How Good is Your Customer Service?

By far one of the most important skills your business needs in order to succeed is good customer service. Just for clarification, when I discuss customer service, I don't just mean the people in the "customer service team" who answer the phones. Customer service is much more widespread than that ranges anyone who interacts with customers in your business too anyone who manages a department that gives a service to customers e.g. logistics.

In my humble opinion, it’s impossible to run a profitable, respected company if you cannot keep your customers happy. These days customer service is more important than ever before. With so much choice now at the swipe of a mouse or hand, consumers expect businesses to go above and beyond in order to keep them satisfied. Therefore it makes sense to ensure that the customer service skills in your business are the best that they can be. Below you’ll discover some simple yet very effective ways to improve your customer service.

Handle every customer with patience and empathy

You’re going to come into contact with a wide range of customers. As featured by Survey Monkey, it is important to know how to handle all types. There will be times for example, when you come across angry customers and as difficult as it can be, it’s very important that you remain calm, patient and empathetic towards the customer. You’ll also need to be ready to answer a whole host of questions regarding your company, its products and services. Being ready for any situation will help you and your workforce to successfully handle the customer without losing your cool. Question: How well do your customer service teams know your company and it’s offering?

Think like the customer

The most effective way to improve your customer service is to think like the customer. This means going through the shopping experience the same way a customer will. Analyse your website, take a look at your products and even test out your own customer service. If you’re a business owner you should do some ”secret shopping” and pretend to be a customer online, email your customer service team with a query, see how long it takes them to get back to you and how they handle the enquiry. This will give you a very good idea of whether anything needs to change and whether your staff need to improve their skills or additional training/support. Question: When was the last time you tested the customer experience in your business?

Listen to customer feedback

If you want your customers to continue to shop with you, you need to prove that you actually listen to them. Ask for feedback and reviews of your products/services. If there is anything negative don’t just apologise, offer a solution! As featured on the Skills You Need blog, you also need to deliver on any promises you make. If you say you’re going to deliver by a certain date, make sure you do. Or if you say you will get back to a customer query within 24 hours, make sure you get back to them in that time frame. Question: When was the last time you solicited feedback from your customers?

By improving your customer service and actually listening to your customers, you will be surprised just how much difference it makes to your company. It also helps to ensure your employees are fully trained in the latest customer service techniques. Overall you take the time and effort to offer good customer service your business will be rewarded significantly.    

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your customer service?