Providing great customer service and spending time with your customers is the key to success for any business, but more often than not, it’s overlooked. In many cases, companies put their maximum efforts into marketing strategies to gain new users – but is this actually a good idea?
Not really. In fact, retaining the customers you already have is equally important as obtaining new ones. Currently, 3 out of 5 consumers report that good customer service is vital for them to feel loyalty toward a brand. According to Khoros, 83% of customers agree that they feel more loyal to brands that respond to and resolve their complaints – and you can’t argue with that. So, to put it clearly – customer service should be at the top of your priority list.
In the process of developing a client relation strategy, you might ask yourself: what are best practices? How can I provide the best possible customer service for my clients? What are the best tools/platforms to use as a customer service provider? Today we’ll answer all of these questions and more!
This article will cover:
- What is customer service
- How to offer great customer service
- The best customer service providers
- Great customer service
What is Customer Service?
There are many descriptions available but, according to Investopedia, customer service is the direct one-on-one interaction between a consumer making a purchase and a representative of the company that is selling it.
Customer service requires being kind, courteous, and professional at all times. It also involves listening carefully to what the customer wants and concerns. As well as listening, your agents should be as efficient and accurate as possible in their communications with the client.
Here are some of the main benefits of providing good customer service:
- Customer loyalty
- Increase in profits
- Stellar customer recommendations
- Increase in conversions
- Improving your public image
How to offer great Customer Service
Offering great customer service can be done in different ways. To ensure you deliver excellent customer service, however, here are six strategies to help you stand out.
1. Personalization
Customers always love personalized service. To personalize the treatment you offer to your users, start by making a data spreadsheet with all the information about each customer. Try to investigate their needs, how they communicate with you, what they like and dislike, how they use your product or services, etc.
2. Consistency between channels
There are many customer touch points/channels, such as emails, chatbots, websites, etc. It’s important that your company offers consistency between them while creating a customer service strategy. This strategy should reflect the identity and values of your brand, and your users should be able to recognize your company in this communication. For example, if your Education company prides itself on encouraging users to be curious and learn new things, then you want your customers to recognize your style and those values in your customer service.
3. Respond as quickly as possible
One of the key differentiators between good and bad customer service is the speed of the response time. Customers want companies to respond as quickly as possible. According to a recent study, the average response time to handle a customer request is 12 hours and 10 minutes, which means there’s a lot to improve!
4. Find solutions according to customer needs and demands
Customers don’t like when they have to deal with the same issue twice. They expect their needs and demands to be solved the first time around. For example, when solving a problem, take time to understand exactly what is happening. Assess your product or service and see if it can be improved based on what your users are saying. Provide a quick solution to the customer, so they won’t have to keep coming back.
5. Develop your team’s business knowledge
Educate your team and ensure they know all your products and services well. Doing this will ensure that your team solves customer issues more quickly. For example, employee onboarding processes are crucial when educating new team members.
6. Proactive customer support
Who doesn’t like proactivity? It’s always a good idea to approach your customers before they have an issue with your product. Especially in the SaaS industry, welcome email campaigns are crucial during the first month of a user’s subscription. You can also create customer surveys to receive instant feedback on users’ experience of your product or even schedule one-on-one calls to understand their experience better.
If you’re looking for a platform that helps you offer proactive customer support, check our FROGED customer support features for proactive omnichannel customer support.
As you can see, there are many ways to improve your customer service experience. Simply start by listening to your customers and then adapting and improving your services or products based on their needs. After that, you can apply some of the strategies we’ve mentioned above.
Examples of great customer support
A great customer service experience is a lead generator. By aligning customer experience and organization purpose, an organization provides a complete and cohesive customer experience.
Let’s discover 4 of the best customer support strategies we have seen recently.
Amazon
The eCommerce giant Amazon has one of the best customer support strategies, and they always try to ensure every customer is happy with all the products they offer. Here’s one example. If a customer receives a damaged or defective item, or if a package gets lost in the mail, they will replace it for free, no questions asked. Moreover, Amazon offers 24/7 support and does not put callers on hold if its FAQs or community forums cannot resolve an issue a customer might have.
JetBlue
The JetBlue airline company believes that exceptional service is only possible in an environment with a positive culture. A healthy and happy environment will make workers want to work there. With this in mind, the airline has a mysterious “People Officer,” who surprises customers with gifts and rewards during flights. JetBlue even offered free flights to medical personnel and suppliers during the Coronavirus crisis.
Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s has always been on the top list of companies with the best customer service, and here’s a reason why. The company is always trying to improve its customer experiences, focusing on listening to the needs of its customers. For instance, they changed the opening hours of their stores based on customer feedback. Also, some users said that their grocery stores were using too much plastic. In response, the brand announced it would stop giving out single-use plastic bags and use eco-friendly packaging.
Great Customer Service
The CS department is one of the most important departments in every company. It’s essential to consider that they’re the ones that will retain your customers, create a solid customer base and reduce customer churn.
To sum up, the best strategies you can use to make your customers happy are: creating consistency between channels, personalizing the messages and experiences, responding as quickly as possible, finding solutions according to customer needs, and educating your team about your service or product. Are you ready to level up your customer service? Check our FROGED customer support features for proactive omni-channel customer support.
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