5 signs of poor CX

1. Customers repeating themselves

This is by far the biggest sign I see as a customer myself. As a business, it isn’t hard to identify the gaps that may trouble customers to repeat an enquiry multiple times.

Calls being transferred multiple times and new staff members taking over without studying the customer’s history, are common culprits. A simple but effective solution – train your staff members to clearly note what the customer’s problem is, the first time they speak to someone.

This is irrespective of channel or touch point; whether it is via email or by phone, clearly note the customer’s problem and brief the next staff member on it. Instead of the customer repeating themselves, it is your responsibility to get briefed and coordinated internally. From that point onwards, customers need only be asked for information that isn’t already available, or approached for updates on their issue.

2. A lack of recurring customers

This can be due to a few reasons:

• A lack of after-sales support,
• Seasonality,
• Poor product quality and/or fit.

A lack of recurring customers is more a symptom of a bigger underlying problem, than being the problem itself. If your customers are loyal only for a single purchase, investigate which of the above issues (or something else, this isn’t exhaustive) could be contributing to this.

For example, digital ads deliver customers – who are only loyal for a single purchase. Ironic as it sounds, digital ads be they on Google or social media do generate eyeballs and subsequent purchases, but more often than not, are one-time customers who likely may not have the intention to repurchase. This is ESPECIALLY the case when discounts are offered in the ad!

Also read: Steps to build a customer journey: mini-guide/cheatsheet

3. Generic solutions to complex problems

Ever received the most disappointingly generic, surface-level response to something that’s a matter of urgency?

Yeah. Those. Just avoid those. By training your staff to handle each enquiry as the unique situation that it is helps prompt an equally unique solution that can actually solve your customer’s problem.

4. Not incorporating feedback

Imagine: you don’t have just one, but multiple customers saying the same thing. That’s a pattern. And patterns need to be taken seriously in CX. Even a single item of feedback from one customer alone carries weight; if the suggestion is a valuable one, it should justify an implementation, after considering budgets and ROI.

So don’t rule out any item of feedback. It’s golden, and can make your offering all the better as time passes by – provided it’s implemented.

Also read: Offline marketing – the underestimated underdog in today’s marketing landscape

5. Not protecting customer data

Data protection doesn’t seem like a CX problem at first, but look closer and it bears all the hallmarks of CX – if not honoured.

Data breaches are a prime example. Or worse yet – a business selling customer data without permission. While a breach cannot be fully prevented even with the most advanced safeguards, a business not doing its due diligence to protect its customers’ data (and use it responsibly) is setting a poor foundation of trust.

And nothing kills customer loyalty faster than diminished trust.

If you’re a brand that needs customer data for training AI models, the stakes rise even higher; an AI ethics policy is essential in this case, and you clearly need to let your customers know that their data may be used for training purposes. And of course, you need to give them the choice of opting out of this too.

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