Four value generating customer service tips

There are a dozen of customer service tips in the web. How many of them actually provide value? Although customer service tips like ‘be polite with customers’ are correct, the point is they do not provide much further insight. Not to forget there are less chances that customers will return to a brand just because it interacts politely with its customers.

In other words, there are thousands of customer service tips with a specific value-generating potentiality. As a business entrepreneur, you need to focus on the ones that rank high in terms of value generation.

With this in mind, we have compiled a list of suggestions/tactics which will make your customer service smart and not effortlessly dumb. Please note that the below-mentioned tips are backed by multiple researches and consumer data, corroborating their benefits to businesses.

1. Develop a cross-channel strategy

Omnichannel customer service is the need of the hour. However, most businesses fail at it especially when it comes to combining information from different professionals and outside channels. Result �" customers get different version of company facts. Slip into the customers’ shoes and imagine the frustration that you have to face on getting dissimilar information at different channels.

Implement a web based CRM solution. This will ensure that the information which has been siloed within separate departments is accessible to all your customer-facing channels. The CRM will act as a centralized knowledge repository for all your product/service information. It will be supported by a workflow that will bring true collaboration to your business.

Paraphrasing the words of Aaron Fulkerson CEO of MindTouch, - Every company should have an easy-to-connect plug-and-play platform that contains all the product/service information. This hub should be accessible to all in sales, support and marketing so that the information present there can be easily updated and shared via easy-to-use APIs.

2. Work upon the complaints

It’s disheartening to listen to customer complaints �" agreed! However, reading the next few lines will make you rethink your decision.

Around 70 to 90 percent of customers prefer businesses who not only give due credence to product/service complaints but solve them in the first round itself.

Follow the ART method:

Acknowledge the complaints ASAP. (Remember this is the most important step. By acknowledging the complaint, customers get a sigh of relief that you have noticed their grievance and will take some action on it).

Route the concern to the concerned associate and resolve the issue completely.

Take the feedback of the customer. Statistics say that most customers hesitate to be vocal about further problems until and unless they are asked about it. You do not want to leave your customer partially-satisfied right?

Taking a short feedback will certify that you leave your customers happy and content with your service. Chances of a further doubt will remain low.

Also don’t forget to use positive language. They are a great way to avoid accidental conflicts. For instance, instead of saying �" the product cannot be made available till next month (which is a negative statement) you can say �"

The product will be available next month (affirmative statement).

Learn to focus on proposed solutions than citing the impossibilities. This will help you reduce the odds and make customers accept your service.

3. Stay with the customer throughout

It’s common knowledge that post-purchase experience is as important as pre-purchase experience. But still it’s surprising that most companies (even some big players) ignore it completely. In the name of post purchase support, companies offer a static and outdated list of FAQs.

Let’s read how such a dumb online support affects the customers �"

Paraphrasing the feedback of a customer’s comment in a social forum �" It’s simply amazing to see the change of companies’ attitude after sales. Do they fail to realize that bad support experiences are far more likely to spread through social channels… which influence others purchase decision?

With this in mind, a few companies have started the initiative to change. The objective is to create a smart online support i.e. �" an open forum dealing with customer issues. The USP is that apart from customer support agents, vendors, partner and other customers also offer solutions. Inevitably this makes the forum as a highly active zone where the customers get the benefit of seeing the answers provided by everyone. Chances of getting the right answers at a quick speed are high which makes it a winning strategy.

4. Invest in a Great Service


Build a business that customers love. And how can you do it? Create a customer-centric culture which acts as the foundation of your business. Invest in the right customer service team, tools and tactics to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Also make sure your customer service heroes are as enthusiastic as you are. In other words motivate them on regular intervals to keep the zeal high. Apart from monetary incentives, render them with proper work assistance.

For instance, without proper guidelines or structure, your customer support agents might be compelled to offer a disservice to your customers. To evade such a problem, ensure that you give them a set of rules to follow.

Remember these rules will act as guidelines and not a fixed script. Hence, frame the tactics accordingly. Also coach your agents through dummy calls.
Let’s say - how should the agent react when a customer demands for an unreasonable discount? Similarly, create a few other scenarios and outline some suggestions.

Author’s Bio: Patricia Jones is an experienced writer who has written several write-ups on CRM and Online CRM software. In this article, she talks about why every SME needs to be on social media? She talks about customer-centric philosophy which every company needs to adopt to gain optimum benefit from the CRM application.