5 Reasons Why Service Consistency Matters to Customers

One of the most important consideration for customers in choosing a particular brand is consistency in service delivery. A survey conducted by McKinsey & Company across 14 different industries revealed that customer journey is important for customers. The study concluded that pleasing customers with the expected level of quality increases customer satisfaction by 20 percent and it also helps the company increase revenues by more than 15 percent. Moreover, paying attention to customer journey also helps the company lower cost of serving customers by more than 20 percent.

Some of the reasons why customers value high level of consistency are as follow:

Maintaining Quality

Consumers expect the same kind of quality each time they make a purchase or acquire a particular service because most repeat purchases are based on experiences the customers have had with the company in the past. Customers base their expectations on their previous positive experiences, which means it is the company’s responsibility to deliver on the same level of services or beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

Relationship Building

The only way to build long-term relationship with customers is to offer dependable service to them. Numerous companies have been able to create long term relationships with their customers by delivering quality steadily to all of them. Being treated as a valuable customer post sales is as important as being valued pre sale. In fact, to ensure repeat sales and customer loyalty, it is important that interactions with customers are consistent and quality based. A customer’s confidence in the company increases if consistent service quality is maintained, which in turn makes the customer feel valuable.

Reliability

When it comes to technical products and services, reliability is an important factor. Apple has been able to develop its brand name in phones because every product that the company manufactures offers reliability to customers. Consumers must be guaranteed that the products and services being sold to them will live up to their expectation and the product description.

Communication

No matter how many loyalty programs a company offers, it won’t be able to win loyal customers until and unless the company offers consistency in communication. Communication with the business customers’ needs to be effective, to the point and periodic. The only way customers can be expected to invest their money, time and effort into a product or service is through free and open interactions. To be able to successfully communicate at each customer touch point, strategies need to be developed for different areas of communication. These touch points can be appropriately used to strengthen the relationship with the clients and communicate all the relevant information in a timely fashion.

Customer Journey

Businesses should also keep in mind that it is not just the product or service that needs consistency, but the overall customer journey, which includes pre-sale engagement, actual sale and after sales services. The combine total of all these interactions with the company make up the customer journey. Customers who have all the control in the competitive industry are very perceptive and they pay attention to every little detail, which means that the company can’t afford to compromise on any component of customer journey. Customers expect the same level of service quality during each stage of the customer journey. If a company consistently pays attention to detail and offers high quality services, it would result in long term relationships with customers.