3 Highly Effective Ways To Provide Excellent Customer Service

A business that builds solid customer or client services even if it has many competitors selling a similar product or offering a comparable service will always prosper. By contrast, a business with a premium product or service that does not develop customer-centric approaches will not always have higher sales. Meanwhile, in order to build a higher customer interaction, a company that wants to improve its customer service needs to integrate the greatest number of contact methods into a customer service department.

Here are 3 established ways to build exceptional rapport with all your customers:

1. Use a call center.

A cloud call center can make it easy for customer service reps to build up good relationships with a large volume of customers. However, while technology might make it easier for customers to make inquiries or get help with their purchase, the key to success is training sales reps on the best ways to engage with customers and build rapport. With that in mind, here are 5 techniques to improve customer relationships:

1. Route the caller to the right agent.

There is nothing more frustrating for the caller then to be sent to the wrong rep, and shuffling the call from one person to another will only add to the caller’s frustration, even if they eventually find the right person.

When a customer calls, they should be routed to the right person. The way to avoid frustrating customers, assuming the caller does not use the automated routing system but just asks for a representative, is for the first point of contact to clearly identify the caller’s needs so that they can be directed to the right expert.

2. Practice common courtesy.

All sales reps should be trained on exactly how to come across as friendly and helpful.

Here are a few basic tips:

  • ·  Be humble and courteous, treating the caller with respect.
  • ·  Appear pleased to hear from the caller, rather than bored, indifferent, or impatient.
  • ·  Speak in a warm, friendly, and engaging way, in a soft tone, rather than in an extroverted, possibly intimidating way.
  • ·  Don’t interrupt callers or make them feel foolish for not knowing how to articulate their problem clearly.
  • ·  Try to understand their frustrations, fears, or pain points and try to fulfill their needs, even if the customer is not quite clear exactly what kind of help they need.
  • ·  Apologize for any inconveniences they might have experienced with the product, service, any delays in getting through to a live representative, or for not getting the help they need at an earlier time.

3. Resolve the problem quickly and efficiently.

Over time, the customer service department will build up a considerable database of the most frequent problems customers’ experience. As a result, a customer service department should develop standardized solutions for handling different problems. By working from a database of “if-then” solutions, reps should be in a position to quickly resolve most problems.

2. Use email to develop rapport.

Many customers find it easier to simply fill out a form on a website and send in their questions or problems.

Here are some tips on how to develop rapport through email messaging:

1. Greet the customer and address them by name. Many rep’s response emails read as if it were a telegraph and the business had to pay for each word.

2. Thank the customer for using the product or service and for taking the time to contact the customer service department.

3. Empathize with the problem and promise to help them resolve it as quickly as possible.

4. Summarize the problem to clarify the issue and avoid any misunderstanding.

5. Provide the solution in plain English, giving the customer all the information they need to resolve their problem. The solution can be simplified through screenshots, step-by-step instructions, providing links, or offering examples. Sometimes, too, the rep might be in a position to solve the problem directly.

6. Assure the customer that if the solution does not work that they are welcome to write back for more help.  

3. Use live chat.

According to a study quoted by eConsultancy, “Live chat has the highest satisfaction levels for any customer service channel, with 73%, compared with 61% for email and 44% for phone.”

Here are some best practices customer service reps should use to build customer relationships through live chat:

1. Sound natural, even if using templates and scripts to answer customer’s questions.

2. Read customer’s questions critically to understand what they need and then directly respond to those needs. If unclear, ask questions to clarify the issue.

3. Empathize with the customer’s problem and ask probing questions to understand the full extent of the problem or possible solutions they might already have tried before initiating the chat.

4 Inform the customer when they need to wait. For instance, there may be a technical issue that needs to be corrected remotely or certain information has to be researched.

5. Use correct spelling and punctuation rather than resort to informal text language. Also, avoid spelling or grammar mistakes as this can look highly unprofessional.

6. Close courteously and invite the customer to connect again if the solution they need to implement does not work out.

Training customer service reps with how to handle calls, emails, and chats will make a huge difference to providing a high level of customer satisfaction and growing your business.

About the author

Amanda Green is a site contributor that often writes on personal finance, marketing and business. In her free time she enjoys reading and playing volleyball with family and friends. Her work may also be found on http://www.paidtwice.com

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