The quality of experience you give your customers will make or break your business. The internet provides consumers with an abundance of options at the touch of a button, and customers are savvier than ever. This means you need to give your customers a 5-star experience within many aspects of your business in the most efficient way possible. Read on to learn eight ways you can deliver an outstanding customer experience and build a successful business.

Determine Who Your Target Audience Is

You need to determine who your target audience is so that you can market and cater to their needs and wants. Use your analytics to define your target audience further so that you can customize their experiences on a more personal level. For example, if you have an audience living in a particular region or state, incorporate elements of this into the way you market to them. By personalizing their experience, customers will feel special and understood, and they will be more likely to trust you. This will generate more leads and help grow your business.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key to customer retention. Customer acquisition is your highest cost, so retention is vital. Create consistency across all areas of your business, such as branding with the same aesthetic, fonts and voice across all of your digital platforms. Provide the same level of quality for all products, services and customer service. Creating consistency will keep your customers loyal by building trust. Additionally, consumers are often willing to pay more when they know they can always count on you.

Make Yourself Available

Listen to your customers so that you can make adjustments to better your brand. Offer surveys and comb through social media comments where people are more likely to be blunt and give their true opinion. According to InMoment, allowing customers to provide feedback and connect with your business through social media, mobile devices, or surveys gives them an opportunity to voice their thoughts. Make it known that you are actively seeking feedback, and make it easy for customers to respond on all devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Once you have gathered information, use software to analyze and prioritize your customers’ feedback, and use that information to create strategies for creating a better customer experience.

Get Connected on Social Media

Different social media platforms appeal to different demographics of people, even within your target demographic, so it is important to have an accessible presence on multiple platforms. Follow trends and pay attention to which platform is generating the most leads and sales. Use links so that your customers can make purchases and appointments through the platform.

Always Follow Up

According to Nimble, you should never underestimate the power of following up with your prospects and customers. Information overwhelm is the current norm, and businesses need to find a way to cut through the noise. Most businesses opt for automated follow-ups, but if you can find a way to add a personal touch, then you will be more likely to get noticed. One option is to use an email-marketing tool that fills in the email with the customer’s name. Another option is to send a handwritten note through standard mail, make a phone call or send a non-automated text. Depending on the size of your business, managing this can be tricky, but it will pay off.

Offer Multiple Contact Options

People have different ways they prefer to communicate. Some people are more verbal, some are more visual, some need instant gratification, and some prefer to use mail. When stating your customer service contact information, allow people to reach out to you through direct email, a contact form, phone, P.O. box or an instant chat in real-time on your website. Be sure to make all of these options very clear on your website and make sure your response time is equal for all avenues. If this is too much for you to handle, then it is important to offer at least a phone option along with an email address. Sometimes, when people can speak to a human voice, they feel more heard.

Create a Frictionless Online Experience

Creating a frictionless customer experience means to minimize all barriers to entry as much as possible and to make every action your customer makes as easy as possible. This includes things such as optimizing the speed that your website loads. Current consumers have a short attention span and will usually click off a page that doesn’t load instantly. Additionally, create a very simple, clutter-free website that makes information easy to find. Anyone should be able to come to your website and know exactly what your business is and how it can help them fulfill a need or want. All of this important information should be placed at the top of the page. Use hyperlinks to basic information so that customers can click on them for a more detailed description. Another option is to use a chat option so that people can ask questions in real-time.

Empower Your Customers

Empowering your customers will give them a sense of control, which will help them feel less pressured by your business and sales approach. Your customers want to know that they have the power to make their own decisions. Your job is to design and provide tools that aid in this process. This includes making it easy for customers to manage their own email subscription options and creating useful content across multiple platforms where they can find out information at their leisure and discretion. Always provide a way for customers to know that you are available when they need you, and make it easy for them to do so. By being transparent, relieving pressure and providing helpful information, your customers will trust you more and remember you as a go-to source when they need information.

These are just a few ways you can create the ultimate customer experience. It cannot be stated enough how important customer service is to your business. By providing value for your customers across all platforms, you will generate more leads, retain customers and build brand equity, which will lead your business to success.