A third of American consumers declared that they’ll consider switching to a different business, company, or brand even after a single experience with poor customer service. The value of good customer service in business cannot be overemphasized; it is the lifeblood of most types of businesses, and if you want your business to not just survive but thrive, having excellent customer service is crucial. Here are some tips on bolstering your company’s customer service this year:
Equip your customer service team
The first thing you need to do is to equip and prepare your team. Make sure they have all the resources and training they need to address your customers’ or clients’ concerns. Here are some steps you can take to ensure that your team of customer service representatives have everything they need to provide the best possible service for your audience:
- Teach your team to address customers or clients by name. It will help to humanize the business-consumer interaction, and it helps your brand appear friendlier and more accessible.
- Send personalized messages or responses. While Autobots and automated emails may be a convenient way to respond to queries as quickly as possible, nothing will take the place of human interaction and personalized response to ensure your audience that you are on top of the situation.
- Make sure they are given all the support they need. Angry and frustrated customers tend to be rude or abusive, especially when they want an instant solution to their problems. Consider sending your team to different classes that can help them cope. Careskills Academy, for example, offers a course on complaints handling. Your team will be trained in the art of improving services according to feedback, but they will also be given a host of skills including active listening, building rapport, and confirming understanding, giving your customers a feeling that you truly care about them having the best experience with your brand.
Set up a loyalty program or reward system
The consumers of today care a lot about personalized experiences. And when we give our consumers what they want, our sales drive up, and customer loyalty is strengthened. One of the best ways to do this is by offering a loyalty program. Here is a step-by-step guide to establishing a loyalty program that will enhance your customers’ experience with your business:
- Establish a multi-channel system that will help you stay attuned to your customers’ sentiments and needs. Make sure it’s more than just one platform so that you can reach various consumers across different channels and devices. Some examples include a help desk, live chat tools, and chatbots that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) software.
- Be consistent with your customer service. Always go above and beyond when listening to what your consumers are saying, and processing that information to make your business better. You don’t always need to provide a perk, but it can certainly help.
- Identify the kinds of rewards you want to provide. Some examples include special gifts, redeemable points, discounts, free shipping, and early access to new products and special promos.
- The next step is to determine which actions you want to reward. Some examples include buying specific items you want to move, going over a certain dollar amount, referring new customers, buying during a slow time or day of the week, and mentioning a product on their social media accounts.
- Make the program appealing by offering a wide array of rewards. Make sure you know your target demographic’s values and purchasing behavior so that you can efficiently assess what types of rewards will entice them to engage.
- Choose the right platform. Make sure it’s easy for you and your team to learn and set up, and that it’s user-friendly for your customers, too.
Don’t neglect social media
For many customers, social media is the fastest and easiest way to connect with businesses. It’s not as burdensome as looking up an email address or landline number on Google. When they connect with you through your business’s social media accounts, it also means they’re looking for a swift response.
That is why there must be a trained customer service representative and social media manager that can respond to queries as soon as they can, lest you run the risk of having your customers vent their frustration on social media and ruining your brand’s reputation.
Good customer service is key to your business’s success. It’s always in your business’s best interest to have a trained employee whose sole job description is to focus on responding and tracking your brand’s social media accounts and comments to ensure that you can get back to your customers as soon as possible.
