https://cms.lifeintelligencegroup.com/blog/why-customers-should-be-your-top-priority/

A recent study from CB Insights found that seventy percent of start-up tech companies fail. How did this happen? 

Although there are so many reasons why these companies shutter, the analysts noted that 9 of the top 20 reasons for start-up failures were customer-related: not meeting customers’ demands or even ignoring them.

As defined by Business Dictionary, a customer is “a party that receives or consumes products and has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers”. Customers can jump from one brand to another or from one company to another. They have all this freedom in the world. But what can make them really stay with a company? It’s when they know that they are being heard, understood, and prioritised.  

Loyal Customers Are Crucial 

“Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart-the centre of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it-and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.” – Maurice Franks

Did you know that loyal customers are worth 10x as much as their first purchase? 

Think of your customers like your best assets, your indestructible foundation. Without them, a company would be nothing! Loyal customers are crucial to the success of any business, big or small.

If you want your customers to repurchase again and again for over a long period of time, give them what they want and make them feel appreciated. And how do you do this? Make sure you care about them, you address their needs, and you deliver your promises.

According to Microsoft, 96% of consumers worldwide say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand. Also, some research says that acquiring a new customer is 6 to 7 times more expensive than it is to keep an existing one. So if you want to obtain lifetime customers, do all your best to look after them and don’t get tired in satisfying their needs.

Poor Customer Service Can Negatively Impact the Business 

“Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution.” – Rick Tate

First impression lasts. This is absolutely true with customers who had previous good or bad experiences with a certain product or company. Customer service experiences have a long-lasting effect, and the more negative the experience is, the longer it will stay to a person’s memory and share the story with other people. 

So, if you think poor customer service won’t greatly affect your business, think again! Here are some customer service statistics you can’t afford to ignore:

  • Customers with past good experiences are 3.5x more likely to repurchase and 5x more likely to recommend the company to other people than if they have previous bad experiences. (Temkin, 2018)
  • 95% of customers tell their friends or relatives about a past negative experience and 87% share positive experiences. (Zendesk, 2013)
  • 89% of consumers switch to a competitor because of a poor customer service experience.  (Harris Interactive)
  • Globally, 59% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company following a poor customer service experience. (Microsoft, 2017)

With the information above, it’s easy to see why customer service experience can make or break your business. With an amazing experience, customers will stick with you no matter what. But with a poor one, you can lose them in a snap of a finger. 

Difficult Customers Hones Customer Service Skills

In business, encountering a problematic customer can happen anytime. Every customer is different, and this is expected. Some are understanding while others are just, let’s face it, rude and very hard to please.  

Whether the customer is angry or rude, the company should not ignore them.  Solve the issue in a timely and appropriate manner to avoid damaging backlash. Know that unhappy customers can spread negative reviews in just one click of the mouse and damage the company’s reputation.

The good news is that company owners and leaders can take advantage of the situation and use it as an inspiration to improve their customer service department. As Bill Gates said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” 

Customer Satisfaction is a Competitive Advantage

Recent surveys of top managers show that customer satisfaction is the number one priority, with 89% of company leaders seeing customer experience as a key competitive differentiator. Customer Expert Prof. Steven Van Belleghem noted that business leaders must view customer relationships as a fundamental factor in their company’s future success. 

According to the management consulting firm CX Solutions, the formula for achieving customer satisfaction is:

Doing the job right the first time + Effective Customer Service = Satisfaction

Doing the job right the first time is only achievable when you know what your customers want in the first place. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by creating a detailed buyer persona. A persona is a fictional representation of your ideal target buyer, which includes thorough research, online surveys and customer interviews. This helps you analyse what your customers are looking for in your product/company and what areas need to be improved. 

To learn more about creating your Buyer Persona, READ: Why Personas Are Important to Your Products

Effective Customer Service results from addressing customers’ needs and providing them with useful information or recommendations for new products and services. CX Solutions added that once this is achieved, it can have a huge impact on the customer’s overall service experience. 

When these two factors are successfully combined and implemented, you can expect more new customers to come as old ones continue to stick around. Your support team is happy. Customers are happy. Everything is doing well.

Strengthening Customer Relationships is Key to a Successful Business

Customer-centric companies stand out in competitive industries. Do you know why? It’s because they go above and beyond to identify and fulfill the needs of their customers with the products and services they offer. They excel in providing great customer care and service. For these companies, customers are the heart and soul of their business. This isn’t part of a strategy, it’s a culture. 

Your business can also do the same!

If you want to improve your customer care knowledge, we at Life Intelligence Group can help. We use advanced Agile techniques to help you identify the best strategies to achieve great customer experience and satisfaction. Visit our websitehttps://www.lifeintelligencegroup.com/ to learn more!

Six Proven Tips to Boost Your Team Collaboration

A team is not a team without collaboration, and a team without collaboration is nearing dysfunction. Sure, bringing a group into one can be difficult. Each person in your team thinks and act differently. But when there is a need to collaborate, everyone must think and act as one.

In this article, we have compiled some of the best ways to increase team collaboration to help leaders and members escape a difficult situation in times that they’re struggling to achieve unity.  

1: Improve communication constantly

Communication is undeniably a major key to effective team collaboration. Poor communication can create an invisible thread of issues that will eventually show up and impede the performing team. Team communication can be improved by:

  • Making sure that each team member has a clear understanding of their responsibilities and what to expect from them.
  • Using systems or methods that can help team members communicate within. Each project may need a different way of communicating with the team. It’s best to use the form of communication that works for everyone. 

2: Empower the strengths of your members

Every member of your team has its own strengths and weaknesses. They use different techniques and approach to accomplish their goals. While it’s important to determine their weak points, it’s more crucial to leverage their strengths. Doing this will not only improve communication but also motivate the members to perform better and do their best every time.

3: Establish individual and team goals

Creating goals are not only beneficial for your personal growth but also for your team. Launching goals will create a path of clarity and cohesion by removing barriers and promoting a positive feeling of accomplishment. It is also important that these goals will be reviewed quarterly, to celebrate those goals that have been achieved and recognise those that need improvements.

improve team collaboration - life intelligence group

4: Evaluate problems effectively

If something is not working, leaders must take a holistic approach to see the root cause of the problem. It could be personal issues, competitiveness or other related reasons. Leaders need to be fair and straightforward, and the best way to do this is to survey your team and get their own opinions to make them feel that they are heard and understood.

5: Inspire innovation

Don’t let stagnation kill the fire within your team. Allow them to grow and keep their excitement alive. Leaders can do this by encouraging brainstorming or hosting innovation events, in which each member’s ideas can be heard and acknowledged in a non-judgmental setting. This fun activity will surely inspire the team to level up their creativity and performance at work.

6: Use an effective task management system

Nowadays, technology plays a crucial role in improving team collaboration. With an effective task management system available, your team can easily communicate with each other as well as organise and manage their tasks efficiently, wherever they may go. An effective task management tool has the ability to improve your team’s collaboration and productivity level significantly. By choosing the right system for your team, you can be sure that your team stays organised and well-disciplined.

These strategies have worked for us, and we’re hoping it would work for your team too! Whatever style suits your awesome team, one thing is for sure – a team that collaborates effectively, accomplishes their goals effortlessly.  

Does Your Team Need a Productivity Boost?

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. – Andrew Carnegie

At Life Intelligence Group, we believe in the importance of collaboration and how it can bring impact to organisations. We believe that collaboration is more than just communication and interaction.

If your team is struggling to collaborate or in need of a powerful productivity boost, we can help!

Find out how our world-class Agile solutions can help you and your team create a stress-free workplace and foster productivity to achieve successful team collaboration. Visit https://www.lifeintelligencegroup.com/ to learn more!

Why Competition is Good for You and for the Business

Competition is human nature and is part of our daily lives. It can occur anytime and anywhere – at school, in your workplace, across companies or even within your family.

But is competition beneficial? The answer is yes! Healthy competition has many benefits. It motivates the person to develop their personal and professional skills. Being competitive also pushes companies to think out of the box and create ground-breaking products.

Competition encourages innovation, creativity, goal-setting, and purposeful living. But in what ways? Read on to find out more about the amazing benefits of being competitive in a professional and reasonable way. 

Competition is Good for You

Inspires Goal-setting

In sports, setting goals is a powerful motivator in an athlete’s performance. Goals help players and teams to identify what strategies they need to win the game against their opponents.  If you are aspiring to pass all your examinations, wanting to be an employee of the month or aiming to be one of the most recommended stores in your area, the first thing you need to do is to set personal goals. From here, you can start planning the necessary steps to help you hit your objectives. 

Promotes Continuous Learning

Competition encourages you to never settle for less. When you are good at something and you decided to stop learning, you will no longer find the motivation to continue what you have started.  If you want to hone your skills and be an expert in a certain field such as in writing, public speaking or painting, then find ways to achieve this. You can enroll in workshops, read books, do thorough research online, or talk to experts. Whatever your passion is, never stop learning and always be hungry for knowledge. This is one of the characteristics of having a Growth Mindset. 

Gives you a Sense of Purpose

Competition shakes off an aimless and boring life by giving you a sense of purpose. You work hard for something because you know you will earn something great at the end – this is the purpose. You wake up each day with your objectives in mind and the energy to strive for the best. When you focus on your tasks and objectives, you know that your efforts are not wasted. You know that your contribution to the company matters and that your abilities make you an integral part of the team. Every step closer to fulfilling your purpose will make you feel accomplished, alive and happy.

Competition is Good for the Business

Leads to Innovation

Your competitor is a great reminder that you are not the only business existing. There could be hundreds of establishments out there with the same industry as yours. If you are not competitive and strategic enough, you could potentially lose your prospects. To stay ahead of the game, you need to be innovative. Innovation is key to a successful business. 

Know that customers are always looking for products and services that are worth their time, money and effort. Companies compete to meet these qualifications by providing customers with better options, reasonable prices, and high-quality items. A healthy competition will help you to become more creative and generate ideas that will distinguish your products from your competitors.

It is much harder to acquire a new customer than to keep your existing customers. So innovate to show that you are a market leader and your existing customer will give you 10 times more.   

Improves Customer Service

In every business, the goal is to attract and retain customers. No customers, no business. And no matter how beautiful your ads are or the products you’re selling, if you have poor customer service, you might lose your clients. This can truly hurt your entire business. Always remember that you are not just competing for sales but also for your loyal customers. Aside from offering better quality products, be mindful of providing your customers with great experience because. This can be your edge. 

Avoids Complacency

Competition is like the fuel that keeps the car engine running. It makes people and companies productive, driven, goal-oriented and focused. Because of the tight competition in the business industry, companies are compelled to level up their customer service and to continue making useful products. They should innovate more for continuous improvement and unique ideas. When companies are committed to healthy competition, they are also encouraging their employees to go for the extra mile and put their best foot forward.

Conclusion

Once in our life, we experience competing with other people, and this is totally fine. We just have to understand that if we commit to healthy competition, we become a better version of ourselves. We tend to realise our weaknesses and our strengths, but most of all we got to discover what other amazing things we can actually do but never expected to. Competition is part of humanity and in every industry. If ever you lose the game, remember that it’s just a competition. Embrace the lessons learned and use them for your next challenge.

Stay at the top of your game! Learn more about the advantages of healthy competition and how it can help you become a smarter, productive person at work and in life. Contact Life Intelligence Group today! Visit our websitehttps://lifeintelligencegroup.com/ for more info.