Since word of mouth recommendations and referrals are often key drivers of new business, and retaining existing customers is vital, all businesses need to strive to achieve consistently high service levels.
Below are our 5 hot tips to mastering customer service in your business.
TIP 1 – Understand your customer needs
The more you know about your customers, the more you are likely to understand customer needs and expectations. Spend time doing research about your main customers and then give some thought as to how your product or service could be improved to better suit their needs. This will help you find the right ways to meet customer aspirations and achieve outstanding customer service.
TIP 2 – Look at every touchpoint and delight customers with WOW moments
Review your customer experience and pay attention to the key touchpoints you have with your customers. How can these touchpoints be improved to provide a better overall experience for the customer? Look to add WOW! moments to the customer experience. Nothing is more powerful than a customer receiving something positive they were not expecting or anticipating from you.
TIP 3 – Improve the customer service skills of your team
Your customer service team must have the right skills to manage your customer needs. Skills your customer service team should look to improve on include:
- Empathy, patience and consistency. Some customers will be irate. Others will be full of questions. And others will just be chatty. You must know how to handle all of them and provide the same level of service every time.
- Adaptability. Every customer is different, and some may even seem to change week-to-week. You should be able to handle surprises, sense the customer’s mood and adapt accordingly.
- Clear communication. Ensure you convey to customers exactly what you mean. You don’t want your customer to think he’s getting 50% off when he’s actually getting 50% more product. Use authentically positive language, stay cheerful no matter what and never end a conversation without confirming the customer is satisfied.
TIP 4 – Ensure your customer service team is engaged
You can have the best customer service skills and the best training in the world, but if your team is checked out, it won’t matter at all. Improving employee engagement is another way to make sure customers have a great experience. Satisfied employees = happy customers.
TIP 5 – Give you customers a way to provide feedback
Create an easy way for customers to give feedback about your business and their experience to make sure you learn about the good, the bad and the ugly. Whether it’s a phone survey at the end of a service call, an email survey sent directly from your CRM tool, or a form on the “Contact Us” page of your website, creating a means for customers to give feedback makes it easier for you to learn what needs improvement. It also helps keep unhappy customers from voicing their displeasure on highly visible places like your social media pages.
It’s no secret that when you provide great customer service, it helps you win new business and keep current customers. In an increasingly competitive business world it is crucial for all business big and small to consistently deliver WOW to their customers.
For help on ways to improve your business contact the team at MJJ Accounting and Business Solutions.
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