What Are Customer Touch Points (and Why they Matter)?

How many ways are customers engaging with your local business? If you have a presence on the internet, then there are possibly dozens of customer touch points you're "managing."

If not, then it's time to start.

Let's take a closer look at what customer touch points are and why they matter.

A Definition of Customer Touch Points

In a nutshell, customer touch points are the engagements customers have with a brand. This can be directly or indirectly. For example, a customer makes an in-store purchase, calls your office, or comments on one of your blog posts.

Customer touch points can happen just about anywhere -- over the phone, on social media, through your website, in-store, television, radio, billboards, and other print mediums.

But for the sake of this article, we'll focus on digital touch points. We'll dive into several examples shortly.

Why Do Customer Touch Points Matter to Your Business?

Each time a customer engages with your company, they're getting an impression of your brand, product, or service. One bad experience can turn into negative reviews and deterioration of your reputation.

So the best option is to find and optimize all of your customer touch points. In other words, you need to ensure each touch point is engaging and offers a great customer experience.

For example, you need trained customer service reps answering calls, chatting online with prospects, and managing your social media content and interactions.

What Should Your Customer Touch Points Achieve?

So how do you go about ensuring your customer touch points are meeting the goals of your business?

You want each touch point to trigger the customer to further engage with your brand. And to pull this off, you need to ensure each interaction is:

• Relevant: Optimizing your touch points to cater to a specific audience is key here. For instance, the function of the interaction should meet the utility requirements of the user. Maybe a click-to-call button would work better than a chatbot.
• Appropriate: The cultural tone and context of the interaction should meet the needs of the customer. For example, video content, blog content, etc.
• Meaningful: The interaction should be viewed as important and helpful to the customer.
• Endearing: The interaction should help create a bond with the customer. For example, creating delight and desirability for a product/service or your brand in general. Using playful tones and triggering emotions can work here.

Now, it'll require some research to learn more about your audience and the channels they use online. Then you can begin developing a strategy that suits their unique needs via these touch points.

Examples of Digital Customer Touch Points

Alright, so let's dig a little deeper into the world of digital customer touch points. Once you identify the ones your business has (or would like to implement), you can begin research and optimization.

You'll also find there are tools like GoSite you can use to accommodate your customers and prospects at each touch point.

Let's dive in.

Online Website and/or Storefront

In many cases, your website is the first impression customers have of your business. So it's ideal to design it in a way that's accessible to everyone. A responsive design, intuitive layout, and easy navigation are essential here.

Also, be sure your phone number and address are listed on each page of the website.

What if you don't already have a website? Well, you can always create one (without coding knowledge) using best website builder for small business.

Citations in Business Listings

Millions of people use Google when searching for a business or product. This is why Google now places its Local 3-Pack at the top of local search results.

This is why it's critical to have a Google My Business listing (among others). Making it to the top three will give you more clicks and calls for your company. Then we also find that many local searches lead to a store visit within 24 hours.

To ensure you're getting max visibility (and touch points), you can use GoSite's Placement tool to quickly claim or create your listings in over 70 directories.

Online Appointment Booking

Local businesses that rely on scheduling appointments can benefit from offering online appointment booking. This makes it convenient for prospects (and customers) to book a time and day that works for them.

It's fast and simple, which makes it more likely folks will book with you. Then to ensure they show up, you can require a deposit. This too can be done online when using tools like scheduling software for business.

Online Chat and Text

Mobile users dominate the web -- so you need a way to accomodate the way they like to communicate with brands. In this case, it's online chat and text messaging.

With GoSite Messenger, you get access to features that make online communications simplified. For instance, you can text customers or even have live chats with them.

You can also communicate through Google and Facebook.

Online Payment Processing

It doesn't matter if you own a physical location or work as a mobile service provider -- you're a part of e-commerce. And because of this, you need to enable your customers to pay you using mobile payments and e-wallets.

You can do this usign contactless payment tool, which accepts Google Pay and Apple Pay.

This will make transactions seamless, so there are no frustrations or delays with your payments.

Turn Your Customer Touch Points into Repeated Sales

When you understand customer touch points and how your customers use them, you can find ways to improve their experiences. It's a fact -- customers are loyal to the companies that deliver experiences that are memorable and satisfying.

So don't overlook how essential even small interactions are, such as completing a payment or browsing your website. It takes multiple touch points before a prospect turns into a customer, so take this seriously!

If you'd like to get started using the GoSite tools to enhance customer touch points, then download the free app today!