The ongoing boycott of affiliated products has opened up a promising business opportunity for MSME entrepreneurs. Many people are turning to local products as a substitute. If handled seriously and able to create customer satisfaction, this opportunity could be the momentum to elevate your business to the next level, Labamu Friends!
After all, what business owner doesn’t want their business to be sustainable and continue to generate long-term profits? That’s why customer satisfaction is crucial.
So, in this article, you’ll learn about the importance of creating customer satisfaction and strategies to achieve it. Read on!
Understanding Customer Satisfaction
In the world of marketing, we use the term customer satisfaction to evaluate the consumer experience. It measures how well a product and/or service meets customer expectations. The principle is that:
- Expectations > reality, then customers feel disappointed
- Expectation = reality, then customers feel satisfied
- <Expectations reality, then customers feel very satisfied (delightful)
This information is very important for MSME owners to know because it can help them navigate the best ways to improve the products and services they provide so that their consumers feel satisfied and loyal.
Pentingnya Menciptakan Kepuasan Pelanggan
Satisfied customers will stay and return without hesitation. That’s why customer satisfaction for MSMEs is key to the growth and development of your business. Here’s why.
1. Minimize Customer Churn
Customer churn is when customers stop purchasing your product after their first or subsequent purchase. This is very detrimental to your business because you have to find new customers.
2. Get Positive Reviews for Free
Dissatisfied customers can complain and leave negative reviews online. It’s even worse if they start comparing and recommending competitors’ products over yours.
Well, by increasing customer satisfaction, you can not only avoid this, but you can also get positive feedback that can attract new customers.
3. Improve Reputation
MSMEs that are able to create customer satisfaction will gain a good reputation.
Even if it doesn’t go viral online, positive word-of-mouth reviews can attract new customers and enhance your brand image. They can even encourage you to develop new products that the market is looking for.
4. Emphasize Differences with Competitors
Kualitas dan harga boleh jadi sama, tapi kepuasan pelangganlah yang akhirnya menentukan.
This is confirmed by a survey which states that customers will remain loyal to choosing the same provider when they consistently provide a satisfying experience.
5. Reduce Costs
Research shows that it costs five times more to attract new customers than to retain existing customers.
Moreover, providing customer support to satisfied customers is much less effortful than handling customer complaints. Ultimately, this can reduce operational costs.
Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction
There are many elements that directly and indirectly contribute to customer satisfaction, including:
- Product quality
- Hospitality
- Price and value match
- Experience when shopping
- etc
These factors encompass a wide range of considerations that customers evaluate when interacting with your business. Therefore, it’s crucial for MSMEs to pay attention to these details to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
Strategies to Increase Customer Satisfaction
It’s crucial for MSMEs to gain detailed information and insight into what customers want. While it may not be 100% possible, you can tailor your products/services to meet or even exceed customer expectations.
Here are some strategies that can be implemented.
1. Understand Customer Expectations
All business owners must understand that customer expectations can change. Striving to exceed customer expectations may sound impressive, but you shouldn’t promise to “always exceed expectations,” as this strategy is unsustainable.
You must be able to satisfy customers but still with realistic goals.
2. Maintaining Quality is Important
A strategy to increase customer satisfaction cannot always be achieved by improving quality, if the mindset remains that quality equals price. This approach risks shifting market segments and targets, necessitating adjustments in various other aspects.
Instead, you can consider the concept of “increasing value while maintaining quality”.
3. Provide Training to the Team
Your team is the first to respond when a customer experiences a problem. In their hands, loyal customers can become even more loyal or even churn.
Therefore, train your frontline personnel as well as possible to be ready to resolve various customer questions and issues. Instill in them the importance of their role as first responders.
4. Take advantage of social media
Besides making it easier for customers to “find” you, social media can help you monitor and resolve customer issues proactively and more quickly.
With social media, you no longer have to wait for customers to leave negative reviews. Instead, encourage them to provide feedback so you can use it to evaluate your experience and improve customer satisfaction.
5. Read and Appreciate Customer Reviews
When customer reviews come in, read their feedback carefully. Whether they’re good or bad, they provide valuable information for the sustainability of your business.
Then, don’t just read them, respond to their reviews with appreciation or necessary corrective actions.
In the eyes of customers, companies that take customer complaints seriously will automatically rise to the “cool” level, beating their competitors. Hmm… there’s real research behind this, Labamu Friends!
6. Use a Personal Approach
One of the advantages of running an MSME is closer relationships with your customers. You can leverage this advantage to personalize the customer experience and increase customer satisfaction.
7. Simplify the Process
One of the reasons customers abandon your product is because the process is too complicated. This can leave them frustrated, ignored, and simply a waste of time.
So, simplifying processes and ensuring easy access for customers to the products/services you offer should be a key consideration, both online and offline.
When it comes to simplifying processes and making transactions easier, you don’t need to worry anymore. Leave it all to the Labamu app!
As a transaction and financial recording application, Labamu offers a variety of features needed by MSME owners and operators to optimize digital sales and payment processes. You can also choose the features based on your needs! Click here for more help and information!
So, that’s all the explanation about customer satisfaction. I hope this information is useful and makes your business even more successful, successful, successful!
