Research shows that if we get good customer service, we will tell at least two or three other people. But if we get bad service, we’ll tell ten to twelve other people!
Since word-of-mouth and online recommendations and referrals are often the most important ways that new business comes in, all companies should try to keep their service levels high all the time. With that in mind, here are ten easy ways to improve your company’s customer service:
Know What Customers Want
The more you know about your customers, the more likely you will know what they want and expect from you. So, think about the following:
Have your team help you find and save this vital information. Then, think about how your product or service could meet their needs better. More advice is given on how to understand what customers want and need. This will help you figure out how to meet customer needs and improve customer experience.
Ask for and Encourage Feedback from Customers
There are many ways to find out what your customers think of your business. Focus on figuring out which methods will work best for you and bring you the most money.
Look Into Customer Complaints and Concerns
Find out what is wrong and why your customers are upset by getting to the bottom of their problems. A structured way to track all customer feedback, concerns, and complaints will help. Another way is call recording to ensure quality assurance. Call recording comes in handy while keeping a record of complaints and also ensuring the level of customer service being provided. You can use apps like Call Recorder for iPhone for call recording purposes.
Set and Share Clear Standards for Service
Set some simple rules for customer service that are easy for everyone on the team to understand and follow. If you want the whole team to be involved, you can also include them in this process.
Make Your Customers Happy By Going Above and Beyond What They Expect
How often are your customers happy because they got something they didn’t expect but was good for them? As long as their basic needs are being met, this kind of surprise can make a customer happy and keep them coming back.
First, you might want to acknowledge customers’ special events, occasions, or important loyalty milestones. Or, secondly, a way to get more out of the product or service they have already bought.
People in the customer’s local or online community often talk about special or extra “touches.” This can be a great way to boost your credibility and get more people to tell their friends about your organization.
Write Down and Share Good Examples of Service
Find the best way for the whole organization to get customer feedback. You can also include comments from teammates and managers about team members who give excellent customer service. From here, you can put together a toolkit of your organization’s best practices.
Customer feedback can also be linked to an Employee Recognition Scheme to recognize the person or team who gave the best service. This kind of recognition makes employees more likely to “go the extra mile” for their customers. They also know that their boss is noticing their work in this way.
Make Customer Service Easy and Painless
Follow your customer’s journey, from how they find and buy your services and products to how they are billed and helped after the sale. Look for ways to improve customer service at every stage of the customer’s journey.
Customers are more likely to use your service for the first time if they can buy your products and services quickly and easily.
In the end, the easier your service is to use, the more likely it is that people will use it again. Some research shows that customers are more likely to buy something because it is easy than because they have had a good experience.
Make Your Customer Service Unique
Spend some time talking to your customers to find out what they want. So, you’ll be able to give customers a choice of products or services that will meet their needs. This will help you a lot as you try to improve your customer service.
This way of personalized service will also help you gain the trust of your customers. Also, many tools, like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, let you keep track of important client history.
You can ensure that this level of personalized customer service and loyalty stays in place by giving training, coaching, and recognizing good performance.
Spend Money on Customer Service Training
Choose a training provider who will get to know your business and who can support your business strategy and service standards. A training provider who is both experienced and exciting will be able to help you and your team provide personalized, customized customer service in a way that will last.
You could also make your customer service training program for your team to show them how important customer service, product knowledge, and skills are.
You may also want to teach your team leaders how to give regular short training sessions on customer service. This can have something to do with their regular team briefings.
Lastly, give the team leaders the materials to run these short sessions. For instance, you could give them laminated cards, posters, activities, exercises, products, and training guides.
Make It Easy for Customers to Tell You What’s Wrong
Think about how easy it is for your customers to tell you what’s wrong or what they don’t like. You can improve customer service if you have a simple way to get customer feedback. You will also help stop customer complaints in the future.
Set clear lines between who is responsible for what in dealing with the complaint. Also, list the compensation each person can offer customers at each stage.
With these ten practical tips in mind, you can ensure improved customer service in your organization.