STRATEGIES TO MANAGE CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS 5

» Be Transparent and Honest

» Collect Customer Feedback

» Follow Up

» Prioritize Customer Service

» Cultivate Customer Loyalty personalization is a must. According to the “Intercom Customer Service Trends Report for 2023,” 89% of support leaders cite personalization as a competitive differentiator. To note, teams that offer personalized service are almost twice as likely to report higher customer satisfaction scores, retention and loyalty.

If you follow along with the turns in Moe’s answer, the key is to make sure you have a well-thought-out plan and agenda to bring to the meeting. If it is better for engagement, get off site, which will help avoid distractions in the presentation process. And as you move into your presentation, make sure you don’t forget the most important component of all: listening.

“With everything you do—direct phone calls, emails, links to your website, etc.—you want real feedback,” Moe says. “You need to listen, and when you need to take action and respond, you do it. That is one of the best things about feedback—learning about issues. We often overlook or don’t want to hear about issues, but they can be more important in the long-term than the compliments.”

Moe believes that understanding what your clients don’t love about the process can help you shape your future deliverables, the ways you communicate, and so on. “No one will remember a problem three months from now, but they will remember how you handled or didn’t handle it.”

Get to know them

In any number of LinkedIn posts, you will find Dean Petrulakis out and about engaging with his customers and industry colleagues. The Senior VP of Sales at Lake County Press and self-described CX Disruptor makes a regular habit of taking early morning walks with clients to schmooze and talk shop.

Getting to know his clients is one of the tenets Petrulakis lives by—and one that helps keep the wheels of the Waukegan, Illinois, printer steaming ahead. The strategy involves keeping notes and when appropriate, using the insights to engage and delight his clients. Birthdays. Names of spouses and children. Colleagues. The process is geared to let his customers see them as more than just customers.

“You have to actually care about the people you serve and take an interest in,” Petrulakis says. “It’s all about good old-fashioned conversations. I have not found any other strategy to be as genuine and effective. Set time aside with all of your key customers and ask for their opinions and listen. You might get your next business idea from these conversations.”

There is a caveat, as there always is. While customer satisfaction is crucial for a printer’s long-term success, a satisfied customer still will leave you for a cheaper price. That’s why

Petrulakis says the goal should be to create loyal, ardent fans—ones who will continue to do business with you because they like and trust you.

Dean Petrulakis,

“In today’s world, it’s more paramount than ever to create meaningful relationships and overdeliver on the customer experience,” he says. “We have become more disconnected than ever, and those who are able to authentically connect with their customers, create value at a higher level, and overdeliver every time stand the best chance to win. It’s not enough to have the best quality and fanciest equipment. If you cannot give more in value than you take in payment, you leave yourself vulnerable to losing clients easily today.”

How do you know if the value you provide is meeting your customer’s expectations? Ask. “I have always found the best way is to ask them,” Petrulakis says. “I always do a temperature check with a new customer after the first few projects to see how they feel. With ongoing business, you should check in at least once a year and ask how they are doing. What are you doing well? What could you do better? Ask and listen.”

The strategy is as simple as it is, at times, hard to put into motion. Being able to commit to engage with, sell and continue to provide the guidance your customers need means continuously matching—exceeding— your customers’ expectations.