5 behaviors every leader should adopt to create better customer experiences

It’s not difficult to figure out that good leadership paired with good company culture leads to happy employees who, in turn, provide better customer service and customer experiences. If you’re looking to change your company culture and open new channels of interaction that lead to better customer experiences, then change should begin with you.

Changing culture and focusing on the customer is everyone’s job, but what today’s most successful businesses and brands have in common is good leadership. As a leader, it’s your job to set the standard and be an example for every employee, at every level. When employees are clear on company priorities from the top-down and can see leadership skills in action, they’re more likely to act accordingly and offer your customers the service they want and deserve.

As an executive, think about the trickle-down effect of your own customer service and leadership skills, as they impact employees and end with your customers. How much needs to change? If you’re not retaining customers and acquiring new customers at the rate you’d like, is it possible that you need to invest more time and resources into your employees first?

Improve culture by making employees a priority
If you make your employees a priority, they will be more engaged in creating and maintaining the positive company culture you want. Amazingly, companies with more engaged employees have twice the customer loyalty. Engaged, happy employees are simply better at creating excellent customer experiences and providing top-notch customer service.

5 behaviors that lead to better customer experiences
Effective leaders dive in at every level to create a more customer-centric culture and ensure a business’s success. As a leader, make sure to regularly try the following:

• Keep in touch with front-line employees, like your customer service team, and listen to their suggestions for improvement. They talk with customers and have the best pulse on what’s working and what could be improved.

• Frequent your company’s website and use your company’s products and services. Try blocking an hour a week just to surf the web or to learn a new feature.

• Work the front lines to keep yourself grounded and in touch with your customers. It’s humbling, but it can also be fun. Make a point of participating in customer service operations on a significant level, whether it’s interacting with customers at your retail store, talking with clients daily, or taking a call from a customer who has voiced a complaint.

• Read online reviews about your products or services and respond personally to poor reviews by offering a positive solution. Even if the customer who left the review doesn’t come back, your employees, customers, and prospects will notice your response and see that you care.

• Listen, listen, listen. Hold informal one-on-one’s with employees. Sit in on team meetings and simply observe.

The more leaders listen and engage, the easier it becomes to empathize and to act from a place of empathy. This leads to more positive employee interactions and creates more engaging customer experiences where employees take your commitment to excellent customer service and feel empowered to do what it takes to deliver the same great service.

Brooke Cade is a freelance writer who’s committed to helping businesses and sales professionals build stronger connections with their customers. In her spare time, she enjoys learning more about InMoment.com—her CX platform of choice—reading books/articles on industry news, engaging on twitter, and exploring her local neighborhood coffee shop.