One Simple Word to Improve Your Customer Experience!

The days of overlooking customer service is dead. No longer can a modern business afford to treat customer service like the elephant in the room. The elephant has come crashing through the walls and somebody needs to pay attention soon!

Every time I read a blog, article or report that begins with, “one word that will…”, and proceeds with “change your life”, “make you happier” or “make you better at”,  I sigh, tut and think to myself “what a load of dogs bollox”. One word alone isn’t enough to solve your problems; but maybe, just maybe, there is one word out there, especially for your business, that’s enough to help you go a long way to improving the quality of your customer service.

Unless you’ve recently quantum leaped here from the 1980’s you’ve probably become quite familiar with messages such as,

• “Free Text WIN to 50050 to enter our competition”
• “Text Restaurant to 50900 to receive special discounts”
• “Free Text SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS to 60090 just for the craic”

Well, this is what we in the mobile marketing industry call a KEYWORD; and believe it or not, this one word can improve your customer service experience. *Ugh, I can’t believe I just said that.*

So, what is a Keyword?

The keyword is a simple but highly effective tool which can be used by a whole manner of businesses; from the single store retailer to the multi chain restaurant or takeaway. The basic principle of the SMS Keyword is to allow your customer to directly communicate a message to you via text. The beauty of it is that you can have your very own Keyword that’s unique to your business!

For example my local Chinese takeaway owner Barry has his very own Keyword; “BARRYS”. But how can Barry, and other entrepreneurs and managers like him, use SMS Keywords to improve their customer service experience?

In customer service we aim to delight; and that’s exactly what you can do with an SMS Keyword solution. Just look at these simple solutions Barry uses for creating an excellent customer experience.

1. Text for Call

Nobody likes being put on hold. I personally believe that being put on hold contributes to a poor customer experience. So how can an SMS Keyword help your business take long strides toward solving this problem and delighting your customers?

Rather than your customers ringing you to give their order or ask their question why don’t you ring them?!

Barry’s customers are spoilt. When they want to place an order they simply free text “BARRYS” to 50050! The customer receives an automatic reply informing them that a staff member will be in contact ASAP and Barry’s staff becomes notified that a customer wishes to be contacted.

It’s a win-win situation! Customers no longer get put on hold and Barry, with one simple word – “BARRYS” – has improved the customer service experience.

2. Text to Win

Hands up who likes winning prizes! Nothing says “great customer experience” like free stuff! How can your business use your unique Keyword to surprise customer with special treats?

Well, it’s actually very simple; and all it requires is a quick text!

Barry has invited his customers to enter into weekly draws to win free takeaways and vouchers by texting “BARRYS” and the word “win”. As Barry’s delighted customers become promoters for his business word spreads quickly of Barry’s great giveways. New customers come flooding in and regular customers love his business even more.

It’s clever marketing and creates a great customer experience for Barry’s patrons! Another wining situation thanks to the power of the SMS Keyword.

3. Text to Rate

Time is precious in business and it’s also precious for your customers. Do you have the time to create, send and analyse surveys or questionnaires? No? Well your customers probably don’t have the time to complete them either!

For customers it’s always nice to know that your opinion is being heard; and for business owners and managers it’s always nice to get feedback from the people that matter most to your business. Unfortunately, sometimes both parties just don’t have the time available to provide this important info! Luckily, you can use your SMS Keyword to conveniently and quickly get customer feedback.

Barry always endeavours to listen to his customers but has found surveys to be very ineffective! The response rate is generally pretty low and customers view them as an inconvenience to fill out and send back.

Barry therefore began using his SMS Keyword to gather feedback from customers. The day after a customer purchases from his takeaway Barry’s staff texts asking the customer to free text back “BARRYS” plus a quick review of the service and food they received. It only takes a few seconds for a customer to provide their feedback and allows Barry to very quickly review the feedback.

Barry was able to identify areas of his business that his customers loved and disliked and made the necessary changes in order to improve the experience for the customer! Without the feedback conveniently received via his SMS Keyword Barry would likely go unaware of his customer’s opinions.

There we have it, the value of the simple SMS Keyword revealed! Not only can it improve the customer services experience but, as a direct result of doing so and delighting your customers, it can increase your businesses Customer Lifetime Value.

So, as cringtastically promised, one word can improve your customer service! However, it can be whatever word you want it to be.

Reference: Featured Image

Peter Furey

Categorised in: Customer Relations