Customer service is essential when it comes to making your business a success. Your customers are more likely to spread the word about your company if staff have gone above and beyond to provide them with an unforgettable service. All businesses should strive to achieve high-quality customer service no matter what. There are a few ways in which you can do this, from implementing omnichannel customer experience to understanding your customer’s needs and exceeding their expectations. Here are 5 tips on how you can boost your customer service.
- Understand customer needs
This is one of the most important ways in which you can boost your customer service. Understanding what your customer needs from you allows you to tailor your service to everyone. For example, you should think about what you currently know about your customers and what you have learnt about them in the past – what do they need help with, and what do they frequently ask you? You can take this information and adapt your customer service in line with it, or your product so that it appeals to a wider audience. Understanding expectations means you can work towards meeting and exceeding them.
- Seek feedback
Building on the first point, seeking feedback directly from your customer means you can identify any gaps in your service that you may need to work on. You can do this by asking customers to leave reviews, online or on social media. You could also give them a call after they’ve used your product or service so you can discuss with them how they think your service was and if there is any way that you could improve. You could also automate this by sending out a survey or feedback form for customers to fill out via email – this way, your customers are more likely to be truthful and means they can complete the survey at a time they see fit.
- Exceed expectations
Great customer service doesn’t just mean doing enough, it means meeting your customer’s expectations and going even further to exceed them. If you’re already meeting your customer’s basic needs, why not go above and beyond and do something a little more special? You could offer them a free gift with their purchase, or recognise special events or occasions of loyal customers, you could send them a birthday card! Special touches go a long way and even something like gift wrapping if you work in retail will improve your customer’s experience with your company.
- Personalise customer service
This is a way of building up rapport and trust with your customers, new and loyal. To personalise your customer service, you should think about how you greet and welcome your customers into your business. You should also make sure you use your customers’ names when talking to them, this creates a more friendly approach. You should appear genuinely interested in your customer and go out of your way to help them find the best solution to their issues. Personalised service often means a great experience, meaning your customer will return in the future for your help.
- Set the standard
If you’re in charge of or managing a team, you should make sure that everyone clearly understands the levels of customer service that they need to implement. You can do this by regularly having training sessions with your team so that they are up to date and clear on what they have to offer. You should include training in areas like the tone and type of language they should use to represent the company, any templates that they should follow throughout the implementation of customer service, as well as timescales to complete certain tasks, for example how long it should take them to pick up the phone or reply to an email. Setting the standard means all of our staff should know how best to communicate with customers and can help them to avoid any conflict or bad service.
