Avoiding Poor Customer Experiences: Prioritizing Customer Relationships

The Avtex Digital Roundtable on The Cost of Bad Customer Experience explores the primary indicators of poor CX and the impact they can have on your business. The panel includes Kurt Schroeder, Avtex Chief Experience Officer, and Dan Gingiss, a customer experience keynote speaker, consultant, author, and podcaster. During the roundtable, Kurt and Dan examine where the CX focus of brands should be, what to do with a problem once you find it and why you should never make assumptions about the impact of your CX. Kurt and Dan also discuss the intricacies of a brand's relationship with CX and why your customers' input is vital to the success of your CX strategy.

Within this blog, we've highlighted some key takeaways from Kurt and Dan's conversation – to learn more, view the full on-demand version of the roundtable.

Despite our best efforts to create strong relationships, no company is immune to negative reviews from customers who are unhappy with a recent interaction or their overall experience with the brand. But how can a company tell if a customer relationship is struggling?

Sometimes taking a deeper look at a customer’s behaviors will reveal a lot about the future of that relationship.

Focus your Efforts

When identifying customer relationships that are stressed or disengaged, it is essential to establish how to move forward with those customers. Determine if the customer relationship can be saved, and the time and effort you need to engage when trying to win them back. This helps you validate the extent of your efforts when going through that process and helps you find important focus areas. Focus on restoring your relationship with customers who remain engaged with your brand.

Identifying Negative Customer Personas

It is not always easy to identify customers who are unhappy with your organization. In most cases, customers simply quit doing business with a brand they are unhappy with.

Your customers’ actions are the best indicator of their current feelings toward your brand. Paying close attention to these actions can help you gauge the current state of individual customer relationships. A customer’s actions may also shed light on the possibility of recovering from past negative experiences.

The most common types of negative customer personas include:

• Disconnected but vocal: Customers that are feeling like they are undervalued or as if the problems they are facing are not being looked at pose a risk, but the relationship can likely be saved. When customers are openly vocal about situations that are an issue for them but continue to do business with you, it is likely they are simply looking for a better relationship with your brand. Their expectations for their experience are different than what they are currently receiving. Meeting their expectations can quickly turn a negative view of your brand into a positive one.
• Stressed but vocal: Customers that are experiencing conflict or misalignment with the solutions they are looking for from your company may require more time and effort to alleviate. These customers may be looking for something your company can't provide, or have differing expectations for the outcome of the relationship. Their final goal for their partnership with your brand may be lost with miscommunication. Redeeming a relationship with this type of customer may require personalized outreach and clear communication.
• Disengaged and silent: A customer that is both disengaged from your brand and not saying anything about it are likely already looking for other companies to address their needs. In this case, the customer isn’t putting in the time required to find a solution and connect with your brand to establish a better working relationship. Restoring a positive relationship with a disengaged and silent customer can be difficult. This type of customer might require some direction or discussion on what comes next for their relationship with your business. Alternatively, you may choose to focus your efforts on building relationships with customers who are engaging with your brand.

Zoning in on the emotional aspects of customer satisfaction will ultimately change your ability to win a customer back after a negative experience and prevent other customers from leaving the second they have a bad experience.

Learn more about The Cost of Bad Customer Experience by viewing the on-demand version of the Avtex Digital Roundtable with Kurt Schroeder and Dan Gingiss.