Customer Service Is a Dying Art (and What You Can Do to Revive It)
Think about your last customer service experience. How was it? If it was a good experience, could it have been better? If it was a lousy experience, how many people did you tell? Customer service is a dying art. You don’t have to let customer service die off in your company; you can revive it.
Why Customer Service Is Dying
Your business is only as good as your customer service. As the Ziglar Vault states in their article, customer service is the foundation for success of your business. So, why is customer service dying? It’s dying because most companies have thrown how their clients feel to the side. Regardless of what your company policy for customer service actually includes, if you’re neglecting how your clients feel when they’re asking for and receiving assistance, then your customer service is lacking…and that will kill your business.
Most companies do not teach their customer service managers or reps to put themselves into the position of the client. While it’s a good thing that so many places give their customer service reps the ability to make independent decisions, it must also be taught that feelings do matter.
Remember, happy clients come back and they refer you to their friends. Unhappy clients take their business needs elsewhere and also tell their colleagues to avoid you. That can be very expensive in the long run.
Reviving Your Customer Service
Providing good care to your customers is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to grow your business and acquire new customers. As stated above, both happy and unhappy customers talk. To determine what they will say about you, you must be mindful of their feelings. That means that even if you don’t believe that they are justified in how they feel, that you acknowledge it and work to solve their problem.
Being mindful of how your customers feel includes going above and beyond the call of duty in order to address their concerns. This could be introducing proactive steps in order to minimize the occurrence of any issues. This could be conducting follow-up calls after your customer service department has initially addressed the issue.
The first step is to take a look at your customer service process. It’s important that you are objective throughout the review. Think about how you would feel if you were a client who felt confused or upset over something. How would you feel if someone gave you service according to your own customer service policies.
The next step is to consider your definition of customer service. For instance, we here at Clients A.R.M. pride ourselves on providing old fashioned customer service in this high-tech world. That means we take the time to listen to the issues that our clients have and we do whatever we can to address them…and we do it with kindness.
Finally, write and implement new customer service policies and procedures. Make sure that your customer service employees adhere to these policies. A successful experience is everyone’s responsibility.
Providing great customer service is a team effort. We’d like to help your company make the most of its customer service. Clients A.R.M. provides a free process review of your customer service procedures. This review can help you spot problems or potential problems and will help you develop a more proactive approach to providing customer care. We can even help you develop the best policies and procedures for your customer service department. If you’re ready to get started, contact us today to book your review!
