How can you differentiate your brand with customer service?

To achieve great customer service, you need to set expectations of what that looks like for your team. You also need to think about how that aligns with your company's vision and values. This should focus on how you communicate with your customers, how you want them to feel, and the time & and effort you expect your team to put in to make them feel valued. I ran a micro-brewery & events company for 7+ years and I always spoke about a +1 attitude to customer service with my team. Everyone has an expectation of what level of customer service they will receive, the +1 attitude was for the team to ALWAYS exceed their expectations. From little things like a free pint glass on their birthday to a show around to make them feel special.

In order for your team to feel empowered, encouraged and trusted to deliver the level of customer service you want - you need to train and empower them. Training helps develop the skills, tone of voice and expectations you have on the level of customer service expected by your team. This can help develop a relationship with them and trust within the team so they know you believe in what they are doing. It's worth training them on what the limits are of their service too, from discounts and what's expected from their customers so they feel supported when making harder decisions too. Training isn't a one-hit wonder, this should be revisited and your team encouraged to give feedback and recommendations for improvement.

Setting your brand apart through excellent customer service is crucial. Personalisation is key, but you can also differentiate your brand by training your team, maintaining consistency, and being responsive. Listen to customer feedback, go the extra mile, and be transparent. Measure your performance, empower your employees, engage with the community, and explore innovative solutions. The goal is to consistently exceed customer expectations, creating loyal advocates for your brand

This is hugely important. Your own idea of what constitutes exceptional customer service won't be objective and it's key to find out what your client is looking for. Depending on your industry, this may vary from client to client - some might, for example, love the personal touch of birthday cards or Christmas gifts, while others may want purely professional service. It's therefore vital for people working directly with clients to gauge this, ask for feedback, and act on it as far as is possible.

This is crucial and should be the focus of every company, not just for R&D purposes but also for communication in general - getting that value proposition right, answering all the right questions up front and not to forget: if the customer feel we care they might care back by sharing their good experience and that is pure gold for growth.

Become the trusted advisor. Today, buyers are skeptical of most brands. They’ve been burned one too many times by those sales-orientated companies. The same companies that are pitching & spamming at every opportunity. The customer service function can become a true competitive advantage if you’re providing something different in the market. A customer experience that guides & empowers buyers to make better decisions. Not just the decisions that benefit the brand’s pocket. Running a customer service team should be like running a team of trusted advisors. People that buyers can: - Learn from - Turn to for advice - Begin to know, like, & trust That’s a service worth building. They’ll stick around and tell more of their friends about it.

The range of brands is so large that we cannot forget any touch point in the differentiation process. The service involved in any delivery is essential to a good customer experience. Placing the consumer at the center of all actions, team training, process control and continuous improvement are some of the actions that can guarantee good service delivery.