Why your employees are key to customer engagement
The customers that walk through your door, or the customers that click through to your website, are always going to come into contact with your employees. They’re going to be served and advised by them, and when something is wrong, they’re always the first people in the firing line – every single employee out there has an angry, impatient customer story they love to talk about!
And thus, it’s important to realize that your employees are key to customer engagement. If you’re looking to draw more people in, and make sure they come back for more, you’ve got to focus on your own workforce first of all. There’s a lot they have to offer, and most of it is in the form of customer-employee relations, so make sure you’re up to date on how to take advantage of those.
Get around the boardroom table together and work out how teamwork really makes a business soar!
They guarantee a customer will come back
Your employees are always on the shop floor, even when your shop exists solely online. They’re the person on the other end of the screen, dealing with instant messages and lengthy emails from customers. They’re doing most of the footwork, when it comes to customer service, and that’s how they can help to guarantee a customer is going to come back a second time around.
If a customer has a good experience, even when they have a problem and expect some kind of resistance from the company in question, they’re going to know you’re a reliable and trustworthy market source. You’re employing people who listen, who understand, and people who seem happy to help.
And when other online companies are more withdrawn with their contact information, or take a while to get back to someone, you’re going to beat them out of the park with your stellar customer service. And that’s all thanks to whoever was on the till or chat option that day!
Leaving a good impression leads to great word of mouth
A good impression is one of the best things your employees can do for your customer relations. The more you can put a smile on a customer’s face, simply through normal conduct from behind the other side of the counter, the better a reputation you’ll be able to build. It’s such a simple concept, but it’s one that’s understated more often than not!
So, make sure you’re training your employees in areas of social skills, as well as for their professional capabilities. Skills like empathy and confidence matter most in the history of customer service institutions. And if you can’t run a training program of your own, or you know you’ve got some more withdrawn, shy people on your team, there’s plenty of outsourced programs that’ll help to get them out of their shell for the right reasons.
A happy employee clearly shows!
And finally, if your employers aren’t feeling happy in their job, it’s going to show in every interaction they have with the customers that filter into the building or onto the website. If someone hates the role they’re playing, and feels nothing but boredom while at work, they’re eventually going to struggle to hide it. And that does nothing for company-customer relations, does it? No!
So, you need to do everything you can to keep your team happy, and usually, that comes in the form of employee benefits. When you’ve got a good benefits package on hand, to go alongside the wage you’re paying them, as well as the positive working environment you’re hopefully providing, it’s much easier to motivate your people. And there’s many other ways to boost morale amongst your staff: giving your employees more time at home, as well as being there for them and always available to chat about their wellbeing, are two of the best ways to prove you’re a good employer.
Many businesses have found greater customer engagement and retainer success via the morale of their employees – indeed, businesses with provably happy employees have an average 10% higher customer satisfaction score. These employees are happy to go the extra mile, and that makes the customer happy; it’s a simple cycle.
Are you using your employees properly?
They’re your gateway into the customer relation world, and they’re going to leave some wonderful impressions to make sure people come back again and again. So, if you’re a company that’s looking to instill a bit of brand loyalty here and there, look to your employees.