How to Increase Customer Satisfaction in Your Business

How to Increase Customer Satisfaction in Your Business

As outsourced CFOs and trusted business finance advisors, we attend many board meetings each month. One topic that is notably left off of many agendas is customer satisfaction. Concerns like cash flow and growth are often at the top of most businesses’ priority lists, but customer satisfaction is regularly overlooked. Companies that address customer satisfaction with their board, in a detailed way and have evidence to back up their approach to customer satisfaction, are often the best performers.  

5 Steps To Improve Customer Satisfaction

The opinion your customers have of your company has the potential to either increase your profits or cause you to lose business. Explore five actions your team should implement today to improve your customers’ satisfaction levels. 

#1. Quantify satisfaction

Very few companies take the time to quantify customer satisfaction. However, this is a key action if you ever want to determine what tactics are working and what tactics lead to customer discontent.

The best tool to use is an NPS (Net Promoter Score). Simply ask your customers the following question - on a scale from 1 to 10, how likely are they to recommend you to their contacts. Whatever the score, you should follow up with a request for feedback. This is valuable information that you can use to continue to provide exceptional service or improve on less than exceptional service.

2. Build long-term relationships

Long-term customer relationships are the best form of business for your company. It is far cheaper to retain a long-term customer than it is to acquire a new customer. When you listen to customers’ feedback and improve your customer service model based on those opinions, you will be able to cultivate stronger, long-term relationships. And, those long-term customer relationships often lead to referrals.

#3. Work for referrals

Think of every customer interaction as an opportunity to gain a referral. When you place focus on your customer satisfaction, you are not only improving your relationship with your current customers but also increasing your chances of winning new customers.

Treat every customer like they are your most important customer, and they are more likely to spread the news of their positive experience to peers in their industry. 

#4. Focus on accumulating monthly recurring revenue

The least profitable kind of relationship with a customer is randomly occurring business. You want customers that have a regular order or need service each month. Building monthly recurring revenue is one of the keys to stabilizing your cash flow. And, the higher customer satisfaction rates are, the more long-term customer relationships you will build. This leads to increased monthly recurring revenue and profits you can count on. A monthly recurring revenue business model is the most profitable, most stable one. Amassing this regular revenue is key to developing a growth-oriented company.

#5. Invest time and resources into improving your customers’ experiences

With every positive customer experience, you open the door for long-term relationships, increased profits, and potential referrals. Avoid the mistake of putting customer service at the bottom of your list of priorities, and start your efforts to improve your customer satisfaction rate.

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