Why Superior Customer Service Will Kill Off Your Competitors

Maintaining strong sales and solid customer satisfaction is the goal of every business.

However, unless your product has that elusive ‘something special’ that your customers want and need, the competition is always lurking.

CEO and Founder of self-help website LiveHelpNow Michael Kansky is a firm believer in superior customer service as the best way to kill off your competition and provide that ‘something special’.

In a recent article, he recounts how a recent poll in the Harvard Business Review surveyed thousands of customers to understand their customer service priorities.

The results were thought provoking.

The poll found most customers wanted an effortless experience when purchasing a product – any product.

And the more effort the customers had to put in to get what they wanted, the more dissatisfied they became.

Customers were generally unimpressed by promises of outstanding service, researchers noted.

Customers were also much more concerned about whether a purchase would arrive on time, than the manufacturer’s sales pitch.

There are several steps you can take to reduce the effort your customers need to make when buying your product, and they all involve improving your customer service:

Provide your employees with excellent product knowledge.

When everyone in your company can act as support, customers can get their questions answered promptly.

Train employees in customer empathy.

Customer interactions are emotional exchanges as well as factual ones, so give your employees the tools to share a happy customer’s enthusiasm, or reduce a frustrated customer’s tension.

Build infrastructure that supports great customer service.

This means offering ticket tracking, streamlined self-help options on your website, and call-backs instead of lengthy hold times.

Resolve customer issues at their first point of contact.

The Harvard researchers found having to repeat a problem to a chain of customer service representatives was extremely frustrating for customers.

Empower your employees to make customers happy.

To your customers, any member of your staff becomes the face of your company. And when your employees have the power to please customers, they make your whole organization shine.

Deliver on your promises.

Every package that arrives on time, or product that works as intended, reinforces your customers’ trust in you.

Make it personal.

Apologize quickly and sincerely if you’re unable to meet your promises for any reason. Make the apology personal and not just a standard letter.

A 2011 report published by American Express revealed that 3 out of 5 customers were willing to give up a former favourite brand in order to have a better service experience.

Even more telling were the results of a recent RightNow Customer Experience Impact report, which revealed that 9 in 10 people were willing to spend more with companies that they believed provided excellent customer service.

Everyone knows that news of bad customer service reaches many more people than praise for a good service experience.

And recent Consumer Reports surveys have shown that nearly 91 per cent of customers will not do business with you again if you fail to deliver satisfactorily the first time.

Finally, when it comes to poor service on the phone, results showed nearly 70 per cent of customers would disregard your business if you could not provide the quality of service they expected.

In conclusion, a seamless experience for your customers is the best way to succeed and if you provide it, they will choose you over the rest every time.