Effective customer experiences have a positive impact on my life. If a transaction with a company is efficient, with no issues, and takes less time than anticipated, the time saved is put toward another purpose. The decision of what to put that time toward is mine, but the reason a decision exists is due to the caliber of the customer service received.

As a customer, a company is more likely to earn my business if I know they are interested in maintaining or improving my satisfaction. I prefer doing business with companies that have procedures to ensure customers have a good to excellent customer experience regardless of how doing so positively impacts their bottom line.

Companies that concede that there is an issue with their service delivery, and explain that they are fixing it, will keep my business. Take the example of the Christmas CD I ordered that didn’t arrive until Easter! There are obviously issues with that delivery system. Before consumers are pushed to the limit, companies with similar issues need to communicate how they intend to change their process.

They should acknowledge that they are aware of the issue and are resolved to improve what they know is a broken system. Customers prefer to do business with companies that succeed in having positive customer experiences that save me time.

Companies with a focus on improving customer satisfaction reap benefits from their customers. Satisfied customers advocate, via positive word-of-mouth, for companies that effectively improve their satisfaction. Companies with a consistent customer focus that meet or exceed their customer service expectations may beat lower-priced competitors that don’t share this philosophy.

While companies benefit from customers who are more highly satisfied, consumers benefit by doing business with companies that satisfy them. For example, imagine an Internet provider’s customer’s mobile phone stops receiving data on a Saturday morning, and the customer is monitoring a mobile phone email inbox for an email from her employer to inform them about coming into work on a day off.

Fortunately, the Internet provider customer service representative can remedy the issue by remotely resetting the modem during the call, thereby restoring the email on their device. This remote fix consequently allows the customer to plan her day. Due to a quick resolution of the issue, the customer is left with a positive perception of the company.

Listening to customers allows companies to anticipate and meet their needs. With needs met on a continual basis, consumers can continue to, or increase, their purchase of goods and services and/or the number of transactions they complete with a company. It is a positive upward relationship spiral involving the customer and the company.

An Internet provider’s customer who is participating in a Saturday soccer practice, rather than distractedly watching her phone to see when email becomes available, is more likely to advocate for that company than a customer who is still waiting to have their issue resolved well after the weekend fun activities have passed without their involvement!