Do you dream of turning customer service into your company’s secret weapon? Believe it or not, this is not just a pipe dream, customer service can (fairly) easily become your most profitable business strategy, it’s just a case of understanding how to take advantage of customer service and use it to your advantage.
The truth is that when it comes to customer service if you deliver a poor-quality service, you will lose customers, it is as simple as that. It doesn’t matter what type of business you run or the type of people who purchase your products or services, if you offer poor quality customer service, your business will suffer as a result of that low-quality service.
You need to have the best front office staff to be the face of your business. This entails hiring the right people, training them and making sure that they continually live up to your needs.
However, when you deliver better quality customer service that than the average level of service that most businesses provide, you will not only be able to retain your customers for longer, but you will also be able to charge slightly more. This is because the customers that you have will be willing to pay more for a better-quality service. According to American Express, customers are willing to spend 14% more if they receive quality service.
The fact is that great customer service can turn a customer into a lifelong customer, rather than a one-off buyer. That is how important providing quality customer service can be, and it is important to understand that. Bearing that in mind, below is a guide to the best practice for customer service in 2018 that will ensure that your business offers the highest quality of service possible, and does better because of it.
Be accessible
Your customers should be able to contact your company if they have any questions or queries. If getting in touch with your customer service team is difficult to do, it will harm your brand’s reputation as being an accessible company. That is why it is so important to ensure that you make contacting your business as easy for your customers as possible. Offer various ways for your customers to contact you: phone, email, and instant messaging, as well as social media, tend to work well. Don’t spread your customer service team too thin, just make sure that there are plenty of means of communication, and ensure that each is being properly taken care of by your team members. If you need to take on additional staff to help with this, don’t be afraid to do so.
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There are a lot of ways that you can improve the responsiveness of your system. An expert from Kayako told us that using the right helpdesk platform can improve customer responsiveness by over 200%.
Take feedback on board
Your customers want to be heard, that’s a fact, which is why it is so important that you always endeavor to ensure that you take all customer service on board. If a customer makes a complaint, don’t jump in to defend your business, take the time to listen to what they are saying. To gauge how well your company is doing, it is vital that you learn how to measure customer service quality. By providing your customers with a means of providing you with their feedback, you can ensure that any concerns of your customers are always taken seriously.
Treat your customers with respect
Never lower yourself to acting in the same way as some rude, unhappy customers. Instead train your staff to remain calm, cool and collected at all times, as well as perfectly polite in every situation. Regardless of the situation that occurs, it is crucial that you always treat every customer with the utmost respect. If you show your customers respect, they will do the same back to you and will be much more likely to use your services again or recommend them to others.
Do what you say you will
A crucial part of providing quality customer service is doing what you say that you will do, whatever that may be. Say, for instance, you offer a guarantee with a product or service, it is vital that you honor it, no matter what happens. If you promise your customers something and then don’t give it to them, it’s an easy way to irritate them and put them off of using your company or its products or service again. That’s why it is so crucial that you do what you say you will so that your customers know that they can rely on your business.
Be willing to admit when you’ve made a mistake
Far too many companies are not willing to admit when they have made a mistake. Don’t be one of these companies, understand that mistakes happen and be willing to admit to them. When it comes to providing quality customer service, it is crucial that you don’t attempt to hide or cover up mistakes. Be open and honest about them, and you will have happier and more understanding customers because of it. Admit the mistake, apologize and do whatever you can to resolve the situation.
Make employee training a priority
When employees have been properly trained to provide high-quality levels of customer service, they feel empowered to do so. Employees who have a strong understanding of your company’s policies regarding customer service and care are much more likely to react positively in important customer service situations, making it clear what their levels of authority are in terms of dealing with these kinds of problems. This is important because when your team members feel empowered, they are able to provide a higher quality of customer care, regardless of the situation.
If you want to ensure that in 2018, your customer service is of the highest quality, take note of the tips above and implement them in your customer care strategy. That way, you can make sure that when it comes to the level of customer service that your business is able to offer its customers, it’s wonderfully high. If your customer service is lacking in any way, then now would be the ideal time to attempt to give your customer service a boost and ramp up the quality that you are able to offer. Remember, without quality customer service strategies in place; your business will lose customers to competitors who offer a better approach to customer care.