How Customer Care Experiences Build Brand Loyalty

Today, brands must provide great shopping experiences to win the digital shelf. In fact, a study from PwC found that 73% of people indicate that customer experience is an important factor in purchasing decisions. That means that if a shopper has a poor experience — perhaps a complicated checkout process or a sales associate with a bad attitude — they’re likely to bypass your brand altogether.

Post-purchase experiences matter too; they determine whether a shopper will buy from your brand again. Case in point? According to a Forrester report, 69% of U.S. adults shop more with retailers that offer consistent customer service, both online and offline.

Your customer care team often plays a starring role in post-sale experiences. After all, they’re the ones interacting with customers day in and day out to resolve their issues.

Let’s discuss why brands must focus on customer loyalty and what great customer care teams are doing to build relationships with shoppers that foster loyalty.

Why Great Brands Focus on Building Long-Term Customer Relationships

Today’s consumers have nearly endless shopping options. And that means brands across all product categories have more competition than ever before.

Of course, your brand works hard to cut through the noise to attract and convert shoppers. But once you’ve won a customer, your work isn’t over. In order to succeed long-term, you’ve got to make it a priority to build relationships with existing shoppers that’ll foster loyalty.

Building relationships with customers pays off. For starters, loyal shoppers spend more money with the brands they love. Data from Motista indicates that shoppers who feel emotionally connected to a brand have a lifetime value that’s 306% higher than the average customer. What’s more, loyal shoppers tell others about the brands they love. A recent poll from Yotpo found that 59% of loyal shoppers will refer their friends and family to brands they love.

There are many factors that affect a shopper’s loyalty, but the experiences your shoppers have when interacting with your customer care team are especially important. Microsoft’s 2018 State of Global Customer Service survey found that 95% of respondents indicated customer service was an important factor in determining their loyalty to a brand.

A great customer care representative can take a bad situation and turn it around — earning you a loyal customer along the way. In fact, according to thinkJar, 67% of customer churn can be prevented if an issue is resolved in the first interaction.

But a negative experience with a customer care representative can drive away a shopper for good. An American Express study found that a third of American consumers will consider switching companies after just one instance of bad service.

Five Ways Stellar Customer Care Teams Build Relationships that Foster Loyalty

Great customer service builds loyalty. And loyalty grows sales. The pressure’s on for brands to deliver great customer service every time.

Here are five things the best customer care teams are doing to build relationships that foster brand loyalty.

They Consistently Provide Great Service

It probably seems obvious that great customer care teams are providing great service. But what exactly does “great service” mean?

For starters, great service is fast. A McKinsey report found that three-quarters of consumers expect service within five minutes of making contact online. The good news is, with AI-based reputation management solutions, brands can respond in as little as 30–60 seconds.

What’s more, great customer service is personalized. According to Gladly, 64% of consumers feel that a lack of personalization makes them feel like a number, rather than a person.

Access to the right information — including previous conversations and purchase history — empowers customer care representatives to deliver personalized service that makes shoppers feel like valued individuals.

Finally, great customer care teams consistently exceed customer expectations. Of course, solving customer issues is important. But brands that stand out find ways to surprise and delight their customers along the way, too.

They Have a Consistent Brand Voice

Brand consistency across channels is important. Customer care is no exception.

When shoppers reach out to a winning customer care team, they can expect a consistent brand voice, regardless of which agent they reach. All customer care team members adopt a tone that’s in line with the brand as a whole. In other words, all customer care team members sound like they work for the same company.

A key way to achieve brand consistency is by providing customer care representatives with templated responses that they can adapt and personalize. Brands can A/B test responses to measure the effectiveness of messages.

Of course, using a consistent brand voice this doesn’t mean your customer care representatives should respond to inquiries in a manner that’s cold, generic, and overly formal. Instead, empower your teams to make your brand voice their own. Provide them with guidelines, but give them the freedom to respond to inquiries with light-hearted humor or inspiration that fits with your brand.

For example, this BarkBox customer (image below) posted a photo of his dog with a toy that’s ripped. The customer service representative not only provided information about how to get a replacement toy, but also used some light-hearted humor to connect with the customer.

And Frida Baby, known for its quirky baby products and lighthearted branding, responded with words of encouragement to a new mom.

They Prioritize Negative Feedback

All inquiries — both positive and negative — give customer care teams the opportunity to build relationships with shoppers. But great customer care teams understand that negative feedback must be the top priority.

An angry customer with an unresolved issue can quickly wreak havoc on your brand’s reputation by leaving bad reviews or making unsavory social media posts, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Consumer packaged goods brands risk fines and a damaged reputation if they don’t abide by the FDA’s rules and regulations about how negative feedback must be handled. And in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, negative feedback about a store’s reopening procedures can point to a bigger issue that needs to be resolved quickly for the health and safety of everyone.

Providing quick, accurate responses to negative feedback enables your customer care team to turn a bad experience around. But how can you be sure this negative feedback doesn’t slip through the cracks?

Keyword flagging can help your customer care team prioritize negative feedback. For example, if a review or email uses words like “bad” or “terrible,” that content will be flagged. Or, if a one or two-star review is submitted, that review will automatically be prioritized.

They Have Established Approval Processes

In an ideal world, a customer care representative would be able to resolve every issue that came their way. In reality, there are times when manager approval is necessary.

Winning customer care teams have established approval processes in place to ensure consistent quality, and many use customer service software to automate the approval process. For example, a brand might have a rule that if a review contains the word “coronavirus,” the response will need manager approval prior to posting.

They Respond to Inquiries on all Channels

In the past, when a customer had an issue, they’d pick up the phone and call the brand’s customer support number. Many shoppers continue to make a phone call to get support, but digital channels — including email, live chat, social media, product reviews, and Q&A software — are growing in popularity.

It’s also not unusual for a single customer to jump from channel to channel. The same Microsoft survey mentioned earlier found that 59% of 2018 respondents used three or more channels to get their questions answered.

Shoppers expect great service, regardless of the channel they use to seek it out. And winning customer care teams are equipped to provide consistent, fast, accurate responses to customer inquiries on all channels. What’s more, great brands streamline all issues, regardless of where they originate, into a single dashboard so customer service representatives can see and manage everything in one spot.

Start Building Customer Relationships that Foster Loyalty

Your customer care team plays a key role in building relationships with shoppers that grow loyalty. Now’s the time to empower them to deliver great experiences every time. Your bottom line depends on it.

Want to learn how effectively managing your reviews can help you make authentic connections with your shoppers that foster loyalty? Check out Reputation Studio on the AppExchange today.