It’s no secret that customer service can potentially make or break a business. One bad customer experience and you can have a whole twitter debate on your hands. Conversely, making a customer happy can effectively turn them into a brand advocate, free of charge.
Yet, if this is so widely known, then why are so many brands out there struggling to keep their customers content? Simple: they haven’t read this guide down below. So, don’t be like them and take a quick peek.
Train your team
When it comes to customer support, time is of the essence. In other words, customers aren’t exactly known for their patience – hence why you need to provide them with quick, and relevant, answers and offer appropriate solutions for their problems. Failing to do so could result in a loss of both clients and reputation for your business.
So, do your best to train your staff members for any and all situations they might come across to shorten the delay in their response. Also, take the time and educate your employees in key areas and matters that concern your company, and your products. That way they’ll become experts in the field and will not get so easily confused when they’re presented with a problem.
Offer a more personalized customer experience
A lot has changed since the days of pre-written scripts and automated audio recordings. Today, customers value a more personalized experience over anything else, and brands that manage to nail this will be at the top of the food-chain.
For instance, the Ritz-Carlton hotel company authorizes its employees – from room service to desk clerks – to spend as much as $2,000 per day to provide their guests with exceptional customer service if need be.
One example of this can be seen in John DiJulius’s (customer experience expert) anecdote about his own personal experience. Namely, he left his laptop charger back in his hotel room and the hotel staff sent him an air package with a personal note the very next day, along with an additional charger, just in case.
Make life easier for your customers
You know what they say: “a friend in need, is a friend indeed”. The same could be applied to business-customer relationships; where providing additional assistance to your customers goes a long way. For instance, if you’re offering exclusive products which require close inspection beforehand, your clients may have to travel great distances in order to reach you.
Thus, you can make their lives somewhat easier by organizing a corporate bus charter to pick them up (at the airport i.e.) and bring them to your company’s headquarters free of charge. That way you show your customers that you do care, and that you’re capable of surpassing any obstacles standing in the way of proper client satisfaction.
Recruit the right people
Pay close attention to the candidates you consider for the job; not everyone is cut out to be a customer support representative. Training can only go so far, you need to find individuals who are genuinely pleasant to work with and are able to keep a charming smile on their faces at all times; no matter the situation.
Likewise, they need to be exceptionally eager to help others, think on their two feet, and, overall, have excellent problem solving skills. The key? Passion. Enthusiastic employees radiate an aura of excitement around them, influencing not only their colleagues but customers in general. Hence, you need to search for people of this caliber. After all, your employees are the face of your business.
Improve accessibility
When it comes to customer needs, you need to have fast reaction times. Putting them on hold for too long will only frustrate them further; with the potential of them venting out on social media and other platforms due to your brand’s general incompetence. Instead, you should leave no stone unturned, no email unanswered, and no comment unreplied.
Set a 48 hour deadline, preferably 24, for your brand to respond to each and every message issued by your followers, and potential customers, across all platforms. In addition, you can also increase your reach by expanding to other communication channels, that you haven’t tried out before, which will make it easier for your customers to get in touch with you.
Have a user-friendly website
Having a responsive, user-friendly, website is a must in today’s digital environment. The days of cluttered, over-the-top, website designs with mismatching color schemes and confusing navigation bars are over; especially now, considering the fact that nearly 60% of all searches come from mobile devices, which warrants a cleaner, more intuitive design.
Nobody will ever do business with you if they have to wait ages for your website to load on their screens; they will simply move on instead. Just think about it: do people enjoy watching paint dry? Probably not. Therefore, don’t let it come to that and enhance your website’s responsiveness to keep your customers happy.
Ultimately, you should never assume that your customers are fully satisfied; send follow-ups instead. You’d be surprised how much a simple follow-up message, or email, can keep your happy content.
If you want to go that extra mile, you can even custom-tailor each message for each individual client; just add something personal to show that you haven’t forgotten them, yet.
