It is a bit exciting to think about how customer service has changed over the past few decades. In the 60’s you could contact a company by calling, sending letters or going there in person. Phone numbers could be found in a physical phone book and let’s not forget how long it took to get a phone number in the old rotary phones.
When the internet took off in the 90s, one could suddenly send emails and after that even chat with companies. Then social media got traction and now consumers got another way they could contact companies. With all these choices available, the customer has the power to choose how and when they want to make contact.
To top it off, it seems that all innovation and technology have made the concept of waiting for something completely unthinkable. To stand in a queue to pay, wait for a video to load or even wait for it to become a green light at the crossing point can make people a bit crazy today.
In a culture of immediate satisfaction, it is a must to have service that is readily available and fast while requiring minimal effort by the customer. In addition, a poor customer service experience can cost you almost a third of your customers. Consumers do not have time to sit in the telephone queue, they do not want to tell their case to several different agents and they definitely do not want to wait.
So how do you create satisfied and loyal customers?
Create personal and seamless service
There is a big advantage with today’s technological advances. We can collect a lot of data today, both around the customer and about their purchase history with the company. Many people may think it sounds scary that information is saved, but this is needed to be able to create the personal service that customers expect today. There are lots of CRM systems that helps companies collect and organize information about the customer. Put this in combination with telephony services such as Who’s Calling, a service that displays CRM data about the customer even before your agent has answered the call, so you can assure yourself that the customer feels seen and recognized. For sure, it is professional to be able to see the customer’s latest purchase directly and thus be able to ask if he or she is satisfied.
Interact with customers via social media
Social media makes it easier for customers to both contact companies and share their experiences and opinions about these companies. As an entrepreneur, it is important to be where the customers are. Interact with them, answer their questions and comments. There are many companies who say that they do not have time to answer customers on social media, but it is like saying that you do not have time to answer when one’s customers call. Dissatisfied customers are quick to find replacement when they are not satisfied with a product or service. Deselecting channels that the customer wants to use is a safe way to lose customers. Fortunately, there are systems that help companies organize cases from several different channels simultaneously. With a Contact Center you can manage calls, emails, chats and social media in one and the same interface. In this way, no tickets gets lost or unhandled.
Implement Self-Service for simpler cases
One trend that prevails is that customers are happy to solve simple cases themselves at the time that suits them. More and more people do not want to wait for opening hours and explain their case to an agent. By enabling customers to handle certain things themselves in a simple and user-friendly way, you not only get more satisfied customers, but you also free up time for your agents to handle the more escalated cases.
Of course, Self-Service should not replace a regular customer support or customer service but is definitely an important complement. We at Dstny have created MyDstny, where administrators can manage their company telephony on their own.
Start from the customer’s needs and make sure to be where the customer is. In this way, you can create a customer-centered strategy that helps your company reduce the number of lost or dissatisfied customers.