Improving customer service is becoming increasingly difficult for companies. It is not easy to manage customer service so that it is always perceived in the same way in all interactions with the customer. On the other hand, the client is empowered; they quickly get what they want and how they want it. Changing providers is straightforward, and therefore it is increasingly challenging to retain them. Also, with each passing year, consumer expectations are higher. This has been demonstrated in a survey of the CEOs of different companies, where 82% answered that the expectations of their customers had increased “somewhat” or “a lot” in the last three years.
Do you have a question about a product? Do you need help with an order? Are you trying to find an item at a local store? Where do you turn? Customer service. Regardless of the reason or the channel you choose, each Contact with the company is an opportunity for the client to form an opinion of the brand. Your job is to fulfil all the needs of your customers, all the time.
Know Your Customers
Create different archetypes of your clients or buyer journey. Interview your customer service team, conduct surveys with your direct customers. Use tools to determine which are the pain points of your clients, what causes them frustration or irritability? On the other hand, don’t stop listening to your customers and be sure to pay attention to complaints. Work on a support that is ahead of the needs of your customers.
Invest in Your Employees
If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers. The company’s customer orientation must also be seen inward because there is also an internal customer. Involve your employees. Let them know that it depends on them that the company can deliver the best service to the customer. Listen to what they have to say and take their ideas into account. Take their opinions into account, so they feel part of the solution. Never stop training them. When an employee is poorly prepared, it generates frustration in the client, and that causes friction.
Configure Your Processes to Eliminate Friction with Your Customers
There’s nothing like reviewing your customer service or delivery service processes to improve customer service. But do so by focusing on friction with the customer. Because don’t forget that friction is the enemy of the customer experience. Ask yourself questions that allow you to find points of friction with the customer, such as is it difficult to contact the company? Are there times when the customer is made to wait unnecessarily? Am I quick in the answers? At what point am I not making it easy for the client?
Consistency
You cannot improve customer service if it is not consistent across all processes and channels throughout the customer journey. The service is constant when the client always says “they are always well informed”, “they always call back”, “they always help me”. Only when the client perceives that “always” and at all points of Contact the company provides excellent service, consistency is achieved.
Proactive Customer Service
Research conducted in 2018 by Contact examined how customers reacted when they were ‘proactively’ contacted by companies. They found that 73% of those who had been proactively contacted had experienced an improvement in customer service. They added that their perception of the business calling them had improved. Getting service orientation to be implemented in the company culture is a goal that significantly improves customer service. Because it causes the customer service team itself and the rest of the employees to align themselves towards the same objective, which is to serve the customer.
Stay Up to Date with Technology
Photo: Unsplash
You must always be up to date with technology and put it at the service of the client. Look for tools that can improve efficiency and support your customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software and Customer Support Software helps you manage customers more efficiently and personalize your customer relationship. Improve your customer service with omnichannel support. Provide channels and self-service options demanded by today’s customers. It would help if you also looked into innovative ways to help your customers with software from Maxanet.
Create a Loyalty Program
Why a loyalty program can assist your brand.
- The creation of a loyalty card: The loyal customer club is one of the most common types of programs. It attracts the customer by obtaining economic advantages, accumulating points for each purchase made—also the provision of additional information services, advice that may be attractive to them. Usually, having a rewards card brings immediate, tangible benefits that the company will recover throughout the relationship with the client. An example of software that allows you to manage loyalty through physical or virtual cards is that of fidelity. Very widespread both in online stores and physical stores.
- Frequency programs: Programs based on getting prizes or discounts every time you make a purchase are ubiquitous. They are both effective when it comes to building loyalty because you get future purchases, and customers come back to buy again.
- Special offers: These are offers reserved for special customers with limited quantity items, using exclusivity or the idea of opportunity. The more specific the recommendation is to customers, the greater the probability of success. These types of requests do not usually report economic income to the company in the short term. But it offers a clear benefit to the customer to continue consuming the company’s product or service.
Any marketing plan should contain a loyalty strategy because it is important to know consumer habits and what drives your customers to buy, as each sector is different. Most consumers, 48%, say that discounts are the main reason, followed by rewards programs for 32% of users. You can see how discounts are a crucial element on how to retain customers. There are many companies with plans to obtain loyal customers. Amazon, for example, has a prime membership that has an annual value. Create something that is valuable for your brand and that will last.
