Prime Your Business Towards a Customer-Centric Future

Many industries have taken birth since the dawn of modern man. So many of them, judged incapable in the beginning, have turned out to be tremendous successes. Consumers have welcomed a wide variety of products and services in the marketplace. This is an obvious fact. Without the continued support of consumers, these industries would never have sustained. Although the quality of the products is vital, a majority of organizations have sustained by nurturing customer relationships. The commercial industry of the present has come to a standpoint that only the best customer service can come up in the increasingly competitive market. It is important to know how to cultivate and maintain customer relationships. Successful businesses are those who have created a relationship with their customers which goes beyond just making a sale.

As more and more businesses turn to customer-centricity, they are seeing the benefits of establishing productive relationships with their customers. These relationships help to establish a company's brand as one that cares about its customers. In this increasingly busier world where people don’t have time for each other, a little empathy and care towards your customers would be much appreciated.

• To accommodate each customer's unique preferences, businesses can customize their services. This raises the perceived quality of goods and services from the perspective of customers.
• The timely and accurate processing of orders and requests can improve customer satisfaction.
• Seamless management of accounts and top-notch customer service improves the trust in a brand. This includes grievance redressal and faster resolutions.

According to research, across all industries, a 5% increase in customer retention increased lifetime customer profitability by 50% on average. There is a lot to customer satisfaction than just being a business strategy. It must be aimed so as to make the lives of customers easier.

Customer service is a vital department within an organization. Customers would face a lot of questions and concerns in their journey with your brand. Addressing, managing, and resolving them effectively leads to a higher level of customer satisfaction. Here are some statistics on customer service to illustrate how important providing outstanding customer service can be for a business:

• 68% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for products and services from a brand known to offer good customer service experiences. (HubSpot)
• For 86%, good customer service turns one-time clients into long-term brand champions. (Khoros)
• 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service. (HubSpot Research)
• If the company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with them again after a mistake. (Salesforce Research)
• Nearly three out of five consumers report that good customer service is vital for them to feel loyalty toward a brand. (Zendesk)
• Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. (Invesp)
• 83% of customers agree that they feel more loyal to brands that respond to and resolve their complaints. (Khoros)
• Businesses can grow revenues between 4% and 8% above their market when prioritizing better customer service experiences. (Bain & Company)
• The customer experience management market worldwide is worth as much as $7.6 billion in 2020. This is a 16.9% year-over-year increase from its value of $6.5 billion in 2019. (Grand View Research)

Thus, it is imperative to improve the overall customer experience in a business. Direct selling is one of the oldest business models to date. They have grown considerably over the years. A greater share of this growth belongs to their customer-centric approach. Direct selling companies have largely emphasized the personalization of business for their individual distributors and customers. This approach has helped them to understand their customers in-depth with regard to their demands, needs, preferences, etc. With the changes in products and marketing methods, the trends among consumers will also change. Staying up to date with such changes helps businesses upgrade their customer experience strategies accordingly.

Customers connect with a business across various online and offline channels. These communication channels must be monitored sufficiently to understand and accommodate the changes in trends. A multi-channel integration allows you to effectively collect customer information from all your channels. This also helps businesses to segment their customers based on similar characteristics. This knowledge gives you the edge in customizing your business and meeting your customers’ expectations.

Being a business that largely relies on its distributors, direct selling organizations must focus on building their customer base by engaging in customer-centric strategies. This can be made possible at various levels. From the quality of the products to loyalty programs, there are many stages in a direct selling business that would enhance its customer-centricity. Customer-centricity is an evergreen concept and the aim of satisfying the needs of customers shall remain a priority. Various generations have displayed different trends and purchase behaviors in the marketplace. However, their primary intentions remained the same: good quality products, reasonable prices, and efficient customer service.