The Ripple Effect: Exploring the True Power of Positive Customer Experiences

When is the last time you had a bad experience with a product or service provider? No matter when it was, there’s a very good chance you remember it in great detail. On top of that, there’s even more of a chance that you were quite vocal with your friends, family and colleagues about how bad of an experience this was. What’s happening in this example can be hugely problematic for a company’s reputation, but does it also work the other way around? Let’s look at the potent ripple effect of positive customer experiences.

The ‘phone-a-friend’ effect

Word of mouth is one heck of a powerful thing, and it has a direct link to those positive customer experiences we mentioned earlier. Just as in the example we gave, it’s likely that you told many people about your negative experience, it can just as easily work the other way. When you provide a customer with exceptional service or do something which exceeds their expectations, even in a small way, there’s a solid chance they will pass that information on – hence, the ‘phone-a-friend’ effect. Of course, today it’s more probably that they’ll tweet or share a post on Facebook, but the logic still stands. In fact, in a world driven by social media, these positive customer experiences are more important than ever.

Don’t go viral for the wrong reasons

A recent news story is a good example of the dangers of negative customer experiences. A patron of a certain restaurant in the Lincoln area of the UK actually found a supposed toenail in his food. Rather than dealing with it the right way, the restaurant ignored the man and caused him to set up a protest outside. Images of his stunt spread online and quickly went viral, damaging the reputation of this restaurant many factors more than it would have had they dealt with it the right way. Going viral is all well and good, but if it’s spawned from a negative experience, it could be a death knell for the business.

How to nurture positive customer experiences

It’s all well and good talking about these positive customer moments, but how do you make them happen? Well, the wonderful thing is that you don’t even need to push the boat out too far to reap the rewards. Here are a few examples of small touches that make a big difference to customers:

• Putting a bag of sweets into the delivery package.

• Sending out a complementary mug or pen (with your logo, of course) when you bring on a new client.

• Offering a quick and no-quibble returns policy.

• Rewarding long-term customers with discounts at random.

These are just a few ideas, but you can see how they could grow into positive experiences for your clients. Take this advice to heart and you can easily nurture a company image that will serve you for years to come.

Once the customers are rolling in, you’ll need a handy way to manage them, and that’s where the AutoVu CRM platform comes in. Check out the site today for more ways to give your customers a positive experience with every interaction.