I often complain about bad customer service and believe me, I am not the only one who probably feels the same way. If professors can be rated so can your business and most of those ratings come from the type of customer service you or your team is giving. If you need help improving your customer service, here are some tips.
First impressions
The first step to great customer service is a positive first impression. They count immensely and should feel straightforward and welcoming. If you have a good first impression is more likely that the service will also be positive and vice versa. It’s easy if you use the right choice of words and an uplifting tone of voice. If your greeting is too long, shorten it or if it doesn’t make any sense, tailor it.
Know Your Product or Service
In order to provide great customer service, you need to know what you are selling like the back of your hand. Make sure you or your sales team know how to products and or services work. Be prepared for the common question as well as uncommon. Some customers also may be asking the same questions but in a more roundabout way. Be as articulate as possible so that your answers will end up leaving them satisfied.
Listen
Listening is probably one of the most important necessities of great customer service. If you aren’t listening, you probably aren’t getting anything done, and or answer when it comes to your customers. Listen to how they feel, so you can be empathetic to their problems.
Some customers are making calls on their bad days and often vent. It’s important to jot down all their key issues. Sometimes asking a customer who has already given you information that wasn’t noted, is a great way to get them more upset.
Sometimes customers give details the system doesn’t want or need and jotters are a great way to capture everything before discussing solutions with the customer and putting the right.
Respond as quickly as possible
A huge factor of great customer service is speed and efficiency. You know you don’t like your time wasted, and I’m pretty sure your customers don’t like it either. There is nothing worse than being unresponsive to a customer who is trying to get help, find out about products or simply resolve an issue. You have to remember that some customers have more influence than others. We do live in the world of the internet. They aren’t just one customer; everyone is important to your business. It’s important that you respond to all inquiries, no matter how small. Don’t make your customers feel ignored. You should be prompt in your calls as well as your response times. This includes email response times as well.
According to STELLAService, a few years ago the top 100 retail companies often took 17 hours to reply to their customers. Today isn’t much better, it takes an average of 12 hours to get a response back.
Ask for Feedback
There is always room for improvement. Ask your customers what they thought about your service, products, and business. What your customers think about your business is what either keeps it afloat or causes it to drown. You can use customer surveys, feedback forms, and questionnaires, but you also can also ask them firsthand. It’s better to ask them firsthand because it’s more likely you will get a response than sending a survey in their mail inbox. If it doesn’t promise much for their time, it likely that more than half of them will not be filled out.
Conclusion
All businesses should be built around great customer service. Customers are the livelihood of any business. If you treat them as if they aren’t worth much, you can forget about your business being prosperous. Don’t get too big for your britches after you’ve made a brand and received web presence because it always comes down to other people buying your stuff.
Wampler MacGregor & Associates 