The term ‘customer service’ is thrown around a lot, but very few understand the magnitude of the phrase. Customer service creates the foundation for every company.
Despite its importance, very few companies are actually able to perfect the art of providing truly excellent customer service.
Without customers, a business cannot stand. Despite its importance, very few companies are actually able to perfect the art of providing truly excellent customer service.
There are several different facets that need to be explored when discussing the topic, and understanding each of them will lead to increased customer satisfaction and positive changes in your company.
Here, we’ll delve into the idea of what customer service really is and offer solutions for improvement.
Defining What is Customer Service
For starters, let’s discuss what customer service is exactly.
Let’s break it down: customer service, in the broadest sense, addresses what the customer needs (ideally, in a quick and effective manner). Customers have a wide number of questions they need answered and problems they encounter. Customers want to feel valued- not as if they are just a number.
Businesses that take care of their customers benefit from brand loyalty, and great word of mouth. On the other hand, customers that don’t feel appreciated will simply take their business elsewhere.
The Power of Technology
Customers need to have their voices heard, and technology has made that very easy to do. It is a difficult task for companies to stay up-to-date with all customer queries, as customers change their needs and demands; however, there are a few key software features that can help.
Here are some of the most basic requirements of any customer service technology that is implemented. The service platform should:
- Obtain the inquiry vie e-mail, chat, Facebook, phone, and other relevant mediums
- Direct the inquiry to a service agent
- Record and create a case for the inquiry
- Find the resolution or answer
- Communicate the response to the customer
- Track down any necessary notes before closing the case
These are the basic requirements of any customer service technology, and it is expected of any company to take care of any questions or inquires that a customer might have.
However, this is merely the minimum of what a company should do for its customers. Customers want to have a variety of different ways to communicate with a company. They don’t want to feel like they are only accepted when it is most convenient for the company, but rather the company is striving to make time for the customer. This is why it is difficult to master customer service.
Evolving Customer Expectations
As more mediums are introduced and implemented, the expectations of customers change. It’s been shown that users of all ages have started to adopt new technology, and that’s exactly why companies need to evolve as well. This doesn’t mean that older methods should be abandoned, however. It’s been shown that about 73% of customers still use the phone for primary contact for a business, a number that has remained steady for the past 3 years.
The main issue with the phone assistance is the wait times, something that many companies have to combat. Chatting is another type of live assistance that customers appreciate as well. The long queues can make waiting difficult, but people appreciate knowing that there is a physical person helping them on the other side.
Customer Satisfaction Ratings
Voice and chat has the highest satisfaction ratings when it comes to customer service, with 69% and 63% respectively. These two forms are the highest marks for service, meaning that there is still plenty of room to grow. 71% of customers agree that valuing their time is the most important aspect of customer service that a company can have. The less they have to wait, the better.
There is technology out there that eliminates customer wait times with virtual agents and self-help guides, but they do not rank as highly. This is not because of the fact that customers don’t appreciate the effort; there just isn’t enough of it yet. There are too few self-service tools out there for customers to truly resolve issues on their own. Often, the directions are too clumsy and confusing for anyone to really get anything out of it.
Real-Time Response
The most instantaneous responses should come from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, (even though they rank the lowest out of all the available methods). Many customer service departments have not found an effective way to integrate social media into their customer service model, so online questions are often left unanswered. It’s a tricky medium that companies have struggled with, but it’s clear that the demand is there and that something needs to be done soon.
The Necessity of Self-Service
Alternatively, encouraging self-service to alleviate inbound calls and emails can be a great solution. Guidance platforms, such as WalkMe, help guide users through simple tasks that don’t require a call to the support center. When a customer does call the service line, or use live chat, the agent can send a link to a walk-through that guides the user through the task through completion.
The Way Forward
In order to move forward, companies need to address these issues because they won’t be going away any time soon. As other companies struggle to figure out how to provide the best customer service, customers will slowly gravitate towards companies with self-service options because these platforms address the concerns and needs of customers.
In other words, businesses that don’t take advantage of this opportunity will be trying to catch up for years to come. At the same time, listening to customer feedback and resolving their issues in a quick and professional manner can mean getting customers from a competitor and increasing customer loyalty as well as income.
To Sum Up,
As one can see, there is a lot that must go into the concept of creating excellent customer service. While it may be hard to address each and every issue at once, putting the right foot forward can make a world of difference. Once customers realize that your company is trying to make things right in the service world by streamlining customer service issues, they will be that much more appreciative and supportive of the changes.
In order to increase income and become a better company, every business should put customer service at the forefront.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.