{"id":10985,"date":"2020-07-30T11:51:12","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T10:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=10985"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:31:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:31:51","slug":"how-to-improve-your-customer-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/how-to-improve-your-customer-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how to improve your customer experience by putting your employees first"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, says his customers always come\u00a0second<\/em>. With an empire built on customer-facing businesses, that might seem strange. After all, isn\u2019t the customer always right? Not according to Branson.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, my philosophy has always been, if you can put staff first, your customer second, and shareholders third, effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and [you] yourself are happy,\u201d he told\u00a0Inc.<\/a>\u00a0president Eric Schurenberg. It\u2019s a philosophy that\u2019s served him well. From trips (Virgin Holidays) and travel (Virgin Atlantic) to sport (Virgin Racing) and space (Virgin Galactic), the business mogul has carved out countless niches across the economy\u2014and he did it all by putting his customers\u00a0second<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should go without saying, if the person who works at your company is 100% proud of the brand, and you give them the tools to do a good job and they are treated well, they\u2019re going to be happy,\u201d Branson\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an idea that\u2019s starting to spread, too. Businesses are realizing that customer experience<\/a> can\u2019t exist on its own. Any service relies on happy, motivated, and engaged employees\u2014and that requires a positive\u00a0employee<\/em>\u00a0experience. In this article, we\u2019ll look at the interplay between both concepts, illustrating how organizations require both to effectively improve their service and drive growth.<\/p>\n

Just how important is customer experience?<\/h2>\n

Poor customer experiences can hamstring a company. More than\u00a040% of people<\/a>\u00a0in a recent survey said they would stop using a product or service if they had to repeat themselves or felt like they were being passed from rep to rep. The remaining 60% aren\u2019t happy, though. Of those who would hang around, most revealed they would hate the experience of being passed from rep to rep, or having to repeat themselves. Even when poor customer service doesn\u2019t drive customers away immediately, it will eventually.<\/p>\n

Poor customer experience doesn\u2019t just drive short-term losses, either.\u00a0One in three<\/a>\u00a0consumers will walk away forever from a brand they love after just a single negative experience. One rude customer service agent, one dropped enquiry, one billing mistake\u2014that\u2019s all it takes.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget, most customers leave without saying goodbye, so it\u2019s easy to underestimate how customer experience affects your business. But one lost customer could well be the tip of the iceberg. Failing to acknowledge this could multiply your problems several times over.<\/p>\n

What causes bad customer experience?<\/h2>\n

Whenever people talk about poor customer service, the conversation gravitates toward agent behavior, culture, or system design. While these factors definitely play a part, it misses a huge part of the equation\u2014technology.<\/p>\n

To understand technology\u2019s role in customer experience, we need to investigate two different dynamics.<\/p>\n

First, how do your agents interact with customers? In our recent global study, agents cited the following as the leading cause of frustration in this dynamic:<\/p>\n