Consumers crave support and knowledgeable agents, so it pays to figure out what excellent customer service looks like for your business. In keeping with the times, you might decide to switch over to a live chat system. Old-school companies probably prefer more traditional methods, such as telephone agents who provide customer service. You can always strike somewhere in the middle and provide support via email or live chat solution. Many aspects of excellent customer service are universal, in that the customer needs to walk away feeling heard and satisfied. How you go about that is subjective, but here are a few solid ideas.
Hire the Perfect People for the Job
Too many companies opt for quantity over quality—that is, they’re willing to pay the bare minimum, and those are the employees they get. Instead of hiring anyone as long as they’ll accept a low pay rate, hire the people who represent your company in the most favorable light. You’ll avoid the cost and effort of a high turnover rate, which is both expensive and frustrating. Invest in your customer service agents, and they’ll invest in you by offering excellent customer service.
Make Time for Training
Training is everything. Anytime you want to see what great customer service looks like, check out the company’s support plan. It takes more than a day or even three days. Proper, in-depth training may take up to a week. That seems like time better spent in other areas—such as actively working with customers—but the sacrifice pays off in the end.
Create modules that allow your service agents to work through every possible scenario. Anyone who’s ever worked in customer services knows that consumers can get irate and frustrated. Teach de-escalation techniques, as well as methods that allow the agents to forge connections with the customers. You can also go above and beyond other businesses by letting your agents know the precise parameters of their duties. Provide them with answers to questions that usually get diverted to managers and supervisors. Reduce hold times, regardless of how you reach out to customers.
Don’t Promise the World
Setting clear expectations with customers is critical. That’s why you should inform support agents of their responsibilities and their permissions regarding what they can offer displeased customers. You never want to promise more than you can deliver because the consumers feel betrayed when you don’t fulfill your word. Setting expectations for your agents then allows them to set boundaries for the customers.
Make the Best First Impression
First impressions are everything, including on the phone, over email, and through live chat. Customers can spot fake or forced niceness a mile away. Instruct your agents to be themselves above all else. They need to put forth an authentic air that will encourage customers to open up and reveal their issues. Approaching problems with empathy, understanding, and a desire to listen will boost your reputation as a business that cares about its customers. More importantly, creating that connection can soothe angry customers, which brings the problem one step closer to a solution.
Discover What Your Customers Want
To figure out what great customer service looks like, you have to figure out what your customers want. Are you asking them, or do you follow generic protocols? Mediocre methods don’t cut the mustard today. Not only should you collect data, but you should also consider sending out surveys after a support session. Ask your customers to view their experience with respect to how satisfied they feel, how they rate the representative, whether they felt heard or understood, and similar questions.
Personalize Your Process
Once you have the data you collect and the information that your customers share, you have the chance to personalize your entire customer service process. Tailoring your method to your target market will unquestionably increase their satisfaction. You know the problems associated with your product or service. You know the weak areas of your business. Some of those issues might be out of your control, which is why a specific support system will delight your clients.
For those problems that are within your control, this is your opportunity to fix them. You know where customers have the most issues. Think about what you can do to tweak what you offer. It’s better to fix the product altogether than to keep telling individual consumers how to deal with the issue.
Find Out those who need your excellent customer service-Your Customers.
Where are your customers? How do they communicate? Remember, to get a clear picture of what an excellent customer service looks like, you have to focus on the customers themselves. You may need to study the habits of your niche market, including the aspects of their lives that don’t necessarily pertain to your business.
This is the point where you need to decide how you want to deliver your customer service. For a target market made up of millennials and members of Generation Z, live chat is probably the best option. It’s fast, convenient, and the customers don’t have to talk to anyone. Typing will suffice. It’s also a method that saves money because agents can multitask without sacrifice the value of their support.
Email support is perfect for middle-aged clientele and older millennials. However, don’t let this cost-effective platform go to your head. Your agents can’t wait days before emailing concerned customers.
If you cater to an older base, they’ll likely feel more comfortable on the phone. Telephone support is tricky, however. It’s vital to cut down on wait times and hold times. There’s nothing more frustrating than listening to music for 20 minutes while waiting for someone to find someone else who knows how to answer your question.
Define what great customer service looks like for you. Is it fast? Does it involve friendly, personable agents? Maybe it’s time to reinvent your support model.
