Without customer experience monitoring, you won’t know if your efforts to keep consumers happy are on target. But not all customer experience metrics are considered equal. If you’re missing the data that matters most, it’s as good as not monitoring at all.
Here are some customer experience monitoring mistakes to avoid:
Not monitoring in real-time
If the only information you gather helps you improve your offerings “next time” you’re giving other brands an advantage. You need to know how consumers feel about your customer experience right now – so you can work to salvage this experience if something’s gone wrong. Otherwise they may not give you a second chance.
At the same time, you want to know what you’re getting right so you can build on that momentum. Who’s talking about how awesome your brand is, and how can you incentivize them to get the word out to their followers? All of this needs to be acted on in the present, not the past.
Not monitoring on social
Social media isn’t the only place to track your customer experience feedback, BUT it’s not a channel you can ignore either. Consumers want to know they’ve been heard, which means there needs to be a dialogue – and most offline options don’t allow for that.
Think of the surveys you can take on a table-top kiosk when paying your bill at a restaurant. They’re not the easiest to work with, so if consumers take the time to use them at all, they’re probably not going to give you the whole story – even if there was a problem.
Customers also know they’re unlikely to get a reply, or anything else, for their trouble – so there’s not much point in bothering. The same goes for surveys on the back of their receipts. They may have a chance to win a gift card, but the odds aren’t in their favor.
These consumers are more likely to reach out on social channels – where they’ll hopefully hear back from the brand in question. To be sure, they’ll hear from other consumers validating their experience – these are conversations you must know about, lest they go viral.
That’s not to say you should focus on social data to the exclusion of all else. The best approach is one where all data sources are unified, giving you a comprehensive picture of consumer perception of your brand.
Not understanding the breadth of the customer experience
You can’t know what to monitor if you don’t know what matters. With regard to the customer experience, it’s more than you may realize.
Everything – from the way you speak (or don’t) to consumers on social, to the content you offer, to the way your store is laid out, to the friendliness of your sales staff – is part of the customer experience.
Every touch point along the path to purchase, and the follow-up after the fact, should be understood in detail. It’s vitally important you use social media sentiment analysis to know where consumers stand, paying careful attention to emotional extremes.
Addressing those with the strongest negative sentiment is a priority to ensure brand health. But those with the strongest positive sentiment can be enlisted to help with that mission.
Only looking for problems
Speaking of positive emotions, don’t neglect those who praise your brand – even if they aren’t influencers. Those reaching out to compliment or thank your brand also want acknowledgment. If they feel you don’t care or appreciate them, they may move on to your competitors. Be sure you see them and respond.
You also want to know what to keep doing or expanding on, so take this feedback and act accordingly as you move forward with brand initiatives.
Not looking at other brands and their customers
Data about your competitors and their customers is a huge asset on social media – so don’t waste it!
How are your competitors approaching the customer experience? What are their customers saying about it? Whether positive or negative, use that information to refine your own offerings and beat them at their own game.
Monitoring perception of your customer experience is about more than just patting yourself on the back or rooting out problems. It’s an opportunity to excel in all brand endeavors. Think of it as a long-tail strategy, but practice it daily, and you’ll set your brand up for both short-term and long-term rewards.
Want to see our customer experience monitoring tools in action? Reach out to schedule a demo, or join us at NetBase LIVE this October!
Image from Jolene Faber
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