The value of customer listening

Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads once said, “The first step in exceeding your customers’ expectations is to know those expectations.”

So why is customer listening important? It enables desired outcomes for both your brand and your customers.

You understand what your consumers want, so you can shape and improve their experience with your brand. Your more informed decisions create happier, more connected customers resulting in increased revenues.

The value of customer listening is infinite. Here are three ways our retail clients have benefited from active listening.

1. Reduced customer churn

   Listening uncovers gaps in your offering. You’ve invested a lot in marketing and have started seeing results as customers convert to your store. Then you realize your efforts are in vain – customers are not returning, when they should be. Increasing churn rates tell the story of unhappy customers. Giving your customers an unfiltered voice immediately after a shopping experience can help you to understand reasons for churn. You’ll learn things you didn’t know, and how to improve on things that are important to them.

2. Increased revenues

   Listening helps you to better understand the customer journey with your brand. You know exactly why customers are not achieving their desired outcomes. Listening retailers identify and remedy their customers’ pain points quickly to deliver a better shopping experience. Satisfied customers will forego a more conveniently located competitor, so they can have another guaranteed experience that satisfies their expectations at your store, online or in person. In fact, retailers that create this customer experience guarantee bring in 5.7 times more revenue.

3. Greater Lifetime Value
   

   Listening provides the insights to improve the experience. Experience-focused businesses see almost 2x higher year over year growth in customer retention, repeat purchase rates and customer lifetime value than other businesses. When you give your customers an opportunity to share their experience, in their own words, they feel heard and empowered. When you act on their feedback, they see that you are listening. They build a personal connection, become brand advocates and are more likely to share with others. In the social media age, listening to your customers gives you a neo-lifetime value based on the multiplier effect of trusted referrals.

RetailListening is an AI-powered conversational engagement solution that understands your customer sentiment. Meaningful conversations allow your customers to talk freely, and share thoughts in their own words, about their experience with your brand. RetailListening’s conversational intelligence capabilities then gives you the actionable insights based on this feedback to develop your customer experience guarantee.

Want to know more?

If you'd like to learn more about our CX expertise, check out our Customer Experience & VOC page or read one of our retail case studies.