Getty Images
Customer satisfaction is everything in business. And yet you can perfect your product, deliver incredible customer service, and still come up lacking in customer satisfaction. Why?
Wait times.
Customers don't like to wait. In fact, a wait can negatively affect every aspect of your business. A 2014 study found that long wait times for healthcare providers lowered not only overall patient satisfaction, but also confidence in the provider and perceived quality of care.
Fortunately, there's a solution: Rather than overhaul your business model to eliminate waiting, you can eliminate the perception of waiting by incorporating customer entertainment into your business strategy.
Here's why investment in entertainment is a savvy move for every business.
Because waiting is inevitable
Waiting is a fact of life. Americans spend about 37 billion hours every year waiting in line. And businesses shouldn't necessarily be overly concerned about that. Given the choice, any businessperson would rather have a line out the door than an empty sales floor, waiting room, or dining area.
Besides, waiting isn't the problem for customers - boredom is.
In the 1950s, tenants of a New York City office building complained about long wait times at the elevators. The building manager installed mirrors next to the elevators, and the complaints stopped; all they needed resolved was their own boredom. This early experiment with the psychology of customer waiting is still the basis for many of the world's most successful businesses, such as Disney, whose in-line entertainment strategy is legendary.
Because entertainment erases the wait
The good news for businesses is that the bar for what it takes to prevent customer boredom is pretty low - take, for example, the Houston airport that reduced complaints about waits for baggage by increasing the walk time between the gates and baggage claim.
Perception is reality when it comes to customer wait times. If a longer walk can reduce complaints, imagine what the ultimate entertainment experience can do - like offering your customers hundreds of their favorite channels with DIRECTV for BUSINESS™. When customers are engaged with their favorite shows or movies, the quality of their wait can make the length a nonissue, increasing their satisfaction with your business.
Because happy customers return - and spend more
When customers have a positive experience with a business, they are more likely to return. That's huge, considering 40% of business revenue in the US comes from returning or repeat purchasers, even though they make up only 8% of all visitors. What's more, nearly 90% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.
When entertainment makes customers happy - and being happy makes them come back, willing to spend more - showing your visitors a good time is simply good business.
To learn more about DIRECTV for BUSINESS™ services and features, click here.
This post is sponsored by DIRECTV.
Find out more about Sponsor Content.