Awesome products and services attract customers to your business, but excellent customer service is the top way to keep them loyal. It’s also a straightforward way to tap into your customers’ network through positive word-of-mouth and referrals. In this article, we explore a few effective customer service practices, from speeding up response times to keeping your customer service team motivated.
Put the Right Person in the Right Seat
When hiring for helpdesk and customer service roles, pick people who have the right qualities for customer service. Seek traits like empathy, compassion, patience, good listening, respect, and, if necessary, technical skills. Use tools like StrengthsFinder 2.0, FYI for Insight Self-Awareness, DiSC Profile, and Culture Index to figure out if a candidate is a good fit.
Make the Service Simple and Easy for Customers
Long waits on the phone or complicated call transfers to various departments can be frustrating for customers. Make sure that customers can easily reach the right support person in their first interaction, whether it’s through a call, webchat, or email. Also, empowers customer service teams to respond promptly and resolve common customer issues without the need for rerouting or callbacks.
Establish a Strong Agent Onboarding and Training Process
To ensure uniformity among all customer service representatives, establish a robust training program. Start training during the onboarding phase with clear procedures for new agents, and subsequently educate them on the company’s products and services. Training may involve simulations that highlight the proper way to interact with customers.
Give Customer Service Representatives the Authority to Solve Problems Before They Become Bigger Issues
When customers contact a company with a problem, they desire a quick resolution. Companies like Zappos and Amazon empower their support teams to address customer concerns during the initial call. This can involve offering refunds or discounts within corporate policy limits. Such an approach minimizes call duration and avoids the need for escalation to a supervisor.
Provide 24/7 Year-Round Customer Service
When possible, ensuring that customers can easily contact customer service agents outside of regular business hours and on weekends greatly enhances the overall customer experience.
Encourage Straightforward Policies
Customers are used to retail policies such as full refunds for early returns, price matching with other stores, and honoring previously lower prices. However, the specific policies may vary based on the type of business and product. Products like food, beverages, cars, and software may require distinct policies to meet customer expectations and foster loyalty.
Set up a Contact Center That Uses Various Communication Channels
To make it simple for customers to contact the business with problems and questions while providing consistent customer service, create a contact center that supports more than just phone calls. Include channels like email, web chat, social media, text messaging, and even traditional mail.
Ensure Customers Have Short and Enjoyable Wait Times
Let customers know the expected wait time so they are informed. Long periods of silence or generic music without any indication of hold time or position in the queue can lead to frustration and irritation. For instance, Apple allows customers to select their preferred on-hold music while waiting.
Conclusion
We hope you learn useful tips for making customer service better. If you find this article helpful, kindly share it with your friends and family who are looking to enhance their customer service.
