Developing technology and current conditions transformed and evolved customers' expectations from brands when compared with the past. With increasing possibilities of information obtaining, organizations find that the customers are more and more conscious. Consumers can easily compare a product they want to buy with the products of competing companies and have begun to make their choices by considering what they will experience in today's conditions where product characteristics are almost the same. As a natural consequence of this situation, companies have begun to shift from a product-oriented approach to a customer-oriented approach. The number of companies that put their customers at the center is increasing with each passing day. But what exactly do customers expect from brands?
As a matter of fact, although customer wishes change with technological improvements, some core values do and will continue to retain their validity. According to a survey, 48% of consumers evaluate the product first from a financial point of view when buying a product. In second place are the after-sales support services.
1- Financial Expectations (Fair Pricing, Price-Performance Ratio)
According to the results of a survey, customers are considering financial issues in the first stage of the process of choosing a product. 48% of participants consider a product's price and price-performance ratio as one of the two most important factors influencing purchasing decisions. In addition, 85% of participants indicate that they prefer the most affordable product for their purchases.
The price-performance ratio is one step ahead at this point. Because customers want the full experience in exchange for the price they pay for a product or service. To give an example, a consumer who prefers the most expensive boot brand on the market expects to wear it for years in the toughest weather conditions while the expectations of a user who chooses a relatively inexpensive brand are comparably lower.
"If your customer is facing a problem, they don't care about how many departments are dealing with this problem in your company or its details. They just want a solution and they don't want to put in any extra efforts to create it. For this reason, companies must have teams with the ability to solve the problems of their customers in the first stage."
2- A Simpler Communication Model
When customers communicate with a brand after they experience a problem, they do not want to express their problems over and over again through different channels. Routier CEO Gal Bareket says, "If your customer is facing a problem, they don't care about how many departments are dealing with this problem in your company or its details. They just want a solution and they don't want to put in any extra efforts to create it. For this reason, companies must have teams with the ability to solve the problems of their customers in the first stage." With omnichannel communication channels, organizations can communicate with customers in various different ways, offering customers the most practical solutions to their problems without losing time.
3- Motivated Employees
One of the most challenging issues for customers is to communicate with employees who have lost their motivation for work. Employees who have lost their concentration on work are among the most dangerous elements for an organization. The energy of unwilling employees is easily sensed by customers, which negatively affects the perspective of your customers towards your company.
Organizations should have happy employees if they want to have happy customers. At this point, internal organizational communication activities play a vital role. Even though practices such as the employee of the month, premiums and so on are classic methods, their validity still remains today. Organizations that increase the employees' sense of belonging for the organization can see the positive results of this in a short period of time. Hilcorp Energy announced in 2010 that its employees will be awarded a $100,000 reward if the company doubles its production and reserves by 2015. With realizing a portion of its targets before the expected date, the company rewarded its 400 employees with $50,000 and cars.
4- Customers Want To Be Heard
Customers are the people who can evaluate an organization in the most objective way. Some problems that are not noticed by employees can cause major problems for customers. Customer feedback at this point is vital for an organization. Organizations that try to improve themselves by really listening to the opinions of their customers can go one step ahead of their competitors in this way.
The expectation of customers from organizations is to be heard and for their opinions to be valued. Following feedback from a customer about their experience, it is very valuable for the organization to recognize that it has improved in that regard. It might be helpful to look at Pisano's feedback technology at this point. :)
5- Reasonable Response Time
According to a survey, the average response time to customer e-mails by the companies is 7 hours and 51 minutes. Considering many developments taking place in today's world even in 1 minute, 7 hours and 51 minutes is quite a long time. Customers want to solve their problems with an organization as soon as possible without losing time.
In addition to this information, the average response time of brands to a customer who reaches them via Twitter is 7 hours and 12 minutes, while the average response time to a customer who reaches them via Facebook is 3 hours and 7 minutes. 77% of the customers say they will not wait more than 6 hours for an e-mail. While the average response waiting time on Facebook is 6 hours, 64% of Twitter users are waiting for a response within an hour. When all this information is taken into consideration, the importance of the response time is again clearly understood.
6- Customers Want to Feel that They Are Respected
According to a survey, 58% of consumers are experiencing problems with customer support services at least once a month and share these experiences with their immediate surroundings. This poses a great threat to the reputation of organizations in the long run. At this point, it is of vital importance that employees of the organizations, who have a one-on-one communication with the customers, maintain their positive attitude regardless of the situation.
Customers want to feel that they are respected regardless of the issue, and that the organization is making an effort to solve the problem they are facing. Customers approach organizations they experienced a successful problem-solving process with a more positive attitude when they encounter a different problem in the next stages. As a result of this process, a positive relationship can be established between the customer and the organization based on trust.
7- Customers Expect Organizations to Get to Know Them
Through more effective use of personal data with the help of developing technology, organizations can offer more appropriate services or products to their customers. Customers want to be recognized by organizations and feel special. They feel a higher sense of belonging to organizations that make them feel this way. Customers who are aware of technological opportunities expect organizations to use these opportunities. Customers who know that designing personalized customer experiences has become easier than it was before are more likely to prefer brands that make this effort. When a customer goes to a restaurant where they often visit and say, "The usual", knowing what will be coming to their table, it is a very valuable feeling for them. Having a stable customer base is also very important for the organization.
When we consider all these issues as a whole, we can say that the expectations of the customers from the organizations do not show large differences from the past, and the expectations are generally constant despite all the developments. Customers expect the organizations to listen to them, respect them and make them feel valued. Although expectations remain constant, the solutions that meet those expectations vary with the past along with the developing technology.
The use of feedback systems, which enable organizations to communicate with customers regardless of location, and to provide solutions to customers' problems without delay, is increasing day by day. The feedback systems, which enable organizations to collect personal information and provide a more effective service to customers, serve as a bridge between the organization and its customers. With its all-in-one solutions, Pisano offers users the ability to design a great customer experience.
