Word of mouth is incredibly valuable to retailers; 45% of consumers will try a brand or store they’ve never shopped at before if they hear good things about it from a friend or family member. But what exactly is it that makes customers give a glowing review?

Our new ebook, The Secret to Outstanding Customer Service, looks at the DNA of Trustpilot 5* rated retailers and compiles a check list of 10 contributing factors to the perfect customer experience.

We encourage you to download our free ebook for the full list, but in the meantime, here is a taster of some of the things your business needs to get right...

     1.   Talented, well-trained colleagues 
 
A seamless customer experience starts with a helpful, motivated team. When we spoke to Richer Sounds’ CEO, Julie Abraham, she revealed the company’s ethos is to look after colleagues first, because those colleagues will then take good care of their customers.

Given that Richer Sounds was voted Which? Best Retailer 2019, colleague happiness seems like a sensible place to start in the pursuit of 5* feedback.

      2.   Honest two-way communications - with customers AND staff 

Feedback is very easy to give, but a lot harder to accept. The best-performing retailers aren’t afraid of a little criticism, whether that comes from customers or colleagues.

It’s particularly important to give time and space to the viewpoints of customer-facing personnel, as they tend to provide the greatest insight into where the retail experience is falling short. Not only that, but by the time they’ve voiced an opinion, they have often already thought of a solution to improve shopper satisfaction.

Pointing the finger might make people feel better for a moment or two, but it doesn’t enable positive change. People are human and mishaps occur; it’s how retailers react to thse problems that define how they affect customer feedback.

Rather than looking for someone to carry the can, 5* rated retailers are honest with their customers about what went wrong, then look for lessons they can take forward. Adopting a no-blame culture also makes staff more willing to admit when a mistake has occurred, nipping it in the bud before things start to snowball.

Whether it’s feedback, lessons, or just a different way of doing things, it’s important to remain open to new possibilities. Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving, and retailers must respond to this change.

Learning and growth has been critical to Axminster Tools & Machinery’s success; when we spoke to Operations Director, Andrew Parkhouse, he noted that the company embraces criticism, as it creates an opportunity to improve their products and services, in order to provide an even better customer experience.

In Andrew’s words, “if you get product quality right, sales will naturally follow”. And adopting the same attitude to customer service will positively impact on Trustpilot ratings.

We spoke earlier about empowering colleagues, and this means much more than just listening to feedback and giving them the right tools to do their job. The highest rated retailers are successful because their close-knit, talented teams believe in and trust each other to make the right decisions for the good of the company.

Creating this circle of trust extends beyond internal relations, too. The 5* rated retail brands that we spoke to are all very careful about their supplier choices, as they understand their reputation lies in the hands of the partners they collaborate with.

Consistency is key 

One of the most common pieces of feedback we hear from retailers is that achieving a few strong customer reviews is easy, but ensuring feedback is consistently good is much harder. If this scenario sounds familiar, the tips we’ve shared will get you on the right track to ensuring your business approach generates great customer experiences.

We’re also proud to be a technology partner that highly recommended retailers can rely on. All of the 5* rated brands that we interviewed are Sanderson customers, and we’re helping many more companies in the retail sector to provide flawless customer service.

Download our free ebook: The Secret to Outstanding Customer Service for a full customer satisfaction check list and more insights from Trustpilot 5* rated retailers.