case that a customer has a negative experience with your brand, they are able to share this with others so quickly and to millions of people. It is therefore important for any business to prioritize customer satisfaction and make the necessary changes or improvements based on the feedback received.

When a customer is satisfied with a product or service offered, they tend to become loyal to your business or brand. They consequently become repeat customers who repeatedly purchase from your business contributing to the sustainable growth of your business.

2. Customer Satisfaction Increases Customer Retention

The sales and marketing may help your business in rapidly acquiring new clients but if the said clients do not stay after they make a purchase, then the sustainability of your business is in jeopardy.

Customer retention is one of the most important factors to invest in for the long term growth of a business. For any business, the cost involved in acquiring a new customer is much higher than that of retaining an existing customer.

Research has shown that repeat customers spend about 67% more than a new customer. This is simply because the existing customer knows and trusts your brand and their needs are satisfied.

3. Customer Satisfaction Improves Customer Lifetime Value

The profitability of a business is likely to increase when customer satisfaction is achieved as it increases customer loyalty. Customers are willing to spend more to purchase from a business where they had a great customer experience.

Customer lifetime value is a metric that looks into how much profit a business can expect from a customer. The longer a company is able to retain a customer, the greater the value they provide to it.

Businesses can use customer lifetime value to establish which customer segments can provide the most value for a specific product or service. This can help increase the loyalty rates and the rate of customer churn for a business and highly improve profits.

4. Customer Satisfaction Increases Customer Acquisition

Presently, customers expect exceptional service all through their purchasing journey, from when they learn of your business all the way to when they may require assistance after the purchase of a product or service.

Take for instance, after a purchase of a product, a customer has issues with it however, your customer service team is prompt, patient and courteous as they try to solve the customer’s issue. If the customer receives top notch service, they are more likely to recommend your business to family and friends.

Word of mouth is still one of the most popular forms of advertising, this is not limited to a conversation you have with your friend over a cup of coffee. In today’s digital age, an online review is the new word of mouth.

This plays a huge and ever-increasing role in attracting new customers. So you need to ensure you give your customers something good to say about your business. Any positive reviews that you receive can benefit your business.

As a business, the goal should be to get social media reviews, reviews on the website and Google reviews, so that you can build your trust with new customers. It is also important to respond to these reviews, as it shows that you are engaging with all of your customers, particularly those who support you the most.

Offering great customer service that ensures customer satisfaction is not only for the existing customer but also plays a major role in attaining new customers. It is therefore important for every business to integrate high quality customer service at every customer’s interaction point.

5. Customer Satisfaction Gives Your Business a Competitive Edge

In these modern times, there is a high possibility that there is another business offering similar products or services to what you offer unless your product is one of a kind. And even if it is right now, you’re bound to have a few imitators soon.

With this in mind, as a business owner you need to think of something that will set you apart from the competition. Providing exceptional customer service and focusing on customer satisfaction is key to having that competitive edge.

Take for example, your business sells children toys and you are competing with other businesses offering the same. Instead of trying to market how different your toys are from the rest, consider promoting your dedication to customer satisfaction.

Additionally, have a look at your competitor’s pages – social media and website as well and review the comments made. Try and see if your business can solve the negative things mentioned.

6. Customer Satisfaction Drives Business And Product Decisions

When customer satisfaction is achieved, as a business you get to know what is working and what’s not working. You can then amplify the positive and perhaps enhance and promote it much more for new customers to get to know about it.

However, in the case that your customers have complained about something wrong with a product or service, as a business, you will need to focus on fixing the issue before trying to promote the offer to get new customers.

Prioritizing customer satisfaction helps a business focus on the important tasks and goals. So regardless of the strategy such as marketing campaigns, product development, customer service improvements, you will be able to identify and ensure that the next actions you take resonate with your customers.

It is important to note that,

The key driver of customer satisfaction is excellent customer service. Is your service level measuring up? Are your employees professionally trained to handle your customers and your brand? Reap the benefits of customer satisfaction by engaging Customer Centric Kenya for a well tailored training that will address the gaps in your business and keep you ahead of any competition.

Jackie

Over the last 16 years, Jackie has built a remarkable career in Customer Service in different capacities and industries.

As a Customer Experience Trainer, her mission is focused on helping businesses make more and retain more customers through unrivalled Customer Experience.

She has an in-depth CX understanding that stems from personal experiences, learning & research all fueled by my passion and commitment to see customers happy and organizations thriving.

She is the Co-founder, CEO, and Senior Consultant at Customer Centric Kenya, the consulting and training firm of choice.

Her tailor-made training-approach has been a key strength. The companies she has worked with have appreciated some key aspects:

→ The well-researched and packaged modules.
→ The depth of training and tailoring.
→ The applicability and follow up.

If You Want to Stay Current with The Latest Customer Service Insights, News, Trends and Predictions, Join her Newsletter.

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To Book or Get More Information on Training write to us:

jackie@customercentric.co.ke

info@customercentric.co.ke