Olivia Maier
With competition increasing in many industries, customers are seemingly always able to jump ship and find a new provider for many products and services. In fact, 76% of customers said in a 2019 survey that it is easier than ever to take business elsewhere if they aren’t satisfied.
One way that businesses can reduce churn, and create a stronger sense of loyalty is by excelling in customer service. When customers have positive experiences, they’re more likely to continue doing business with your team and even share that positive experience with others. If you still need convincing, check out these surprising customer service statistics.
So what is your team supposed to do?
We wanted to provide you with three implementable customer service tips that will help you better understand how to improve customer service.
Personalize your customer service
The goals of customer service should be to exceed customer expectations to leave your customers not only feeling satisfied but delighted as well. Exceeding expectations can occur throughout the customer service process, but infusing that process with a personalized touch can go a long way.
Personalized service should begin right at the start of the customer interaction, with a greeting that makes the customer feel welcomed. This will start the customer experience on a positive note, that can be carried throughout the conversation. From there, make sure your agents are able to find out customer needs, have access to previous communications that they can reference, and are using active listening tactics to engage with the customer. Following up with an email that is personalized to make sure they had a good experience with your service could actually go a long way.
Take advantage of the right tools
Customer service is a task that requires the right tools to be done in the most effective way. The most common customer service tool would be CRM software, also known as customer relationship management software. Your CRM tool should give you the ability to organize, automate, and synchronize customer interactions and information. Consider ways that you could continue to leverage your CRM tools to get even more valuable information from it.
Your CRM is only one of the tools that are vital to customer service. Make sure that you have the appropriate channels of communication to best serve your customers. With an intelligent business phone system like Yodel, you’re able to ensure that your phone communication enhances the customer experience through smart integrations and advanced features. The same should be true for your email communications, chatbots, and so on.
Invest in customer service training
Your team might be experts when it comes to your product or service, but it is rare that an entire customer service team is an expert in effective CS tactics. That is why there are training providers, who can do an internal audit of the existing skills and gaps in your customer service experience. From there, personalized training can be conducted to get your team performing better. If there are team members or management staff who excel at customer service, they could alternatively develop an internal customer service training program for your business.
Customer service doesn’t have to feel like an always-moving target. Instead with smart changes and investments your team can soon excel in customer service, leaving your customers feeling satisfied and delighted.
