Supercharge customer centricity with appointment booking software

Put simply, a customer centric company is one that places the customer experience at the heart of every decision, development, innovation and action they make.

“By the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator.” 

Customers 2020: A Progress Report by Walker

As the statement above shows, the importance of making the customer the prime focus of your business was already predicted, even before coronavirus.

The pandemic has had the effect of further intensifying that focus, reminding us that customer needs and demands are constantly evolving in response to the conditions around them.

And that’s the key – while placing high importance on the customer is not a new idea, it’s something that changes rapidly and requires business owners to monitor and adapt to, using whatever strategies or technologies are required.

“Customer experience is continually evolving as technology and customer demands change. Just because a company was once customer-centric doesn’t mean it still is in 2021.” 

What Does It Mean To Be Customer-Centric In 2021?

In recent years, personalisation and convenience have come to the fore of customer centric strategies, with many enterprises finding appointment booking software crucial in adapting their services.

Below, we analyse how to prioritise these areas in your business’ customer experience, and how an online booking solution has become an essential tool for service providers to achieve it.

Mobilising customer centricity in your business

I. Personalisation

Personalisation can mean different things to companies across different industries and working at vastly different scales.

However, the commonality is that consumers have come to expect and highly value interactions with an organisation that feel unique, memorable and tailored to their needs and preferences.

“Personalization is at the heart of customer-centricity. When a company is wholly focused on customers, it wants to deliver unique experiences to each person instead of one-size-fits-all solutions.”

What Does It Mean To Be Customer-Centric In 2021?

How personlisation can be achieved using an online booking software:

1. Connect customers to the perfect staff member

For certain services many customers still prefer to receive guidance, support, or treatment from your expert staff.

This builds trust and long-term relationships with your staff and brand, and has a huge impact on customer retention.

“Companies that provide an emotional connection with customers outperform the sales growth of their competitors by 85%”

Forbes.com

Allow customers to book directly with the expert advisers they need, while returning customers can be provided a dedicated link to their preferred staff member from previous sessions.

2. Empower customers to book services on their own terms

Customers select the service and location they want, review all available dates and times, select favourite staff members and pick their preferred format (in-person, phone, online video etc.)

3. Design services tailored to your customers

Use a faultless appointment scheduling system to deliver customers unique, one-to-one experiences with expert staff, in-store product pick-ups or try-before you-buy sessions, launch events, consultations with advisers, online classes, help groups, and much more.

4. Use data to build a powerful customer profile

Use the data gathered from a comprehensive online booking system to build a profile of your customer that can inform how future services are marketed and delivered, as well as target other offers and services that match directly to their profile.

II. Convenience

Alongside personalisation, COVID has also propelled the convenience of your customer journey to the forefront of a successful customer centric strategy.

Before the pandemic, delivering ultimate convenience for all types of customers would have been a ‘nice to have’, but it can now be a major factor not just in the success of your company, but its survival.

“One of the main things customers are looking for in 2021 is convenience. They want to be able to get the information and service they need on their schedules, not on the schedules of the brands they do business with.”

What Does It Mean To Be Customer-Centric In 2021?

For customers juggling home working, family commitments and safety concerns throughout every transaction, making their experience as simple, fast and effective as possible is a game changer.

1. Simple booking from any device

When a customer decides they need your services, let them act on that need immediately, without waiting until they get back to their laptop.

2. Give customers control of their bookings

Once a customer has made a booking, ensure they have the capability to change details the moment they realise they need to.

3. Make it easy to try and buy

From click and collect for retail, to advice by video conference, product launch parties, tailored in-store experiences, drop-in appointments and online conferences – let customers choose which format works for them.

Faultless appointment booking and resource management ensure customers avoid delays, queues and crowds when attending their service.

4. Make booking easier every time

Use automation to learn about returning clients and pre-populate booking forms with the data you have, saving them from repeating the full booking process every time

Get in touch for more detail

We couldn’t talk about personalisation and convenience if we didn’t live it ourselves. Get in touch with our team via the TIMIFY website and they will prepare personalised tips on how our system can bring the key elements of customer centricity into your business.