When it comes to public perception of your brand, brand image is key. Your brand image is one of the main factors which contribute to how well your business is performing. If you plan on boosting your consumer base and becoming a key player in your industry, it’s vital that you focus on building a brand that will leave a lasting first impression for all the right reasons.
Whether your business promotes positive brand image through additional staff training or tailored workwear, there are things that you can do to improve customer experience and retention. Join us as we take a look at the importance of brand image in customer service roles.
1. Brand Image from the customer’s perspective
Studies have found that over 70% of Brits consider a good customer experience as more important than the product itself. Although you should also be prioritising the quality of your products (to reduce returns and negative reviews), you should be constantly reviewing your current customer service methods and continually think of ways that you can improve the overall service.
You should also take care not to neglect the other services that you offer in favour of customer service. According to one study, 80% of businesses already believe that they deliver a superior service to their consumers – but only 8% of shoppers actually agree with this statement.
Almost half of all customers (48%) reported that good customer service means that they are more likely to make additional purchases in the future after their first. Not only that, but if you’re looking to increase your consumer acquisition rates – this is a good avenue to go down. 84% of people make a purchase because of a referral; so if your first impression is worthwhile, it could lead to additional business.
But how do you gain an edge over your competitors?
2. Brand image from a business perspective
Many businesses use uniforms as a way of boosting brand image. You need to ensure that your employees are identifiable to customers and this can only be achieved by designing a uniform that stands out; while catering to each type of individual that works for you (considering religions etc).
The main advantage of uniforms is that employees don’t have to decide what to wear every day and will look smart and easily identifiable. As well as this, uniforms represent your business – so you must design them in the correct way and prioritise employee comfort to ensure you receive the best delivery from them.
Of course, it’s also important to invest in training your staff so that they are able to provide great service to your customer base. This should cover ways that they interact with consumers of all kind (race, religion, disability) and offer the most efficient service possible to show that you’re a reputable brand. On top of this training, you should also make your staff aware of any new products or services that you begin to offer so that they can give customers all of the information that they require.
Your workers are the key to ensuring that your business runs smoothly, but there are many other ways to improve customer experience. Research has suggested that customers will spend up to 13 minutes in a store — so it’s important that you deliver an exceptional service. Queues are notoriously long here in the UK and can be the biggest contributing factor to a customer’s walk-out. To combat this, why not look at queue management software and point of sales service?
Good customer service gives businesses a huge advantage in today’s competitive retail market. Do it right.
