In today’s competitive marketplace, startups have some significant advantages over large corporations. They’re able to adopt a more fluid approach to strategy and are agile enough to make changes quickly.
That said, there are still many lessons you can learn from these giants. In this article, the https://supportyourapp.com/24-7-call-center/ team explains where you should take a leaf out of big business’s playbook.
Prioritize Customer Satisfaction
Ask the CEO of any Fortune 500 company about what makes businesses successful, and they’ll surprise you. Instead of listing innovation as a leading factor, they’ll start with customer satisfaction.
The reason is simple, you can only sustain your competitive advantage with an innovative product for so long. To maintain sustainable sales, you need the right support structure in place when the novelty wears off.
By adopting a customer-centric approach from day one, you give yourself an edge. You must be wary of being so laser-focused on product development and market disruption that you overlook the critical aspect of building a deep understanding of your target audience.
By prioritizing customer feedback and actively seeking input, you can refine your offerings to exceed customer expectations.
Deliver Outstanding Support
Big corporations take great pains to create seamless customer experiences across various touchpoints. From online interactions to in-store visits, they ensure a consistent and positive experience.
You can emulate this by integrating your customer service efforts into every aspect of your business. This means providing excellent support not only through traditional channels like email and phone but also leveraging social media and other emerging platforms to engage with customers where they are most active.
Not sure you have the capacity? Take another tip from big business and consider outsourcing support. Doing so allows you access to the necessary skills and instant scalability for a reasonable price.
Build Great Communication Channels
Whether you choose to outsource or not, you must build communication channels that your clients find convenient. Where do they hang out online? Do they prefer to use social media or to contact you telephonically?
You might not have a huge communications budget, but you can augment your capabilities with smart solutions like chatbots and outsourcing. The end goal is to make the communication process as frictionless as possible to improve customer satisfaction.
Offer Proactive Service
It’s taken a while for large companies to learn that it’s as important to retain clients as it is to gather new ones. Today, they’re realizing they need to focus on proactive service rather than reactive service to reduce churn.
Here you have a significant advantage because you’re able to reach out to your client base more easily. The idea here is to build a relationship with your client. Identify potential issues before the customer does and contact them proactively with a solution.
For example, if you sell software and you see a client only uses a quarter of the features, you reach out to chat. The goal isn’t to sell more to them but rather to ensure they’re aware of the features and understand how to use them.
You can instill confidence in your customers by adopting a proactive approach, whether through regular updates, educational content, or anticipating common pain points and addressing them preemptively. This not only strengthens the customer relationship but also helps build a positive brand image.
It also stops your customers from thinking that your product is lacking and moving on to a different provider.
Create a Service-First Culture
Building a customer-centric culture is vital for startups aiming to learn from big corporations. Large companies often prioritize customer service as a core value, ingrained in their organizational culture.
Startups can emulate this by fostering a company-wide commitment to putting customers first. Having every team member buy into this concept from the start creates a culture that many large companies will envy.
Be Aware of New Technologies
You should recognize the impact of technology on customer service. Big corporations leverage advanced CRM systems, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to enhance customer interactions. You can benefit from these technological advancements by integrating them into their operations, streamlining processes, and gaining valuable insights into customer behavior.
Conclusion
Large corporations often fear the easy adaptability that helps startups to prosper. By engendering a culture of delivering outstanding customer service from the beginning, you will differentiate your brand and this should help you achieve sustainable growth.
