Why Customer Satisfaction Matters Now More Than Ever
by Hannah Jones
Personal Assistant & Marketing Coordinator
The Customer Experience Advantage
Explore David Avrin's analysis of customer satisfaction trends in 2023 and beyond.
One of my favorite quotes from my boss David Avrin, CSP, is
"You have to conduct business today as if every one of your customers or clients is armed with a video camera. Because they are."
David Avrin, The Morning Huddle
And it's true. Never before have we seen a culture of tech that empowers every single customer experience to have viral potential (depending, of course, on its entertainment or shock value). There are undoubtedly unethical companies that take advantage of their customers and have gotten their due from the wrath of the internet, and there are almost certainly innocent misunderstandings that have been blown completely out of proportion. Whether or not this is an overall positive development for business (and society) is not for me to muse upon. I'm simply here to echo David's message; it's happening, and you have to be prepared.
Customer Satisfaction Trends in 2023
"I think we are all a little voyeuristic. Our ears tend to perk up when we hear a couple arguing, or witness an encounter between an unhappy customer and a business owner, clerk or waitress. Perhaps we just want to see if things are going to escalate, or if we might be needed to help break up a fight
What I find fascinating is that often, our impression of how our own experience transpired is impacted by how we feel others were treated during our own customer journey."
David Avrin, The Morning Huddle
In 2023, your customer is a voyeur. Their experience with your business no longer exists in a vacuum. Now, it joins a complex ecosystem of word-of-mouth, online reviews, brand identity, etc. Every customer has the potential to become your next adoring fan, providing free marketing with their enthusiasm to their social network, or your downfall.
If your customer is upset and doesn't feel adequately helped by your staff, they will often take to the internet.
"Consumers are weaponizing review sites like Yelp, Glass Door and TripAdvisor. Online communities can conspire to destroy a movie by coming together to post negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — even before the movie comes out! Do these sites have too much power? In a word: Yes. But that’s the reality we have to live with today, and to be honest, our competitors have to deal with it as well."
David Avrin, The Morning Huddle
And while they used to take to the internet just to vent, and to warn other customers away from you, we have officially entered the age in which customers are taking to the internet because they are aware of your vulnerability to bad press and intend to exploit it to receive the customer service you denied them.
Read that again. For many years, we became more and more aware of how important it is to maintain an impeccable online reputation. Now, when a customer feels frustrated by your chat bot, they will take to the internet, not because they want to see your downfall, but because they know it will push them to the front of the customer service line.
All you have to do is search "airline" on Twitter once to see that this is true.
In the age of industries pushing a greater percentage of customer complaints to AI chatbots and frustrating automated phone services, we want to speak to real people. And we know where the real people work; in your marketing department.
This is the greatest trend in customer satisfaction in 2023. If you do not give us what we want, we will figure out how to get it. If you sacrifice our experience to pad your bottom line, we will get back at you for it.
"We can work harder to give them a more positive experience, and mitigate the negative ones. We can solve their problems, placate their concerns and fix what it’s broken…before they go rogue on us. We can accommodate their special requests, bend our policies and even fall on our sword when needed to de-escalate a situation gone wrong.
Does this mean we can solve every problem or make everyone happy? Of course not, but acknowledging that doesn’t absolve us of the obligation to do what we can for those situations we can handle better."
David Avrin, The Morning Huddle