Shock revelation! – your customers want to be treated as a person

You might love to get involved with the latest technology but there is no alternative to good old-fashioned customer service. Any number of chatbots and automated systems count for nothing as customers just want to talk to a helpful product expert on the telephone.

A recent study published by number 1 CRM experts SalesForce discovered that 84% of customers want to be treated like a person – not a number. Critically, 80% of those surveyed said that the experience that the company provides is as important as the products and services they sell. You might be selling the best products in the world but if you are not giving the right customer service they will probably go and buy an inferior product instead.

The research goes on to confirm that customers want a real-time response. There have been many surveys and reports looking at conversion rates. There is a very clear correlation between speed and conversion. The quickest response achieves the highest conversion. Sadly, the average response time for online enquiries is 42 hours so there is a massive need for improvement.

I think customers see it quite simply. If you want their business, you just need to call them back right now. Whoever calls should know their stuff and be friendly and helpful. Failure to do so means that your potential customer will speak to your competitors before you and you will lose the deal.

Dealing with your new customers in real time is your biggest priority and challenge.