Turn Spooked Customers into Brand Loyalists with Intelligent Experiences
Unlike the popular 1980s classic, Ghostbusters, customer ghosting is a real nightmare for businesses. Customers aren’t just randomly leaving your brand because Halloween is around the corner. “Ghosting,” or when a customer cuts off all contact, is a classic sign of delivering a lackluster customer experience (CX).
A commissioned study of 480+ CX leaders conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of CSG, found that many organizations have experienced poor customer retention (55%) and high customer churn (43%) as a consequence of poor CX. To build brand loyalty and retain customers, you need powerful customer engagement solutions that will help you avoid spooking customers, and instead deliver spectacular experiences.
The High Cost of Ghosting
If you’re noticing customers are vanishing – you’re not alone. Many industries are losing customers to looming threats—digitally native disruptors. Cable and satellite TV customers are switching to streaming services; providers of which have recently outpaced cable in total TV consumption for the first time ever. Patients don’t show up for medical appointments; opting to seek care advice from Google and virtual providers. Online shoppers abandon their carts to purchase items from other companies who offer relevant discounts at the right moment. Banking customers are quick to pull out a different credit card if they do not receive a real-time fraud alert to unlock their current card.
Existing customers are valuable and losing them is costly. The success rate of selling to a current customer is 60-70%, versus 5-20% when selling to a new customer. Not to mention acquiring a new customer is five times as expensive as retaining an existing one.
What Makes Customers Vanish?
Paranormal customer activity can be observed after a single cursed interaction. According to a PwC survey, 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one negative experience. With CX the key competitive differentiator, leaders often wonder “What makes customers leave?”
Spooking—instead of spoiling—customers. Customers expect prompt, personalized communications from brands who understand their needs. They don’t want to feel like just a number. Avoid these blunders:
- Poor timing. Trying to upsell while a customer is navigating a service problem (and is at high risk of churning) will likely lead to more frustration, not success.
- Complicated processes. If you make it difficult for customers to make an appointment, return an item, or get answers to their questions, customers will find another company.
Customer data covered in cobwebs and buried in disjointed channels. Many organizations add new systems/communication channels without considering how they integrate with existing ones. This makes it difficult—if not impossible—to deliver a true omnichannel experience. You wind up sending an email coupon for an item the customer bought in the store yesterday.
What Does It Take To Bust The Ghosters?
Delivering superior CX doesn’t require a team of parapsychologists or a ghost trap, but you do need the right high-tech capabilities:
- Show customers you know them. You need a robust customer data platform (CDP). Gathering information about your customers’ preferences, needs, and habits/behaviors allows you to deliver timely, personalized messages in each customer’s preferred communication channel.
- Communicate proactively. If you don’t have a crystal ball to anticipate customers’ needs and behaviors, journey analytics is the answer. Journey analytics uses artificial intelligence to analyze customer data, predict customers’ needs and determine what their next best action should be. Instead of casting a spell, you then guide customers toward the desired behavior.
- Connect with customers when and where it matters most. Journey orchestration allows you to connect with customers in the moment, at any time, on their preferred channel to provide seamless, positive experiences across onboarding, product/service usage, and customer support.
RELATED eBook: Don’t Let Customers Ghost Your Brand
Ready to Save Your CX World?
Leverage CSG Xponent Ignite as your organization’s ghostbuster and tech stack weapon to supercharge your customer experience strategy. Xponent Ignite provides industry-specific, pre-built customer journeys for the telecommunications, financial services, retail, and healthcare industries. Personalizing and automating the most important customer touchpoints improves CX while leading to faster ROI.
Talk to sales today and learn how this solution will leave you saying, “I ain’t afraid of no ghost!”
Ghostbusters is a trademark of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. CSG and this blog/website are in no way affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. or Ghost Corps, Inc.
