5 Ways Customer Satisfaction Can Drive Sales for Xerox Channel Partners

Note: This article was filed by a paid contributor to Xerox Corporation.

In the past year, fifty-two percent of consumers switched providers due to poor customer service. This can be good or bad for Xerox Channel Partners. On the one hand, there’s business to gain when competitors fail. On the other hand, it’s more important than ever to develop strategies that drive customer satisfaction.

While most of us recognize this dynamic, many still haven’t made customer satisfaction a priority. Why? Because they underestimate the significant role it plays in retention and associated growth opportunities. For example, did you know that in-person or online word-of-mouth referrals are primary factors in twenty to fifty percent of all purchasing decisions?

Let customer satisfaction drive your business growth with these winning strategies:

1. Measure the quality of customer satisfaction.

Achieving top-notch customer satisfaction is challenging if you don’t know where you stand. Industry-standard measurement protocols like Net Promoter Score (NPS) can help you establish a benchmark and it’s easy to implement.

To calculate NPS:

1. Survey customers with one question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [Xerox channel partner] to a friend or colleague (10 being the most likely)?
2. Divide survey responses into Detractors (0-6), Passives (7-8) and Promoters (9-10).
3. Calculate the sum of the total responses from each group.
4. Divide each group by the total number of respondents to calculate the percentage of Detractors, Passives and Promoters.
5. Take the percentage of Promoters and subtract the percentage of Detractors. For example, 70% Promoters minus 20% Detractors equals 50%. NPS is represented as an integer so the score is 50.

If your NPS score is zero or below, customer satisfaction needs improvement. Higher NPS scores indicate you’re making great strides.

2. Build consistency through a customer satisfaction playbook.

Building trust with customers requires consistent interactions across your business. To make certain employees are following the same set of principles when providing service, design a playbook that outlines the rules of engagement for customer-facing employees.

Document and articulate the details listed below and provide training:

• Brand voice and messaging
• Boundaries with do’s and don’ts
• Interaction scripts
• Social media policies for engaging with customers
• Service level agreements
• Internal customer service processes
• Go-to resources with contact information

3. Empower employees.

Empower employees to ensure customers are satisfied without requiring them to escalate issues to management. Of course, defining internal rules and boundaries is vital, but this strategy delights customers because their issues are resolved in a timely manner. It also builds employee confidence and trust, which creates a positive company culture.

4. Offer loyalty programs.

Offering rewards to loyal customers makes them feel appreciated and keeps them coming back. By creating loyalty programs where customers earn and redeem points for music, movies, gift certificates and more, you have an easy in to communicate to customers and ensure their repeat business.

5.  Adopt a customer-first policy.

A customer-first policy is a core value that many business owners wish to adopt and for good reason. However, it can be challenging to understand how to build your reputation on top-notch customer service. Xerox Platinum Partner, Advanced UK implemented a winning strategy and shared secrets to their success.

Never underestimate the power of positive customer satisfaction and how it affects your bottom line. Focus on creating consistent, helpful experiences and you’ll earn new business from your competitor’s lost fifty-two percent.

Now that you know to improve your customers’ experience, how do you benchmark it? Learn how to measure customer loyalty in this article.

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