Delighting your customers not only keeps them happy and returning for more, but can also drive new business your way.
- The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent and the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5 to 20 percent. (ClickZ)
- A five percent increase in customer retention can lead to an increase in profits of between 25 and 95 percent. (Bain & Company)
- Lowering your customer churn rate by five percent can increase your profitability by 25 to 125 percent. (Harvard Business Review)
Disappointing your customers will undoubtedly hurt your bottom line.
- 78% of customers have backed out of a purchased due to a poor customer experience. What’s more, it takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience. (Glance)
- Over $62 billion is lost annually by American companies due to poor customer service. (NewVoiceMedia)
Remarkable customer service ignites word of mouth. Remarkable means worthy of notice or attention. Those worthy of notice or attention get buzz. Buzz creates referrals and repeat business.
But what does that kind of customer experience look like? Let’s take a look at some remarkable customer satisfaction examples.
Remarkable customer satisfaction examples
A consistent experience brings customer satisfaction
When I moved into a new home about 3 years ago, I was in need of a pest control company. A neighbor gave me the name of their service (Horizon Pest Control), a service provider they loved and highly recommended. I called and signed up for the service. Nothing earth shattering at this point.
Horizon earned not only my repeat business but also my buzz by continuously providing a remarkable experience 3 years running. It’s not any one single thing they do, but it’s an overall consistent experience and the feeling that I am taken care of that makes me want to talk about them to others.
- They send appointment reminders (both emails and postcards) with my service date, time, and technician’s name and photo.
- They send the same technician every time (Ed) who knows the history of my home, loves my dog, covers his feet with booties before entering the house and obviously enjoys what he does and the company he works for.
- When a need arises between service appointments, I make one phone call, whoever answers the phone makes it a priority to handle my issue and resolve my problem as quickly as possible.
- They have a “pay it forward” program that rewards me for referring business to them.
Bottom line: they show up when they say they will, do what they say they will, get rid of unwanted pests in my home and make it as simple as possible for me.
Empowering employees to deliver customer satisfaction
About 6 months ago, I was in the market for a new payroll services company for HELLO Marketing. At the recommendation of my accountant, I engaged ADP – a large global payroll, HR and tax service provider. I will admit I was a bit worried at first that my company was too small to be a valued customer for them. Boy was I wrong!
From the moment I signed on, it was remarkably clear they were a “solve the customer’s problem whatever it takes” organization. Employees are positioned to solve problems and answer questions quickly, efficiently, and professionally.
- They provide an implementation specialist who held my hand for the first 60 days.
- No matter how I reach out — phone, chat box, email — my problem is solved or my question is answered right away and without being passed around to different departments.
- The employees have quick access to my account and are empowered to do whatever it takes to make my life easier. Several have even stated that intention to me.
During one of my calls with an ADP rep, they became aware of an outstanding issue that was the responsibility of my previous payroll provider. I had spent 12 months trying to get my previous payroll company to resolve this problem.
ADP cleared it up right then and there while on the phone with me. Problem gone. I did not have to spend any more time on it. In the words of the ADP rep, “we just want you to get back to work and not worry about your payroll issues.” Remarkable.
What do these customer satisfaction examples have in common?
When it comes to customer satisfaction examples, I don’t have many. I am not an easy person to please (just ask my husband).
In really thinking about how these two companies delighted me, it comes down to some very simple standards that they seem to have nailed down. These companies have employees who:
- Truly want to make the customer happy
- Are committed to solving problems
- Respond quickly
- Go the extra mile to be helpful
- Enjoy where they work and what they do
There is a big difference between encountering one good customer service person who will go above and beyond, and finding an entire organization that lives and breaths a customer service mentality. The latter is what will foster continuous growth and is what I believe both Horizon and ADP have achieved.
Do you want your business to be remarkable? I’d love to talk with you about how to achieve that.
