Customer experience – 5 key steps to help you close the loop

Oct 12, 2016 • Features • Leadent • Software and Apps • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations

We all know that customers are vital to any business, but they are increasingly so for a field service one writes Rachel Pullen of Leadent Service Cloud...

Customer satisfaction plays a key role in determining the success of your organisation, and connecting with your customers throughout their journey has never been more important, particularly now, when a positive customer experience is not just anticipated, but expected.

Luckily for us, technology is on our side and it’s made closing the loop of customer feedback that little bit easier. Field service management software allows us to talk to customers when they want and how they want, letting them choose the time, location and channel that is most convenient to them. It allows us to not only track feedback but action it.

Creating a ‘closed-loop’ feedback system gives businesses the ability to continue the conversation, whereas more traditional methods would end the conversation, or not start one at all.

If a field service organisation looks at the key issues affecting customer satisfaction they can often improve these factors with field service technology – transforming the mundane and often frustrating customer experience, into a social one with real time information and updates. Creating a ‘closed-loop’ feedback system gives businesses the ability to continue the conversation, whereas more traditional methods would end the conversation, or not start one at all.

By investing in a closed-loop style model, you not only differentiate yourself from your competitors, but maintain your customer’s loyalty, whilst in turn attracting new customers.

Follow our 5 key steps below to see how you can close the loop and improve your customers experience:

Get to know your customers

In order to follow-up in a personal way, you need to know who the customer really is, as well as when and how to contact them. Having that information allows you to provide customers with the additional follow-up they want.

Be sociable

Don’t be afraid to use non-traditional methods such as social media. What once was a sales and marketing platform, is now a meeting place and can become a key part of your customer experience.

Automate for the win

In order to be truly effective, any customer satisfaction system should be automated to ensure you can make a swift follow-up. Instead of getting information and taking action days or even weeks later, an automated system collects customer’s feedback and alerts you in real-time when action is needed. This is the key to an optimised closed-loop system and can prove to be a critical feature when dealing with unhappy customers.

Transform your mindset

Closing the loop aims to give long-term improvements. By having a customer-centric mindset, closing the loop will ultimately solve the internal issues that are causing the customer problems in the first place. Don’t forget, this is not about simply tracking feedback, it’s about transforming your overall customer experience and building customer loyalty.

Take some action

Whilst traditional satisfaction surveys aim to collect measurements for things that you and your company care about; such as employee performance, or service speed, a closed-loop system will generally use open-ended questions that focus on the things that your customer cares about, and more importantly things that you can action.

By using the latest field service management tools, gathering customer feedback is easier than ever before. They help to create the loop, meaning you are able to learn from each interaction that you have with your customers. You can then use what you have learnt to improve your service, as well as what you offer, to keep you ahead of competitors.

The key message? If you start and end with the customer and keep them informed at every step of the way, then you’re onto a winner.

The future is clear – businesses who don’t embrace customer experience and close the loop will undoubtedly be left behind.

If you would like to find out more about how you can improve your customer experience using award winning field service software then visit www.leadentservicecloud.com