Your customers are talking. Are you listening?

You don’t have to be a great listener to be an order taker. But if you want to nurture real loyalty—the sort that inspires customers to rave about their experience of your brand rather than short-lived offers and discounts—you have to actively put them first.

Maintaining focus on the customer means understanding what each of them wants and values, and delivering it to them in the form of a superior experience. While your success depends on a number of variables—customer service, pricing, store presentation and great discounts and offers—no single element of your performance matters as much to retention as the perception of your customer experience as a whole.

Collecting and analysing shopper feedback can be a worthwhile exercise, but not every customer is prepared to complete an online survey, and many can’t necessarily articulate what they really want themselves. It’s a case of “See what I do, not what I say”.

The key is to make use of the wealth of information that already emanates from all of your channels, including social listening and the digital exhaust trail left by today’s online shoppers. That way, you can identify not just who your customers are, but why they’re browsing and what tips them over the edge to purchase.

Analytical insights can help you become aware of flawed processes, or instances of advisors arguing with consumers over their rights. It also gives you a way to measure whether you’re meeting shoppers’ changing needs when many of their behaviours and choices are unconscious or irrational.

At a time when customers are willing to reward businesses that meet their expectations—and be vociferous about those that don’t—consider what signals your current CX is sending out. By listening intently and openly, what can you learn about problem areas that create unwelcome detours in the customer journey? And once you’ve gathered all this customer intelligence, determine how you’ll apply it beyond short-term initiatives to actively transform your culture into a customer-centric one.

To learn more download the white paper – Analysing and Shaping Customer Journeys