From magic moments to magic numbers

Customers are tricky. They may choose a certain product or service because it’s great quality, it’s easy, it’s fast, it’s cheap or it’s luxurious. They buy because you can deliver on one or more of their needs. Great stuff. But it’s not job done. Not if you want your customers to keep coming back for more, spurning the advances of your competitors.

Winning new customers isn’t job done. Keeping them is the real prize.

If you want to win your customers’ loyalty, you need to start ticking some invisible boxes. Well, they’re not actually invisible. Nor are they boxes, really. They’re often intangible, emotional and not-yet-known needs. They’re specially reserved, often magical moments between you and an individual customer where they feel you really value them. You’ll know you’ve metaphorically ticked them when your actions make your customers smile and feel appreciated, and, ultimately, engage more with your brand. You’ve given them a positive customer experience.

The experience a customer has of your business is a strong differentiator – an opportunity to make them feel they’re number one, while you too become their number one. The pay-off for your business can be pretty magical too.

Take customer experience beyond customer expectations

How can you pinpoint those special customer moments and identify and satisfy those not-yet-known needs?

It’s called intelligent customer service or experience and it will give your agents access to the resources they need to delight your customers. For example, with the right system in the right place, a business can send a customer a proactive notification about performance or service issues. Not only is this convenient for the customer, it can help avoid machinery breakdown and the associated losses in terms of time and money. The agent should also have the necessary information to take effective next steps. It will also give the customer peace of mind and boost their confidence in their choice of supplier.

It’s Microsoft’s mission to empower every person in an organisation to achieve more. Imagine if all your employees were able to contribute to those uplifting customer experience moments, when they can go beyond what the customer expects to deliver a unique, feel-good occasion. You’d have happier-than-ever customers, repeat purchases, a stronger brand, and word-of-mouth recommendations leading to increased sales.

And there are more positives. Your people will be more productive as they’ll have quicker, more satisfactory interactions based on having the right data and insights when they need it. So, you’ll have more motivated people who enjoy a high level of job satisfaction.

Engagement through differentiation

Customers are increasingly expecting a great experience from their suppliers, so for businesses to survive and prosper they need to identify all the areas where they can make a difference. The good news is that the technology that can help make this happen means that smaller businesses can compete with larger ones. Microsoft Dynamics 365 will help you provide a seamless customer service across all touchpoints. It will provide real-time views of key services, 360-degrees customer insights and help businesses remain agile so they can adapt quickly to new requirements and meet customer and market demands.

To see an example of seamless and rewarding customer experience, watch this video now and download our report to discover the latest customer service strategy trends that enable business growth.

Download report: Discover the latest customer service strategy trends that enable business growth