Customer Service

A business can be nothing without its customers. Whether they are high-end clients, repeat staples or one-off transactions, customers are customers, and all should be treated with the respect and benefit to your business that they deserve.

Quite simply, poor customer service will eventually spell the end of an organization – according to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, customers who are the victims of an unhappy experience will tell 9 to 15 people about it. No business can survive with that type of negative outcome, so instead here are some great customer service ideas that can contribute to effective growth in your business.

Have the right tools in place

Customer service starts with the means by which customers can contact you. In a physical location, no one likes to be told that there is no manager on duty. Similarly, in the digital world, having no chat option, for example, can exasperate customers from the beginning. It may be difficult to retrieve the situation from there, so ensure the right tools are in place to deal with customer queries and complaints.

Don’t pass the problem on

Another common issue is locating the person who can actually resolve an issue. It’s the old scenario of being on the phone to your bank and being passed on from agent to agent, frequently having to repeat the same information. Ensure that the first point of contact takes ownership of the issue. Even if they cannot resolve the issue themselves, make sure they stay with the customer for as long as possible in the resolution process.

Engage on social media

Social media can create all manner of problems for customers in that negative comments can be spread like never before. Do not ignore what is said about you on social media, but instead try to engage with customers in a meaningful way. For example, if a customer complains on an open forum, respond as quickly as possible on that forum, offering to take the resolution process to a more private place. Respond timely and respectfully, always remembering that there is more at stake than the opinion of one solitary customer (who is still important).

Gather feedback

In order to improve, continuous development processes must be in place. And in order to improve, real customer experiences need to analyzed, so engage in the collection of as much feedback as is possible to enact the necessary changes.

Automate, but not to the detriment of other avenues

Automation of CRM systems can resolve many of the issues that arise in the field of customer services, but at the same time, appreciate that people may also want to engage directly with other people too. The problem with technology is that when it is overdone, it can seem impersonal and disconnected. “Use a blend of efficient automation systems and real-life interventions to offer the best level of customer service, knowing when to use one and when to use the other,” recommends Stephen Collins, a support team operator at Australia 2 write.

Keep communication simple

So many customer service approaches fall down because the communication levels utilized are overcomplicated, jargon-filled, or just plain weak.

If something cannot be explained simply, then the customer service agent gives the appearance of not understanding it themselves, which is a poor look for a company.

Keep all communication practices concise, simple, and always polite. And never ever give someone a solution that you know to be unworkable. “If the solution requires time and further expertise, this is the message that must be communicated as early as is possible,” explains Faye Daltrey, a project manager at Brit student.

Reward customers

Customers need to be rewarded. Don’t be unprepared to give a little extra from time to time to show appreciation. This is a model that works in the long run. Short-termism never wins the day.

Invest in customer services

This is a simple piece of advice, yet one that so many businesses fail to heed. If you do not invest in this vital practice, then you cannot hope to deliver the level of service that customers expect and demand.

Katrina Hatchett is a business and marketing blogger at PhD Kingdom and Next Coursework with a particular interesting in the art of communication.

Professionals in the customer service industry know how complicated people can get””some are delightful, some are moody, some are grumpy, and so on. This is where knowledge of psychology principles comes in handy. At their core, business and psychology both explore a better understanding of people’s behavior, wants, and needs.

Of course, customer service ties both fields together, as providing a top-notch customer service experience is the key to acquiring and retaining new and existing customers. Here are a few ways you can leverage psychology to deliver the best customer support.

Man’s Hierarchy of Needs

Let’s start with the fundamentals. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is as follows (from the bottom to top): physiological, safety and security, love or belongingness, self-esteem, and self-actualization. This motivational theory in psychology shows that human beings must fulfill their bottom-tier needs before they can attend to higher-tier needs.

The same theory can be translated to customer service, as demonstrated by Julien Rio’s Customer Care Hierarchy of needs:

While empathy, kindness, and politeness are key to providing excellent customer support, your customers will not be able to appreciate it without you first resolving their tangible issues. As such, customer service representatives must first address all basic problems before advancing to more complex issues and ultimately making the customer happy.

Freud’s Pleasure Principle

Freud was right about the pleasure principle””humans are hardwired to seek instant gratification for their urges and wants. If things don’t turn out the way they want it to, they would feel down.

As customer service professionals, you want to keep your customers from feeling that way. You can help your existing and potential customers reach out to you fast and easy with instant chat features or social media. This not only makes your customers feel grateful for the immediate attention, but it also keeps the customer on your site longer (which can generate leads).

The Halo Effect

People are most likely to remember the first and last thing they hear. The halo effect is a cognitive bias where the brain allows positive traits to influence one’s assessment of a brand and its entirety. It’s your goal to create a positive experience for your customers to have a remarkably positive impression of your company.

When a client reaches out to customer service for the first time, their initial opinion will shape their entire perception of your brand. Ultimately, this perception will influence whether they’ll stay loyal to your brand, refer your products and services to other people, or choose your competitor instead of you.

The Norm of Reciprocity

It’s human nature for people to give back when they receive something they like. Reciprocity is a common yet underestimated concept in the customer service field. This has two types: trumpeted reciprocity, when the receiver knows and expects to receive something; and surprise reciprocity when you give them something they didn’t expect.

Customers expect brands to resolve issues they may have with the products and services they paid for. It’s common sense. But, when you give them more than they’re expecting and they feel like you extended your services to ensure their satisfaction, then they will deem it a favor they must return, whether that’s in the form of positive testimonials, reviews, or client referrals.

Summing it up

As a customer support staff, dealing with all kinds of people with different backgrounds, mindsets, and problems comes with the job. Whatever behavioral peculiarities or emotional state they’re in, it’s your responsibility to do the best you can to understand them””look at every angle possible so you can provide the best solution for them.

American Express reported that, according to research, Americans will tell 15 people about their bad brand experiences but only 11 people about their good ones. To someone who sees this as generic data, the implication is that a customer would propagate a poor experience to approximately 40% more people than a good experience. This confirms the psychological phenomenon that negativity garners more lasting responses than positivity.

These are the facts that led brands to become more conscious about their customer support practices. That said, in trying to revamp their policies many brands lean into myths that make no business sense nor bring any customer satisfaction:

1. The Great Myth: The Customer is Always Right.

This is thought to have been perpetuated by sales gurus and trainers. In reality, the rule is a bit too archaic to be followed today. It originated to make production-intensive businesses pay closer attention to customer complaints and improve their products. But today’s brands and businesses are already building solutions around customers; therefore, the assumption that the customer will always be right is too utopian.

Businesses need to see that customers are subconsciously prone to self-serving biases. Under a self-serving bias, individuals only look at things using their preconceived perception that their beliefs are correct and everyone else’s are not. This may be the case when customers contact brands with complaints. As a result, brands need to display an objective view when interacting with customers. They can do this by:

a. Focusing on Transparent and Honest Communication. This helps in building trust. Regardless of the problem, the brand needs to be honest. You would be surprised to know how many customer service executives don’t follow these practices. It can be as small as promising the time required to work on the customer complaint or about accepting a bug in the process. A customer is more likely to agree to wait an additional day for resolution than dealing with false promises.

b. Always Keep the Customer in the Loop. This follows the above principle. A customer would prefer to know their stage of complaint resolution than wait for the final resolution to magically show up.

c. Maintain Customer Data and Run Analytics. Brands should maintain customer data and analyze it with every interaction. Several insights can be ascertained, like trends in customer complaints, geographic trends and time differences between product purchases and initial complaints.

2. More training for customer care executives = More satisfied customers.

Sales coaches and marketing gurus want you to believe that training is the only way you can mold your customer executives into performing their jobs better. But think about it – this is also the only way that they can propagate their own business agenda. Even with good sales trainers, your employees can only be given a certain set of tools for handling customers. Your employees’ real mindset will depend on the degree of freedom they are provided when handling customers.

Top managers create procedures and directives for their employees to follow when handling customers, but the correlation of customer satisfaction is to the degree of empowerment your customer care teams are provided. You can use Chatbots to address routine customer queries and complaints. Here’s where your protocols and rules come in handy. When it comes to anomalous customer queries, employees can use live chat but will need a freer hand. This is where brand regulations won’t enter the picture. If you do not provide this, you will see impediments:

a. On the customer end, as the customer executives will need to get repeated supervisor permission leading to longer waiting periods for already-agitated customers; and/or,

b. With managers, who will get dragged into daily operations and menial tasks rather than making more-efficient processes.

An empirical study published for banks showed that when employees were given more structural and psychological power they had a direct positive effect on customer satisfaction. Employees are empowered by:

a. Providing them with an achievement vs. designation-oriented work culture.

b. Giving them contingent decision-making powers.

c. Linking incentives to customer satisfaction levels.

3. The customer is the centerpiece of customer service.

This is a key point for both established and upcoming brands. Top management often tries to establish the right procedures, protocols, and strategies to keep the customer at the center of the business without showing the desired results. They miss out on the key part of the puzzle – their internal customers, i.e. their very own employees. As the CEO/Manager of your company, you try your best to ensure customer centricity but the foundational work is performed by your employees. Therefore, you need to ensure that you are taking care of your employees. Then they will automatically take care of your customers.

A scholarly study published by Hallym University (Korea) and California State University – Sacramento (USA) proved a direct correlation between employee and customer satisfaction. Businesses need to focus on their employees, so their employees can focus on their customers. A further study by Gallup showed that satisfied employees lead to:

1. Increased sales because they bring in new business;

2. Better customer retention;

3. Reduced churn rates.

These results are evident following the leadership principle, stated by Simon Sinek – employees will go beyond their call of duty when they know that their managers will do the same for them, if required. Employees are enthusiastic to go beyond their basic job description because they know that they have the complete support of their brand and top management.

4. No complaints = Happy customers.

A decrease in customer complaints may not be a positive sign. Many customers don’t have time or opportunity to express their discomfort with a brand, so many customers may simply choose not to complain. This is possible when:

a. The switching costs are negligible. It will motivate them to simply change service providers instead of talking to customer executives.

b. The complaint filing process is arduous and time-consuming.

c. Word-of-mouth has shown that the brand is unresponsive in solving customer queries. In this case, the business will need to pay for its past mistakes.

Brands need to be proactive when communicating with customers and asking for feedback. Management can gauge a customer’s perception of the brand and uncover insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, personally reached out to customers during the initial days of its operations. One customer gave Chesky an entire book of ideas on how to add more features to the app, which helped uncover various nuances seen only from a customer’s perspective. By not proactively reaching out to customers, brands are missing out on important customer insight and feedback.

Author Bio:

Sam Makad is an experienced writer and marketing consultant. His expertise lies in marketing and advertising. He helps small & medium enterprises to grow their business and overall ROI.

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