By now, you should know the importance of good customer
service and that it is the key to retaining customers and from there - bigger
profit. So, it is not a surprise, that big companies, or should I say smart
companies, take customer service very seriously. But everybody makes mistakes.
It's a human thing. They may be results of bad choices or not enough
information, but mistakes happen. Let's check out the most common and how you
can fix them:
1. Making the customers work - there are many researches
(and you can probably tell this from your own experience) which show that when
a customer is need to put a high effort with a company there is an enormous
chance this customer won't be loyal. Simply said, the more work a customer has
to do in order to do business with your company, the more disloyal they are
likely to be. In most cases, this happens when your customer needs to register
something in your website or has to do a lot of things in order to use your
product. How to fix it? Check out the operations your customers need to do when
they want to contact you or use your products/services. Make them as simple as
possible and as fast as possible. Test everything. Then test again;
2. Being out-of-date - you might get surprised, but only 1/3
of world's businesses use modern technologies when it comes to customer service.
This means that the better part of world's businesses still use sticky notes
and loose pieces of paper to collect data from customers. If this sounds ok to
you then you have a problem in your hands. The good companies use technology
when it comes to CRM. How to fix this? Make sure you use the right tools for
tracking customer service - for example use a ticketing system (we have one you
can use for free) to keep track of emails, customers and enquiries. Forget
about sticky notes and pieces of paper;
3. Ignoring customer's feelings - customer service isn't
just about giving the customers what they want or helping them with their
problem. It's about the experience. It's about the feelings you provoke in
them. Yes, you gave them what they want, but did this provoke a good feeling in
them, was the experience positive? For example - yes, your customer service
agent did help the old lady with her toaster, but was the agent nice to her?
Because if he wasn't you will lose the customer in a snap - the toaster is ok
and working, but the experience was bad and most people will avoid such
interactions in the future. So, along with the effective service, make sure you
create a positive feeling in the customers, make them feel happy about
contacting you or your customer service.
More articles:
1. The 3 Foundations of the Good Customer Service
2. 12 of the Worst Customer Service Answers pt.1
3. Live Chat or Phone - Which One is Better