How To Ensure Your Company Is Succeeding In Customer Service
Did you know that poor customer service is costing businesses across America more than $75 billion a year? Businesses that aren’t continually looking for ways to improve customer service are going to struggle. It’s not enough to create a quality product at a competitive price, the experience you provide your customer also matters. In a recent study it was found that 67 percent of customers have become “serial switchers,” that is customers who are willing to switch brands because of a poor customer experience. So how do you ensure your company succeeds in customer service to create loyal customers?
Take the time to experience your company from the perspective of the customer. It can be easy to understand your systems because you’ve built them. But do the systems make sense for the customer? Research says that the first and last impression matter significantly, so it can be helpful to audit the initial and final customer service experience. What does the customer encounter when they first reach out to you? Are the processes easy to navigate? Do they provide clarity about what is being offered and how to take next steps? Then audit the customer encounter for their final impressions. Are the processes easy to complete? Do they have clarity for how to resolve any future issues if they should arise?
Also, fast and automated are not necessarily the best answers to improving your customer-facing processes. They might be the solution, but it’s important to think through your goals and desired outcomes before making adjustments. The answer that speeds up the process the most, or creates the most automation, might make sense. But it might also leave the customer frustrated. If the customer is able to save five minutes but they will have increased frustration, then the savings are not worthwhile. Again, think through your goals and desired outcomes and then design processes that will help you achieve that success.
Keep in mind when making decisions about customer service that it is more important to make decisions based on what you know to be happening, then what you think is happening. You might think customers are frustrated about a particular issue, solve it and then discover customers are still unhappy. Because maybe that wasn’t the issue that was frustrating them. Instead it’s important to collect data and help improve the areas that you know are frustrating customers.
Customer service is an area where just a few adjustments can make a big difference to your customers. And when your customers are happy they build brand loyalty and become your best marketing tool.
