How to Boost Customer Experience With A Community Platform

Those in marketing often say that the fate of a business depends on how well it is perceived by the customers. You must ensure your business’s success by improving customer experience!

The Power Of The Platform

Companies today mostly use social platforms for areas like product promotions and brand advertising. But, this isn’t even tapping into the potential of digital communities. They’re missing out on the tremendous advantages of customer service and customer experience!

Customers who are properly cared for are almost twice as likely to spread your brand through word-of-mouth as well as more likely to spend nearly 40% more than other buyers. But, how can you approach your customers? By giving them a place that they can call their own, where they can talk, share, bond, comment, and socialize. Sounding a bit too overwhelming?

Well, you can simply find this platform within your customer community. It doesn’t take a hefty investment, a tech-savvy think-tank, or high upkeep. In fact, it gives loads of benefits without taking much of anything. For now, let’s focus a bit on how customer communities do this, shall we?

Establish A Customer Culture

As your company has its business culture (its code, ethics, driving principles) that you support and foster, so do customers have their “customer culture.” You likely uphold certain ideas in a sort of social contract within your business in order to be more efficient, professional, friendly, etc. Your customers should feel the presence of these influential patterns in the ways that you interact with them as well.

For example, to create a positive customer culture you would need to instill positive values in your relationship, values like the priority of your customers’ benefit over the benefit of your business. A customer community platform does just that – it gives your customers a voice that you can listen and react to.

In such a community you can directly work on strengthening the bonds of trust between your brand and your audience. This is the prime example of establishing a proper customer culture. It’s how you get to say: Your opinions matter to me! How you set your customer culture policy affects – or even determines – the future of your business and the attitude of your potential consumers.

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Tip – Put Customers First

All businesses hit the downhill slope every once in a while – and, in spite of the circumstances,  when it comes to customer experience, you can use this to your advantage. When troubles show up, reassure your customers that their interests are still your top priority. Keep being supportive and attentive to their needs and you’ll be viewed as a brand that is deeply loyal to the policy of customers-first.

The core of your community will remember this, and you’ll find ways into their hearts as they come to respect you more. Why is this important? Today’s core foundation will become your brand’s beacon tomorrow – and all the newcomers will know that you keep customers in the highest regards. You can never buy that sort of marketing with money.

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Connected Customers – Happy Customers!

You wish people would speak favorably about your brand – that is the goal of every marketing service in the world. They probably already do that, whether through word-of-mouth or social media. But, why not unite them in one place where you can speak to them and vice-versa like you’re in the same room? A branded channel allows you to communicate with your audience without any third parties or obstructions. It’s a simple concept. Giving a sense of community to your customers unites them over a single cause – this boosts their confidence and loyalty. Let people know that they matter – and you’ll have a base of satisfied followers.

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Tip – Listen To Customers

In order to provide your audience with what they want, you’ll have to know what that is first! Never have customers been as vocal as they are today—65% of customers will speak out about a negative customer service experience. This is crucial to both a business and its brand. Neglecting to take your customers’ feedback into consideration can be a grave mistake since roughly five excellent reviews are required to counteract a single terrible one.

Luckily for us, you can empower your customers to speak up more easily today than ever. Let them speak – and listen carefully. Apply what you hear and you won’t need to worry about whether your efforts towards customer experience are in vain or not. Analyze these insights and conduct research for further and deeper info. Become proactive instead of reactive – use your platform to predict the needs of your customers before they realize them themselves!

Becoming Community-Driven

Ultimately, becoming community-driven is your top goal. Why is that? Because once you completely rely on your community for ideas, feedback, opinions, and communication with the market, you innately infuse the customer into your business strategy. This effectively makes you error-proof, since your system is governed and tweaked by the needs of your customers, encircling the process into an ever-growing brand. This is how all the big brands out there function right now!

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1. Gratis Think-Tanks

Once vocal enough, the prominent thinkers in your community become the driving creative force behind your brand. If you stimulate them via contests and competitions, the results will pour back into your brand. Feedback is valuable as a source of creative inspiration. Conduct surveys, send out questionnaires and organize polls, and you’ll find yourself surrounded with plenty of actionable feedback.

2. Keep In Touch With Customers

You should always strive to keep the communication link with your audience open. Inform them of the actions that you plan to do or plans that you think will improve the state of your business. Customers never want to be left behind. Also, try fostering peer-to-peer communication with forums and chat-rooms. This further reinforces the idea that you are willing to give a platform to your customers while relieving a bit of your customer service from extra pressure. In fact, this online “closed system” can sometimes provide greater service to your customers than you can.

3. Reward Participation

You have probably already noticed some very motivated activists of your brand. But, why not spice things up further anyway? Reward their efforts and you’ll drive them to even greater lengths. Who doesn’t love a gift or a reward for their efforts? Whether you give them games in which they can compete for titles, badges, and points, or deliver coupons for real-life discounts or rewards is up to you.

And, to earn them is up to them! A business beloved by its customers is a business that is stable and prosperous. Invest your efforts in a customer community platform – it’ll be paid back to you tenfold in the long-run.

Getting Started With Customer Experience Software

At CMNTY we’ve spent the last decade helping companies improve customer satisfaction through customer experience software.

Free 14-Day Trial

Our community platform gives you a savvy toolkit for creating an exciting online space for your customers. A space to connect with you and with each other. Have a look and by using our free trial to create a community.