Customer satisfaction is and will always be a priority of every business. But not all businesses know exactly what customer satisfaction is all about. It is not easy to aim towards something and even harder to achieve it if we don’t know accurately what customer happiness is based on. Any customers’ satisfaction is in improved Customer care services.
Customers don’t expect only great-quality products and reasonable prices. Though it’s true that those two factors are also crucial when determining the right seller, but they are not exclusive.
According to the latest research, customer experience is projected to overtake price and product as the essential brand characteristic by the year 2020? Besides, 86% of buyers are prepared to pay more in exchange for better customer experience. A figure that might be shocking for some people but it really shouldn’t be.
Customers always expect holistic experience when buying a certain product thus, never treat them just like an additional number. As a result, customers can anticipate a great online customer service. Even if the majority of your sales aren’t online, you need a customer service that is.
Below are some of the best practices for customer service that will propel your business to the next level.
What is a customer experience and why is great online customer care services so important?
Customer experience is your customers’ understanding of how they are being treated. These understandings create memories and feelings and may even drive their loyalty. To put it simply, if customers like you they are most likely going to do business with you in the future and might even recommend you to friends. And you could end up generating revenue through referrals.
But if a customer doesn’t like your online customer service, the real problem arises. According to some, it takes approximately 40 positive customer experiences to nullify a single negative review.
Why does a single negative review have so much effect?
People are much more likely to share a negative than positive experience. According to studies, 95% of customers share bad experience. In addition, a really negative review may have a much greater effect on potential customers than even a series of good reviews.
There are multiple positive effects a good customer experience can have on your business. Here are some.
- Increased sales: great reviews and customer experiences affect the decision where to buy and whether to return to the same seller.
- Brand reputation: great reviews create a perception of high-quality products and excellent customer experience.
- Free marketing: content customers often provide the best marketing solution as word-to-mouth marketing is an effective and cost-free way of promoting your business.
Some of the Customer service best practices that will put your business in the path of Success.
- Listen to customers’ feedback
Customers are the ones who drive your business. Therefore, never ignore their feedback whether negative or positive.
What is more, if you want to deliver the best customer experience possible, you should actively be seeking out for customer experience and use it as a guide to revise anything that needs to be amended.
- Use the power of social media
Online customer service is moving increasingly towards social media pages. Customers who are able to engage with companies over social media are most likely going to spend more money with the business in question.
On the other hand, negative reviews are as easy to share as ever. If you are a somewhat important company, bad reviews will most probably always exist. But make sure positive customer experiences will outshine those bad reviews.
One way to do this is to answer every social media query. Answering every question gives the general appearance that you care about customers and would like to assist them if possible.
- Focus on resolving the issue
Showing a will to assist the customer might not always suffice. If a customer or a potential customer appears with an actual problem, you need to make sure you resolve it quickly and effectively.
Instead of transferring customers to different representative ensure you find a solution to their problems to boost their experience. Offer quick response and solutions to show how much you value them and willing to cooperate with them in ensuring they are satisfied.
- Invest in customer care services
One of the best practices for customer service is to spend more money in order to improve its customer service experience.
Although this seems counterproductive at first sight, almost 9 out of 10 customers are prepared to pay more if that guarantees them a better service. Therefore, if money is the only thing holding you back from providing better customer experience don’t worry as your customers are prepared to pay the difference.
- Communicate in a simple and honest manner
Avoid using technical and complicated terms and try to explain everything in a simple manner as possible. In that way, you will avoid any miscommunication problems and will create a feeling of being down-to-earth and personal.
Don’t bombard your customers with technical information they don’t understand and that makes them feel unintelligent.
Additionally, be honest. If you don’t know the answer to something simply admit it and find someone who does. Honesty is another great way to connect with customers and there is nothing you should be ashamed of.
- Don’t use automation exclusively
The term online Customer care services is by many understood as some kind of automated CRM system. It is true that such systems can often be quite useful for resolving, especially easy, customer issues.
But this shouldn’t be the only way a customer could apply for some assistance. Many customers would rather speak directly to a real person right away. Don’t deprive them of this opportunity.
- Reward your customers
Rewards programs are increasingly valuable to many companies. Therefore, allow your customers to earn points based on purchases that have redeemed when they reach a certain amount. Additionally, give customers an access to the latest information about your new products or special offers.
All these things guarantee that customers will keep coming back for more.
