Shep Hyken: what to focus on with customers this holiday season

The holiday season is a great time to win over customers in retail. Shep Hyken, customer service and experience expert, New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author explains what should be prioritized with customers this holiday season.

No matter what industry you’re in, Hyken believes that businesses should concentrate on two key areas when it comes to the customer experience. The domains of in-person and post-experiences. These are aspects that cover customer service, follow-ups, and many other issues.

However, nowadays, customers often notice when businesses tighten up and become leaner. Therefore, companies should look for ways to make cuts that won’t have a direct impact on the customer experience.

Hyken is mindful of the fact that a successful holiday season aids in keeping and luring new or existing customers. For instance, the cost of the business losing clients, to a crowded store or a lack of human assistance, increases expenses for businesses to spend more money on advertising. According to Hyken, “businesses spend between 10 and 15 percent of their budget on advertising that could be utilized elsewhere”.

Companies who want to push advertisements are ultimately creating serious problems because they don’t have to invest in their current customers. The long-term relationships companies build with their clients, lead to customer loyalty. Which allows businesses to save 10% of those repeated customers and long-term service costs.

By using a more direct approach, businesses like Delta show their appreciation for the time of their customers. For example, their phone lines direct callers to a certain line that can provide information. As a result, the company saves both money and time. 

The more popular text or chat options on websites, according to Hyken, are “a fantastic approach to deliver great support.” Although using a bot is very beneficial, it should be made simpler to get in touch with a person in the event that the information provided by the bot is incorrect. Even though self-services are increasingly popular, it’s still crucial to have a clear way to contact customer service in case.

Hyken predicts two things will happen in the first quarter of 2023. First, recognize that customers are becoming more aware of what constitutes a positive customer experience. The second is that rather than outperforming rivals, the objective is to compete with the best, like Amazon or Apple. When interacting with customers, however, businesses must treat them in a way that they themselves would want to be treated.

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