Given today’s digital landscape, a great customer experience (CX) has become so vital for IT Service providers that it’s virtually a make-or-break requirement. By being committed to managing CX effectively, these firms can steer a strategic path towards success, trust, credibility, and growth.
The Stakes Are High
The game of delivering impeccable IT services is rapidly changing. The customer experience (CX) used to be a “nice to have”, but it’s shifted to a mission-critical component of the whole operations landscape. Ensuring that a strategic roadmap includes CX at its core isn’t a matter of choice for IT firms – it’s an absolute necessity.
Amplifying Your CX and Reaping the Rewards
Bringing this to life looks like fully tuning into CX management — and it means making certain that you’re excellent at capturing customer experience successes at every possible interaction. This includes crafting useful content, managing feedback, and, most importantly, infusing customer insights into operations.
Facing up to the complexity of total CX management might feel like a tall order, but its value far outweighs the challenge. A standout CX equates to building customer loyalty and garnering positive referrals. And remember, while 16% of customers might not tell you about their service issue, 74% will complain about it to others.
A Customer Service Experience report by Gartner confirms that enhancing service experiences drives retention and growth. In fact, 86% of customers are likely to spend more money after receiving value-enhanced services, and a striking 97% will share their experience.
Why Should Your Firm Invest in CX in 2024?
- Trust and Credibility | Browsing the internet has become second nature to most clients. With an impressive and well-curated online presence, your firm sends a message of professionalism and reliability that helps build a strong trust foundation with potential clients.
- Competitive Edge | In a highly competitive landscape, a robust online reputation, symbolizing quality service and positive customer experiences, can set your firm apart from others. It ensures you’re the first one clients think of when they require the services you offer.
- Business Growth | An impressive online presence, coupled with rave reviews and positive testimonials, attracts more prospects leading to business expansion.
- Recurring Business | Having an excellent customer experience isn’t just about flashy marketing efforts. It’s about living up to the promises you make to your clients. When you consistently deliver remarkable service, they’ll become loyal customers, ensuring a consistent stream of business.
Key Strategies to Enhance CX
- Understand and Set Goals with Customers | Every customer comes with unique needs and expectations. It’s important for your IT firm to not only listen and understand but also to tailor your services accordingly. Treat each customer as a partner with shared goals to build a long-lasting business relationship.
- Prioritize Security and Privacy | Given the rising concerns of data breaches, it’s crucial to assure clients that their information is safe with you. Display your compliance with international security standards such as GDPR or HIPAA prominently.
- Offer Self-Service and Automation | As technology evolves, the act of empowering customers to resolve their common problems has become more accessible. By offering self-service options like FAQs, automated responses and chatbots, you not only provide instant solutions but also help in reducing the workload of your customer service team.
- Provide Proactive Education and Support | Educating your customers about how to make the most out of your solutions and services you offer, proves valuable. Regularly update your customers about new features, common issues and how to resolve them.
Why is NPS Uniquely Useful?
The Net Promoter Score® (NPS) is a great gauge of a company’s CX efforts. The NPS was at an all-time high for the IT Services industry in 2022 since ClearlyRated first measured industry satisfaction in 2011. For reference as you review the numbers, keep in mind that leading B2C companies including Starbucks and USAA, have a 77% and a 75% NPS, respectively. Although the IT industry’s NPS isn’t as strong as its B2C cousins, it has still dramatically increased since ClearlyRated first started measuring NPS in 2011.
- 2023 IT Services NPS benchmark = 42%
- -2 points YOY
- +4 since 2020
- +39 since its low in 2011
|Look into Insights on 2023 Rankings | NPS® Benchmarks for the IT Services Industry
Building on Solid CX Foundations
For IT service providers to ensure they stay on the ball, they need to boot out the manual mode and bring on proactive CX management. This shift includes using customer insights to gain an online reputation, drive new business, transition from detecting and evaluating customer experience issues, and begin refining the CX from the ground up.
CX Maturity
Managing CX effectively means understanding customer buying behavior, a factor that has grown in importance given that 73% of customers now consider CX as the ultimate decision-maker according to PwC. It involves evolving from rigid, annual surveys to continuous, real-time feedback. This evolving approach enables action in the now and allows for predicting future customer needs, ensuring satisfied customers and ongoing business. Migrating to a customer-focused management style is more than worth the effort – it’s a real game-changer.
Watch our On Demand webiar – Inside the Data: Highlights from our latest IT Services Industry Benchmark Study
