What makes a business successful? Some would say great products, others might argue it’s great employees. And while both of those are extremely important, they aren’t what keeps a business running. To truly be successful, you need to have loyal customers, and improving your customer service keeps them loyal.
Globally, 96% of consumers agree that customer service plays a significant role in their choice of loyalty to a brand. The difference between good and bad customer service is also the difference between a successful and unsuccessful brand.
If you want to ensure your success and profitability, you need to focus on improving customer service. Here are four strategies to help you achieve that.
Use the right tools
In the year 2022, businesses are lucky to have access to a plethora of tools that can help them improve how they take on various daily operations. Even if you have the best support team in the world, unless you equip them with the right tools, your customers won’t be happy.
When you use customer service tools, you will significantly increase the quality of the support you offer to customers while making your team’s job easier. There isn’t a downside to using this type of software, and if you use the right customer support tools, all you will see are benefits.
Here are some benefits you will see if you use these tools:
- Access to a centralized database. There are tools that come with an easily searchable database that is filled with all of the data your agents might need during a customer interaction. Whether it’s data regarding customers or your products, agents can find it in a few seconds.
- Faster service. In the customers’ eyes, good service is also fast. You can’t achieve the speed today’s consumers expect without the help of tools.
- 24/7 support. Nowadays, it’s not enough to only be available during business hours. Customers want to have non-stop support. If you use tools such as a chatbot, you’ll be able to provide that service any time of day and night.
Don’t forget the good old phone
In today’s world of digital communication, it seems like nobody picks up the phone anymore, but that is a misconception. A lot of people still like to use the good old phone to talk to businesses.
Even though we live in the era of the internet and seemingly endless communication channels, you shouldn’t deprive your customers of the chance of reaching you by phone.
One of the reasons why this channel is still universally popular is because all age groups know how to use phones and are comfortable doing so. Maybe someone from an older generation doesn’t know how to reach you on social media or send you an email, but they surely know how to dial your number.
And let’s not forget that some questions and problems require a phone call. You can’t answer and solve everything through a channel that uses written communication, and there’s no point in trying sometimes.
But don’t think that you need to use a regular phone line. Business phone calls work differently now than they did just a few years ago. Take a look at some of the best business phone services that will provide you with various features and you’ll take this area of your customer service to the next level.
Create an omnichannel strategy
As much as 81% of consumers say that a positive customer service experience increases the chances of making another purchase, and it’s your job to provide that positive experience. One of the things that will ensure you’re on the right track to doing so is offering omnichannel support.
We already talked about how important phones are for the quality of your customer service. But that doesn’t mean you should only use phones. In fact, you should offer as many channels as possible. You never know what a customer’s preferred method of communication is. It could be phone calls, chatbot, email, social media, or anything else you can think of.
Encourage and welcome customer feedback
It’s important to realize and accept that your business isn’t doing everything perfectly. There is no such thing as a flawless business with impeccable customer support. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive to be better every day.
When you decide you need to change and improve your customer service, and any other area of your business, you shouldn’t rely on guesswork. Instead, ask your customers and find out what they think you should change.
Nobody knows what your customers want better than the customers themselves. And the best way to find out what they want to see is through customer feedback. And if you know how to incorporate customer feedback into your business strategy, it will be one of your biggest assets.
Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback after every customer service interaction or send out feedback surveys regularly. Welcome both positive and negative feedback. Because only then you’ll have a clear picture of your business, what works, and what doesn’t.
Final thoughts
Customer service is the backbone of your business because your support team is the one that solves all issues, answers all questions, and turns reluctant prospects into loyal customers. So don’t take this department for granted. Instead, do everything in your power to improve it.
