CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

EVERY BUSINESS LIKELY HAS A DAY OR TWO IN THE WEEK WHEN THEIR CUSTOMERS AREN’T QUITE AS HAPPY. MAT WYLIE OFFERS A STRATEGY FOR PUTTING A SMILE ON THEIR FACES EVERY DAY.

“Listen to what your customers are saying, and adapt to what they are actually thinking, not just what you assume they are thinking.”

THINK ABOUT the last time you headed to the local shopping mall – how did you feel as you left each store? Happy? Annoyed? Impatient? Did they make you feel awesome or were you disappointed by what you experienced?

Now consider – what day of the week was it?

We recently did some research based on 500,000 pieces of feedback from customers across New Zealand and discovered that customers are significantly happier on certain days of the week.

The phrases “Friyay” and “TGIF” appear to ring true for Kiwi shoppers who are more likely to be happy with customer service on a Friday – while on Sunday they may not be getting quite the same great experience.

In fact, according to our 2018 research, customer satisfaction drops by an average of six points from 72.46 on Fridays to 66.36 on Sundays – as measured by net promoter scores (NPS) from businesses across the country.

So what could be driving these different levels of satisfaction – and how can you make sure your customers are happy every day of the week?

YOUR TEAM ARE KEY

Every business likely has a day or two when their customers aren’t quite as happy – on average this is Sunday, but it could be a different day for you. Usually, the common factor that sets apart a great experience from a not-sogreat experience is staff. If your staff aren’t well-trained, if you don’t have enough staff on, or if you don’t have the right mix of permanent and part-time staff on board on Sundays, then it’s harder for them to deliver a fantastic experience.

Consider how you can empower your people. Start by recruiting people with the right attitude, then give them the training they need to not only understand your products and processes, but also your customers. Try to always have a mix of more experienced, knowledgeable staff working alongside less experienced or part-time staff to make sure that everyone’s supported and able to provide the best customer experience they can.

IT’S IN YOUR HANDS

It could be easy to say that people are unhappier on Sundays than on Fridays and use that as a way to explain away lower customer satisfaction. But the reality is that people’s moods can vary, and it’s up to you to put them in a great mood by providing an exceptional customer experience. If you want to sustain your business and help it not just survive, but thrive, customer experience is key. It’s overtaking price and product as to what keeps people coming back.

So what can you do to create a great experience on the day when your customer satisfaction generally dips? Consider making Sunday a special day with in-store activities to boost employee morale and encourage foot traffic and customer engagement. Could you have a book reading by a fairy in-store for kids at your book store, or offer free coffees on Sundays while customers browse?

WHAT’S YOUR DAY?

Sunday might be the day when NPS is at its lowest on average, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not providing a great customer experience on Sundays. In fact, Sundays could be your top day and another day could be when you dip. For non-retail businesses, this is just as true – even if you’re closed on Sundays, there will likely be days or times that your customer satisfaction dips.

The important part is understanding when your customers aren’t having a great experience – and doing something to change that.

To do that, you need to listen to what your customers are saying, and adapt to what they are actually thinking, not just what you assume they are thinking.

If you can blow a customer away with the experience provided, you’ll not only avoid their dissatisfaction – you’ll leave them walking away from you with a smile on their face.

So tell us – what’s your day?