Good customer service can benefit any business. While every company should personalize and customize their services according to their customers and products, there are a few standard best practices, which resonate across the board.
Be proactive in communication
The first step in solving any customer issue is communication, says Jannice, a customer support executive of TFTH. When a customer is ignored or is addressed inappropriately, he will now be more difficult to please. The first step in solving any customer issue is communication, says Jannice, a customer support executive of TFTH. When a customer is ignored or is addressed inappropriately, he will now be more difficult to please.
Welcome messages or welcome emails are usually defined as the first form of communication with your audience and are used for greeting, onboarding, or to let people know how to get in touch with you.
So, their main purpose may differ, but welcome emails are vital to your audience. They’re extremely important for setting the tone and can make the difference between engaging with people or losing them. You can find out more about the importance of welcome messages.
After that, the satisfaction bar is raised and may be unachievable for the company.
Follow up with them
Of course, communication is vital for customer service, but is it worth the extra? 100 percent. While you communicate with the customer, you need to follow up with them till a final resolution is provided.
Let the customer know when he can expect a replacement product or the period in which they will receive a credit in their statement. If you do not follow up with the communication, the customer will only think that you have forgotten about him, and his issue is not essential to you.
Resolve their queries
The only good way to resolve and exceed your customer satisfaction is by giving them an apt resolution. There will be times when a customer receives a broken product. Of course, you will provide them with a refund or replacement, but is it enough? If your customer had a bad experience, you need to make it up to them by going a little extra.
For instance, give them a gift to feel how empathetic you are towards them. Any complimentary freebie or service can also be a good gesture. You can send them your company t-shirts to make them feel more connected to you. When you walk the extra mile, the customers appreciate your efforts and forget what went wrong.
Stacey, who works with EduworldUSA, shares her experience, stating that she shopped for a MacBook charger from Amazon, and received a T-shirt. Now, when she called the customer support team, they sent her a new charger in two days and told her to keep the t-shirt at no added cost. This is indeed a thoughtful and gracious gesture from the customer support team towards Stacey.
Be relatable
To understand the problem that your customer is facing, you should be able to relate to them. Think from the customer’s perspective. Consider how they must have felt when they received a defective product. It will help you think of ways to make things better for your customer. If an employee puts himself in the customer’s position and then offers a resolution, there is a huge difference in their attitude towards the customers. The customer will surely be able to see through it and appreciate it more.
Always remember reliability, empathy, responsiveness, tangibles, and assurances are vital attributes of a good customer support service that needs to be practiced by one and all. Empathy refers to the ability to make yourself vulnerable to feel what the other person may be feeling.
Show flexibility
Always bear in mind that every customer is unique. Thus, the solution that you used for X may not be right for Y. Though the interactions between the customer support team and the customers must be standardized, there should be adequate flexibility in the manner a customer’s issue is approached.
Showcase your reliability
The customer support team’s role is to make the customers feel that they are associating with a highly reliable company, says Martha, a support representative for FineGrades. A company needs to maintain consistency in their products, services, and customer responses.
Of course, as a business, you will offer a remedial action, but it is vital that you need to instil the confidence in your customer that it is a one-time experience, and it will not be reported anytime a customer returns to them.
Make them believe that you aspire to offer them a commendable service over and over again. Your actions will make them believe in you, so follow your words with suitable actions.
Be prompt
When you are servicing your customer, you have to ensure that you are prompt and quick in your resolution time. Usually, when a customer contacts the customer representatives, they have already reached their frustration threshold, points out support representative head of TAE, Anusha.
Thus, as a customer support executive, you need first to acknowledge that the issue is vital for your customer, and then you need to tend to it and offer them a resolution in minimum time.
Do not judge a book by its cover
Of course, you need to make informed and educated observation about every individual you communicate with. Do not simply assume that you are a know-it-all, simply based on the information about their profession or appearance. As an entrepreneur, you would never like someone to pigeonhole you into a preset notion of who you may be. So, the same applies to your customer. Hence, it would be best if you refrained from doing so.
For you, there should be nothing above offering your customers a superior service. As part of your service, you need to reach out to your customers and build reliable connections with them. It is only possible if you offer them a top-notch service. Consistently helping your customers get the best products and services paves the way for a long-lasting relationship.
You need to put in adequate effort to know your customers, hear out to them, and treat them right. If required, go that extra mile. Customers will always see through the effort that you take for them. Such customers who associate with you on the foundation of trust will never shy away from doing business with you in the future.
Be memorable
Your resolution should be strong enough for the customer to forget the negative experience they had with you. Moreover, it should offer them some positive memories, which rightly overshadow the terrible experience they have had with you.
Bottom line
The success of any company depends on its customers. If you fail to keep your customers happy, you will never make it big in the market. Remember, one bad experience a customer has can tarnish your reputation in their mind forever.
So, be careful, exert due care, and always strive for the best.
