The Hard Truth About Your Customers (And How to Keep Them Happy)

It‘s time for a reality check. The way customers interact with companies has fundamentally changed, but many businesses are still clinging to outdated playbooks. The hard truth is, your customers have higher expectations than ever before—and they‘re not afraid to take their business elsewhere if you can‘t keep up.

Consider these eye-opening statistics:

• 96% of customers say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand (Microsoft)
• 67% of customers say their standard for good experiences are higher than ever (Salesforce)
• 70% of the buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated (McKinsey)

The message is clear: in today‘s Age of the Customer, providing an exceptional customer experience is no longer a nice-to-have. It‘s an absolute necessity for survival and growth.

The Customer Is in Control (And They Know It)

Gone are the days when companies could set the terms of engagement. Thanks to the proliferation of choice and information, customers now hold all the cards. They expect to interact with businesses on their own terms—when, where and how it‘s most convenient for them.

Just how empowered are modern customers? Let‘s look at the data:

Customer Expectation	Percentage
Expect companies to provide a self-service option	81%
Will look for information themselves before reaching out to customer service	89%
Expect an immediate response to sales or marketing questions	80%
Have used two or more communication channels to contact customer service	64%

Source: American Express, Forrester, Salesforce

The bar for customer experience has never been higher. To win in this new era, companies must be obsessed with understanding customers‘ needs and proactively looking for ways to make their lives easier.

From Reactive to Proactive Support

The traditional view of customer service is primarily reactive. A customer has an issue, they reach out for help, and the support team triages and resolves the problem. While this break/fix approach is still an important part of the job, it‘s no longer sufficient on its own. That‘s because:

1. Customers prefer to help themselves. The vast majority of customers (81%) now expect a self-service option for straightforward issues. They‘d much rather find an instant answer themselves than wait for a response from support.

2. Issues that reach support are more complex. As customers take care of simple problems themselves, the tickets that do come through to support tend to be more complicated. Support teams need deep product expertise and problem-solving skills to handle these escalations.

3. Customers expect you to be a step ahead. Reacting quickly is good, but anticipating needs is even better. Customers want you to leverage what you know about them to provide customized, relevant engagement at every touchpoint.

To meet these new expectations, companies must shift their mindset from putting out fires to strategically architecting the entire customer journey. Every interaction should be viewed as an opportunity to exceed expectations and build loyalty.

The Business Case for Good Service

Investing in the customer experience isn‘t just the right thing to do—it‘s also good for the bottom line. When you consistently demonstrate that you value your customers‘ time and effort, they reward you with their business and advocacy.

The data bears this out:

• Customers who have a positive experience are 3.5x more likely to recommend a company to friends and family (Temkin Group)
• 56% of customers stay loyal to brands that "get them" (Salesforce)
• Loyal customers are 5x as likely to repurchase, 5x as likely to forgive, 4x as likely to refer, and 7x as likely to try a new offering (Temkin Group)

On the flip side, bad service is costly in more ways than one. 95% of customers share bad experiences with others, so a single negative interaction can quickly spiral into a PR problem. And it takes a lot more than a quick fix to undo the damage—2/3 of customers would rather spend more money with a company they feel provides excellent service.

The takeaway? You can‘t afford not to care about your customers‘ experience. It‘s the foundation for healthy customer relationships and sustainable business growth.

3 Strategies for Keeping Customers Happy in 2018

So how can companies adapt to this new customer-centric reality? Here are three key strategies to focus on:

1. Make self-service a priority

To meet the demand for fast, frictionless issue resolution, invest in building out robust self-service options for your customers. This could include:

• A searchable knowledge base with how-to articles and videos
• Proactive messaging with contextual help and tips
• AI-powered tools like chatbots that can triage and resolve straightforward issues

The key is to make it incredibly easy for customers to find answers themselves. Not only does self-service significantly reduce support volume (and costs), but it also empowers customers and gives them the instant gratification they crave.

2. Personalize the customer experience

Customers don‘t want to feel like just another support ticket—they want to feel understood and valued as individuals. Using customer data effectively is key to providing tailored service that sets you apart. For example:

• Integrate your CRM system with your help desk so reps have a 360-degree view of the customer
• Capture key details like product usage and past interactions so you can reference them when providing support
• Use intelligent routing to match customers with the rep best equipped to handle their unique issue

Small touches like using a customer‘s name and recalling their history with your company go a long way in making them feel appreciated. The more context you have, the better you can anticipate needs and personalize the experience.

3. Continually gather (and act on) feedback

To provide truly exceptional service, you need a direct line of sight into what your customers are thinking and feeling. Create feedback loops at every key touchpoint—after support interactions, on your website, within your product—to continually gather insights. Then, put that feedback into action by:

• Identifying and fixing common pain points in the customer journey
• Equipping reps with the knowledge and skills to handle trending customer issues
• Making systemic changes to policies or processes based on customer input

The most successful companies see feedback as a gift, not a burden. They view every piece of feedback as an opportunity to identify unmet needs and drive continuous improvement.

Introducing Service Hub

At HubSpot, we‘ve watched the customer experience landscape shift firsthand. We‘ve seen how the Age of the Customer has disrupted traditional business models and created a new standard for service. And we believe that meeting this standard is key to future success.

That‘s why we‘re thrilled to introduce Service Hub, a new product line designed to help businesses adapt to the demands of the empowered customer. With tools for omni-channel support, self-service, feedback collection, and more, Service Hub enables teams to provide fast, personalized, and proactive service at scale.

We believe Service Hub is a game changer, but don‘t just take our word for it. Here‘s what one of our customers had to say:

"With Service Hub, we have all customer data in one place, allowing us to manage communication efficiently and effectively. Most importantly, it helps us strengthen customer relationships and provide a delightful experience every time."

— Eugenio Ferrante, Head of Customer Care, Qurami

Providing a great customer experience is hard work. But with the right strategies and tools, it‘s within reach for businesses of all sizes. We‘ll be diving deeper into the product and customer service best practices in upcoming posts, so stay tuned.

The truth is, your customers won‘t settle for anything less than a phenomenal experience. So in 2018, let‘s commit to knowing them better, serving them faster, and helping them succeed. Because when your customers win, you win.