Have you ever walked into a store and had the salesperson ignore you? Or perhaps you've approached a shop assistant to ask a question about a product and they didn’t seem keen on helping you out at all?
This is surely frustrating - after all, companies wouldn’t survive without customers, right? So why ignore them?
It’s also damaging for the brand - its reputation, sales and so on.
In 2022, the lack of personalisation in customer service can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
With top-notch customer service efficiency being more important in today's economy than ever, how does the lack of this affect your business? Read on to find out!
The importance of high-quality customer service in 2023
Customer service is becoming an increasingly important field as businesses need to take customer satisfaction into consideration. The leap into this future will be difficult, but the pay-offs are huge.
Customer service has long mattered in traditional or brick and mortar shops, where there were actual, real people put in place to help facilitate exchanges between customers and companies, usually in the form of sales.
But now that companies are predominately Internet-based entities, there is no or very little personal interaction with consumers unless it is through telephone or a human-managed online chat.
And that’s a shame because:
- 63% of consumers expect businesses to know their unique expectations and needs
- In exchange for tailored interactions where customer needs are immediately identified and understood, 79% of customers are willing to share relevant information about themselves with businesses.
- When you offer personalised experiences to consumers, you can increase your conversion rate by roughly 8%.
The Internet Era has seen the rise of online first strategies which have demonstrated that digital sites merely focusing on always being ‘open’ rather than having personnel readily available for customers will lead to alienation among consumers.
And it’s bad news because today’s consumers are after instant gratification for their needs.
With customers now having more sophisticated expectations than ever, 2022 is the time for you to step up your game and finally develop a highly personalised customer service that’ll allow your business to thrive and flourish.
Top 6 ways the lack of personalised customer service affects your business
To correctly evaluate the importance of providing personalised customer service, it’s important that you understand how exactly a lack of it can affect your business. And let us tell you - the results are rather not positive.
Keep reading to find out why.
#1 Lacking personalised customer service can lead to lost sales and revenue
If you're not providing your customers with the individualised attention they need, they will take their business elsewhere - it’s as simple as that.
With the wide range and variety of choices on the market today, it’s rather simple to find someone who’ll be better than you at something
Interestingly enough, a study by Forrester Research found that companies who deliver excellent customer service experience grow revenues at twice the rate of those who don't.
So, if you're not dedicating the time and resources to personalise customer service, you're missing out on potential revenue growth as well.
If your customer service resembles cookie-cutter, one-sise-fits-all responses, you're doing yourself and your business a disservice. It's not only about making sales, though – it's also about keeping customers around by shaping relationships with them.
Lack of personalisation can lead to customers churning out, or leaving your company altogether.
A study by American Express found that 89% of customers would leave their current provider for a competitor if they received poor service.
That's a lot of potential business you're losing simply because you're not providing the individualised attention your customers need.
#2 When businesses don't provide personalised customer service, it can be frustrating for customers
People crave personalisation.
According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 92% of Americans think that technology has increased people's ability to customise their lives – and this is especially true when it comes to customer service.
The fact remains: if your lack of personalised customer service makes customers feel frustrated or disrespected, they're going to do business elsewhere.
In fact, 90% of customers are more likely to spend more with companies that personalize customer service.
If the customer service is automated to the edge, it can leave customers feeling frustrated, disrespected or even ignored.
If you're not personalising your customer service, people are going to feel like they don't matter - or that their business doesn't matter to you. That's a recipe for disaster when it comes to retention and loyalty.
It might seem like more work is required in order to provide individualised customer service, but the reality is it can actually save you money in the long run.
#3 It's harder to build customer loyalty without personalised service
When customers feel like they're just a number, or that their business doesn't matter, they won't be as likely to stick around.
This is proven by a study by the Aberdeen Group, which found that companies that delivered personalised customer service saw 25% more customer loyalty than those that didn't.
Lack of personalisation can also lead to customers feeling indifferent or apathetic towards a company. This can then lead to them being less likely to refer your business to their friends and family members, which is essential for word-of-mouth marketing.
If you're not providing personalised customer service, it's going to be difficult – if not impossible – to build customer loyalty. So, keep this in mind and start taking care of your customer loyalty sooner rather than later.
#4 Your clients and potential clients may not feel valued or important with one-fits-all customer service
When you provide customers with a one-size-fits-all customer service experience, it can make them feel devalued and unimportant - and basically a whole bunch of other things which you don’t want your customers to feel.
The Harvard Business Review reports that people who feel their concerns are taken seriously are more likely to be loyal to a company. This is a great indicator for you - the more attention you give your customers, the more loyal they’re likely to be, which links back to our previously raised point.
If your business provides impersonal customer service, it sends the message that your clients and potential customers are not important. And no one wants to feel unimportant, right?
As soon as you start delivering tailored customer service, you're telling your clients and potential customers that they matter – which can go a long way in terms of loyalty and sentiment.
Personalised customer service also allows businesses to connect with their customers on a more intimate level, which can lead to higher retention rates.
#5 Unhappy customers are more likely to share their negative experiences online
Last but not least, let’s consider what can happen online if your unsatisfied customers go out there and spread negativity aimed at your brand.
Lack of personalisation can make your customers pretty angry, and when they're angry, they're more likely to share their negative experiences online.
As a matter of fact, according to researchers, unhappy customers are three times more likely to share their bad experiences than happy ones online.
Not only that, but they're also more likely to talk about your company on social media and various review sites, putting your brand in a very bad light PR and reputation-wise.
If you're not custom-developed customer service, it's more likely that your customers will be sharing their negative experiences with other people.
And when this happens, Google and other review sites are going to pick up on the frequency of complaints – which could potentially affect your business' reputation overall.
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#6 Unpersonalised customer service can damage your company's reputation
… unless you take steps to prevent it!
What you need to do is think about each and every customer you have and take a unique approach to interactions with them. You’ll notice that a lot of the time your customers’ needs are similar or even the same - it’s just the way you go about them that needs to be adjusted.
Consider using your customers’ names, try to remember customers’ previous experiences with you and refer to them when suitable. In general - try to create as personal a relationship with them as possible.
They’ll feel close to you which will make them prone to stay with you for longer.
Start delivering personalised customer experiences
Providing personalised customer service is essential for any business – it can help with retention, loyalty, and reputation.
If you're not taking the time to deliver a unique service each time, your competition certainly will.
Personalisation can take form on your website by means of interactive content like fun chatbots or quizzes, or even through a live proactive chat.
With many ways to personalise customer service today, for instance, with call centres like CloudTalk, there's no excuse not to do so.
Other than that, I hope I managed to convince you that personalised customer service is an absolute must-have in 2023. Good luck!