It does not matter how good your product is, if your customer service is unhelpful, unreliable, or hard to reach, folks are going to hear about it, and you will lose customers because of it.
The key to long-term success in business is investing in customer service.
What does great customer service mean, and how can you make sure that every customer has a positive interaction with your business when asking for help? Our team has outlined several methods to make your customer service the best in your industry.
How do you define great customer service?
The best customer service means following the best techniques like respecting your customers’ time, communicating clearly, and offering knowledgeable and helpful resources, but it also means exceeding expectations, rather than just meeting them.
Here are seven tips to deliver great customer service
The following eight tips can help you deliver great customer service and have your customers raving about you to their friends.
- Become familiar with your product
It is important to be an expert in the product you support as a customer support agent. Having a thorough knowledge of your products is essential to good customer service. You should have faith in your product, be capable of discussing features and use cases in a way that your customers will understand, and be able to troubleshoot anything that is not working properly.
To make sure that your customers feel that they have received true value for their money, it is your job to help them get the most from their purchase. Become an expert on your product so you can provide timely recommendations for using new features and services to your customers.
- Positive attitude is key
An excellent customer service experience is based on a positive attitude. The right attitude can turn negative customer experiences into positive ones. Especially when there is no face-to-face interaction, your language and tone of voice should reflect your attitude.
Written communications can be misinterpreted, and email and live chat can appear cold. The brain interprets someone’s emotional tone by interpreting a variety of signals, including body language and facial expression, many of which are absent on the internet. Feel free to use emojis for conveying humor and warmth, or call if a conversation gets tense over email or chat.
- Solve problems creatively
Bad customer service accounts for over 80% of customer churn. Therefore, you should make it a central part of your support role to solve problems for your customers – and there will always be problems.
For instance, RCN is known for its legendary customer service. They not only make sure to perfect their internet and cable TV services but also ensure to cater to customer problems timely. RCN customer service is the major reason the company has a tremendous fan following.
When you are trying to help your customers, be sure to wow them. Rather than just fixing the issue and being on your way, you need to meet their needs creatively in unique ways that go above and beyond to create customers that will stick with you and your business.
- Be prompt in your response
The cornerstone of good customer service is resolving customer queries as soon as possible. When dealing with small issues, speed should be the most important factor.
Having said that, great customer service always wins over speed. The more complex the query, the longer it takes to resolve it. The time you take to respond differs from the speed at which you solve their problems. The customer does not wish to wait in a queue, but he or she will wait as long as necessary to resolve an issue. You should do the same. You should respond to your customers as soon as possible, but be careful not to close the ticket before it has been resolved.
- Assist customers in helping themselves
In addition, customers do not always want to speak to someone in order to get their problems resolved. Rather, they want to resolve the issue themselves, as quickly as possible. Most of the consumers first attempt to solve problems on their own before reaching out to a live representative.
So, when customers reach out to you, listen to their concerns and help them out. Give them time and make them feel valued.
- Listen actively
As part of paying attention to customer criticism, it is important to review past client data as well as listen in real-time. Let your customers know you are listening to them. Listening makes it more likely for you to hear your customers’ real problems and solve them effectively, resulting in happier customers.
Rather than pushing your agenda, listen to what they are saying. Make no assumptions about what your customers will say.
Actively listen when you are on the phone or in live chat. Use phrases such as “It sounds like…” “Let me ask this question again.” Listening actively is also about being mindful of the unique personality and emotional state of your customer, so you can tailor your response accordingly. Customer service is not one-size-fits-all.
- Stay true to your word
Make sure you deliver your promises if you promise something. That is basic customer service. Do not disappoint your customers. Respect and trust go hand in hand.
If your SLA stipulates 99% uptime, make sure you keep to that standard. When you say you will develop a certain feature in your software in a particular time frame, make sure you follow through.
Offer something to make up for breaking your word, like saying you will get back to a customer within 24 hours but not doing so. If your customer receives an incorrect delivery, offer to replace it and refund their money. In the shorter term, you might lose some money, but you gain a customer who will remain loyal.
When you exceed expectations, customers do not feel more grateful. On the other hand, they feel angry if you fail to follow through. The best approach is to make sure you never breach this vital social contract by under-promising and over-delivering.
- Help others proactively
Delivering great customer service requires you to go the extra mile. It occurs when all the boxes have been checked, and yet you still want to do more.
Knowing what your customers need before they have even uttered it is part of being helpful. Sometimes, customers may ask for something without realizing that they actually need something else. Having an understanding of their needs is your job.
Customers will keep coming back when they feel valued and special by you. Social psychology suggests that this may be related to reciprocity: If you do something nice for your customer, they are likely to do something in return – like buy your products! Giving your customers a small gift “for no reason” or a promo code shows them how much you value their business.
Final Thoughts
Great customer service is the result of combining all of the above factors. You earn a reputation for helping customers and making your business pleasant to work with by providing great customer service.
A customer wants to be treated as an individual, not as a number in a queue. Customer service-driven growth starts by humanizing your customers. There is no doubt that you will reach the pinnacle of glory by following all these customer service tips.
If you have anything to add, please leave a comment below.
