It’s pretty obvious that most companies would prefer to have a happier community as opposed to a frustrated, dissatisfied community. But did you know that a happier community is also important for the health of a business?
A recent study by InfoQuest has shown that completely satisfied customers spend 2.6x more than somewhat satisfied customers. Additionally, negative customer experiences tend to spread rapidly through social channels, quickly spreading further negative emotions around your brand. So your company has a financial stake in making sure its community is happy and completely satisfied.
Creating a happy community can be a challenge for many brands, especially those that are brand new, or large brands being held back by dated, bad habits. Here are 3 easy tricks to get started building a more satisfied community.
1. Start With Speed
When customers complain or reach out for customer service, more often than not they first want to be reassured that someone is there, listening. Think about all the times you’ve called a support number and had to listen to awful hold music for a half hour!
Speed matters because it shows that your brand cares enough to pay attention when customers talk.
Recently, Buffer published a happiness report in which their community team responded to 56% of all emails within one hour. Using Hively to track customer satisfaction from these emails, Buffer found that 97% of customers were happy with their support response. That type of commitment to customer interaction is sure to lead to happier customers.
2. Personalize Brand Touch-points
John Lee recently highlighted the importance of brands humanizing their social media interactions with consumers. In his article, he notes that when we adopt different voices when we go to work (more conservative and corporate) and when we leave work (more friendly and relaxed).
The problem with this type of voice switching arises when consumers reach out for support. They’re reaching out as their personal selves (not corporate selves). To speak to them in a corporate tone comes off as cold and robotic, rather than caring and friendly. Try adopting a more personalized tone to affect the overall mood and feel of your community.
3. Delight Your Users - When They Least Expect It
Have you ever thrown a friend a surprise birthday party? Or have you ever had a surprise birthday party thrown for you? Then surely you know the look on the face of the birthday boy/girl when he/she walks in the door. It’s priceless. It’s full of complete joy and happiness (okay, sometimes a hint of mild terror initially).
Brands that can make their consumers feel like the recipient of a surprise birthday party will inevitably have a happier community. All it takes is a bit of caring and compassion, and finding the right moments to delight people.
One of my favorite recent examples of a brand doing this type of outreach is Lift, the habit tracking app. Lift watches its community closely and identifies groups of people who are working together to complete certain habits. As an act of encouragement, Lift has been known to send gift packages to certain groups of users to help them achieve their goals and complete their habits.
What other tips would you give to brands looking to increase happiness in their customer communities?
Photo via Flickr/porsche-linn