Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience

In today’s market, companies that don't meet customer experience needs will experience a lot of difficulties. Because of that, many organizations choose to hire call centers that employ competent and knowledgeable staff. A great call center outsourcing initiative will also function as a consulting company that can meet more needs than just simply answering or making phone calls. That is because of the amount of analytics that backs up every interaction with your clients, to which you can get access in real-time.

However, learning how to choose the correct call center organization to meet your expectations can be difficult. It is important you do research to ensure you have selected the best service for you.

Who's Representing Your Business?

Retaining your employer brand and your stellar business image is critical in creating a sustainable and profitable business. Countless businesses have used call centers to deal with client or customer issues. This is a great way to create a leaner business model, increase your profits and ensure client needs are handled by highly trained professionals.

Any organization you hire to help with your business becomes your representative and sets not only the tone, but the overall image as well. In today’s market, a company cannot afford to have a poor image as the customer experience is what defines the bottom line. And if you think that the only way to affect your company's bottom line is to deliver a massive amount of bad customer experiences - You're wrong.

Remember that every customer you have is a media company. You need to understand risk/reward factors of the individual situation at hand and not to look at the ROI at just base value but to think of it from a lifetime value standpoint. You're not just putting at risk one angry customer's business, but the ability for that person to take a video, take a picture, and amplify that message, not to mention the Yelps and the Google Reviews of the world. If you need a better picture of this, watch Gary Vaynerchuk explain in under two minutes the lifetime value of a customer.

Because of this, it becomes critical for the success of your business to choose the right partner whose brand of service delivery aligns with the positive image you want to project.

Creating a positive customer experience

According to an article by Joshua March, superior customer service that solves problems in an effortless way can result in a positive customer experience that greatly increases loyalty. Creating repeat business and customer referrals are direct products of creating a positive customer experience.

With highly competitive markets, personalized service is what sets a business apart. Here are 10 ways to set you apart and the key points to look for when seeking call center services for your company.

1. Minimize on-hold times during calls

Leaving customers on hold for more than two minutes will create a situation where customers feel you do not want to help them. It could also create anger or anxiety, or worse, mistrust. Look for organizations who have highly trained members of its staff who understand the importance of timely responses.

2. Create a proper system to manage all calls

Answering calls in the order they are received is always ideal. Allowing a phone to ring for more than three times will again create the image you do not value good customer experience. Rather, look for organizations to partner with that have a professional reputation when it comes to managing phone calls.

3. Ensure calling agents are happy

Attitude is everything. Creating a positive customer experience means having highly trained staff who leave their baggage at the door. This is sometimes hard to achieve in a small business.

By choosing a call center who has good reviews and specializes in creating a positive employee experience, you will ensure your clients receive the highest care.

4. Use a customer experience management tool or develop a program to monitor and analyze customer interaction

Feedback will allow you to identify weak areas and provide you with possible solutions. Also, monitoring or recording customer calls for training purposes do not only highlight areas where your business needs improvement but can also serve to illustrate superior customer interactions, creating positive, real-life examples for training.

Ensuring a positive customer experience ensures your business grows and thrives. A customer’s first point of contact with a business typically involves contact with a staff member. If this first experience is negative, the customer will leave.

A great customer experience is when you take it to the next level. A trained staff member recognizes the stress or agitation in a customer’s voice, and not only do they listen and help, but they also go the extra mile to provide the additional relief.

For example, the staff at a highly trained call center consultant company would not only help an angry customer and resolve the issue, but they would also provide a replacement item overnight and call the following day to ensure the item was received and the customer was happy.

5. Understand and listen to customers’ needs

Listening and hearing are two very different skills. Most people simply want to be heard. Training your assistants to hear clients will solve most problems immediately. Encourage active listening skills, praise high ratings and prioritize listening.

6. Use innovative solutions

Innovation is everything, no two problems or customers are the same. Therefore, solutions should never be the same. Empowering your staff to think outside-the-box will not only encourage your staff to strive for creating the perfect customer experience, but you will also allow problems to be solved at the lowest level possible.

7. Improve overall call center efficiency

A highly efficient and effective call center will have highly trained assistants who understand the power of a positive client experience. Providing staff with the opportunity to use innovative approaches, as well as solving the problem at the lowest level possible, will highly increase the efficiency.

8. Develop a customer-centric culture

Customers are your business. Without return customers or happy ones, your business will decline. Therefore, everything about your business needs to focus on and revolve around your customers. This means ensuring all partners, staff and any representation of your business understand the value you place on customers.

9. Reward engaging customers

Staff who are rewarded for exemplifying the desired characteristics to create a positive customer experience will continue to strive for good work and inspire fellow staff. Do not place time limits on staff, instead encourage your employees to take the time necessary to truly meet your client where they are and to provide the service they have come to expect.

10. Engage through social media

Social media can make or break a business. Ensure your business is present and engaging, find a business to help you properly manage your social media sites. Ask for data from social media posts. Learn what posts are popular and the best times to post them. Then work with an organization who can help in management.

Customer satisfaction is central. Many businesses simply do not have the staff to provide the highly trained customer experience needed to take their business to the next level. Utilizing the services of highly trained staff through call center consultants will give you the edge you need to ensure positive customer experiences.

If you need help with your Customer Experience, don't hesitate to get in touch. We can help you make informed decisions and find services best suited for your company needs. We will find the right solution to best assist your business so that you can deliver the best in customer service and satisfaction.