Valuable feedback can be collected through customer surveys.
Managing customer perception is important to retain business. How customers view your business greatly affects whether they will return business to you. If consumers feel respected and treated fairly at a company they perceive to have professional business practices, they are likely to be loyal. If, instead, customers have the opinion that they can get better service, prices, and treatment elsewhere, they are likely to run to your competition.
Customer satisfaction experts recommend that employees maintain a friendly attitude.
Effectively managing how your customers perceive your business is impossible if you’re not sure exactly what their perception is. Managing customer perception means first listening to the voice of your consumers. Managing customer surveys can be a very efficient way to find out what your customers think of your business. Even something as simple as having a box for store customers to add comment cards that they fill out anonymously can help you get a sense of how consumers view your business.
Businesses can cold call customers to strengthen a customer relationship.
Keep in mind that many people don’t like to give their name when commenting on a business if their comments are critical or negative. On the other hand, comment accuracy may be lower if people don’t have to leave their name on comment cards; they may have personal problems with an employee, for example, and try to get him into trouble at work. For the most part, however, customer perception management can be made easier by placing comment cards on restaurant tables and near store exits.
To attract and retain customers, it is essential for a company to assess the needs and expectations of consumers.
Another way to manage the customer perspective is to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Look at everything from your products to your service policies as if you were the customer instead of a manager. Managing the customer perspective effectively means comparing your offerings and policies to those of your competitors. Honestly ask yourself if you were the customer, would you prefer your business or that of your competition.
Teller interactions go a long way in determining customer perceptions.
It is important to manage your employees to provide excellent customer service. Rude or indifferent service can ruin a positive customer perception of your business. Supervisors and managers must model and expect first class treatment of customers at all times. Handle complaints promptly and don’t let your employees make excuses for poor service or be unprofessional and apologetic toward customers when mistakes occur. If customers perceive that a company does not acknowledge or apologize for a mistake, they are less likely to remain loyal to that company.