Regardless of the kind of business you’re running, you have to have a successful customer service system. If you don’t, you’ll soon find your business riddled with complaints, bad reviews, and plummeting sales. There are several things that you may even be doing right now that will hurt your customer service department. While there are many points that factor into great customer service care, we’ve narrowed it down to five key points we believe make for successful customer service.
1. Responsiveness & Personability
Having a lackluster, bored, condescending or unreachable staff will hamper your business. It slowly cripples it from the inside. Make sure that you’re choosing people with the right personality and attitude – people who understand that customer service is about making customers feel heard, happy, and open to spending. Hire skilled people who are great with conversations, great under pressure, have a sense of humor (and know when to use it), and who genuinely care about your customers.
2. Ease of Access
Providing customer service in person is easy. We see it every day – the manager that assists when there’s a problem, the greeter who says hello as customers walk in, even the friendly custodial staff that keeps the business clean. But sometimes customers need a little more. Make sure that you offer online live chats, email customer support systems, a 1-800 hotline, and a direct line to the location that they use most. To retain customer relationships, you want your customers to feel like they can come to you with problems and that you’ll approach them with punctuality and positivity.
3. Caring for Customers & Employees
Another common problem is that customer service sometimes gets split up – you either have great customer support for clients or employees. Why not both? Employees will become some of your most loyal customers when you treat them right. Make sure that they have just as easy access to customer support so that they can not only improve their own skills but feel like they would want to buy your products or services.
4. Make It Rewarding
You should want to reward both your customers and your customer service reps. Reward customers for alerting you to problems or using your service or products with great results. Whether this is a simple acknowledgment or coupons, discounts, or exclusive offers, it can make a huge, positive difference. You’ll also want to make sure that your representatives are being rewarded for their hard work and patience. Have friendly competitions between employees, company-funded “fun” days, or even just employee lunches or simple pastries in the morning.
5. Listen to Complaints
It’s easy to blow off customer complaints. Sometimes it’s even easier to blow off employee complaints. The fact is, you know why and how your business is run. Sometimes we can get caught up in how things are supposed to be, and we forget that there is always room for improvement.
As you take the time to develop your customer support team, you’ll find that your business has its own unique room for improvement. Listen to comments and complaints by customers and employees. Learn what your market likes in a customer support team. Every hour and every dime you spend on this is only going to grow the profits you get.
