Customer service. These words will most likely refer to a team name or department name for you. Nevertheless, the phrase reminds customers of hours wasted on hold, repeated information, and unresolved problems.
The success of your customers benefits your company as well. Your business will grow faster if your customers are happy. In time, you'll receive more referrals and loyal customers.
Don't worry if you don't know what good customer service looks like. This post has got you covered!
What is customer service?
In a nutshell, customer service involves solving problems, teaching customers how to use products, and answering questions. Customer service is about serving the needs of customers - it's in the name. From troubleshooting a product installation to downloading software to processing a return, customer service can take many forms.
The majority of customer service interactions involve a request, a question, or a complaint. Support, expertise, and assistance are then provided quickly by a customer service representative.
The quality of a company’s customer service — good or bad — can play a huge role in a company’s success. Of consumers, 60% have purchased something from one brand over another based on the service they expect to receive.
In addition, unhappy customers can cost you valuable business, as 73% would switch brands after multiple negative experiences, and more than half will leave after just one.
Think again if you think customer service (or customer support) contradicts customer success - providing excellent service is a critical element of helping customers succeed. 40% of organizations view customer service as a revenue generator.
What is one of the biggest differences between customer service and customer success? Customer service is typically reactive, while customer success is proactive. Rather than solving individual problems and troubleshooting, customer success managers work with customers on strategy and goal-setting. We will discuss that in more detail later.
The Cost of Customer Service
It's clear from the statistics that customer service is important. How does that affect your budget?
Zendesk estimates that 80% of companies plan to spend more money on customer experience (CX), including automation, artificial intelligence, and personalization.
Customer experience is becoming more popular, and companies that have invested in this industry shift have seen higher CSAT scores and demonstrable ROI. In response, 61% of customers are eager for an immersive customer experience, and 71% of leaders plan to revamp the customer journey.
The use of artificial intelligence can enhance the customer service experience and make it more immersive. Customer service AI has improved performance for two-thirds of business leaders who have invested in it.
Customers expect better customer service. For business leaders to see more revenue from customer service, they must plan and invest accordingly.
What makes good customer service?
The importance of good customer service for your business has been discussed a lot, but what makes a good customer service? This blog post covers this in-depth, but let's take a look at some of the most important components.
1. Responding in a timely manner
Customer service is all about responding to queries in a timely manner, regardless of the channel. Your customers expect your product or service to be fixed right away when they encounter a problem.
The expectations of customers are high, which is why it's imperative to respond quickly and efficiently.
2. Customer service through multiple channels
The best customer service meets the customer where they're at, whether that's online, over the phone, through text messaging, social media, or live chat. For each customer, the best solution is one that makes them comfortable, and that's different for everyone.
With a multi-channel approach to customer service, you can provide excellent service to everyone.
3. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively
It is also important to have clear and effective communication with customers in order to provide good customer service. A customer service representative must be able to communicate with customers via multiple channels, so their communication skills must be excellent. It is important that you show empathy and understanding for each customer's issue and clearly communicate how to resolve it.
4. A high level of expertise and knowledge
In order to answer a customer's question, your customer service representatives must be knowledgeable. Success requires expertise and knowledge. If your reps know how to use your product or service, they can empathize with your customers and resolve any issues they encounter.
Various types of customer service
The following are a few ways companies can provide customer service to their customers:
1. Phone
In many organizations, customer service is primarily provided over the phone. The customer calls a hotline, enters a queue, and a customer service representative answers. More than half of customers use the phone to contact customer support, making it the most popular channel.
2. Text Messages
In a survey conducted by Conversocial, 71% of respondents said they expected brands to offer customer service via messaging channels, but only 48% of businesses are equipped to do so.
Businesses want to connect with customers on these channels (for order confirmations, reminders, status updates, surveys, coupons, etc.) because customers already use these platforms daily, so it's convenient.
In order to gather feedback on its mobile app and recent orders, GrubHub uses SMS messaging.
3. Email
Many customer service requests and deliveries are still handled via email - where a human touch can still be provided even over a computer. In comparison with voice-based customer support, 57% of customers prefer to contact companies via digital media such as email or social media.
For inspiration, here are some customer service email templates.
Customer service at Zappos is well known, but this email example might take the cake. The rep is clearly focused on delivering service and making the customer happy in the process, even if it can't be replicated for every single query.
4. Self-Service
Customers are now using DIY customer service methods to get the information they need without having to talk to a customer service representative or wait for an email response. Customers often become angry, frustrated, or stressed when they cannot complete simple tasks on their own, according to 37% of agents.
Businesses are responding by creating knowledge bases in which articles and videos explain how to use products and services so customers can receive touchless customer service whenever they need it.
5. Messaging
Messages have grown in popularity over time, becoming one of the most popular ways for customers to seek support. Businesses are increasingly relying on them to provide quick and easy content distribution and customer service.
Among these forms of communication are text-based messaging (discussed above), messaging apps, and direct messaging on social media (more on that below).
6. Social Media
The use of social media for customer service is another up-and-coming way for businesses to communicate more frequently with their customers.
Customers can get fast and easy answers to questions on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and businesses can have fun too with social media. There are even some brands that create customer support accounts specifically for their customers.
YELP Eat24 uses Twitter to provide great customer service - while still making customers laugh.
7. Live Chat
Long hold times and wait times are among the most frustrating aspects of customer service, so live chat is a great way to provide quick customer service. Besides being able to be operated by humans or bots, it can also be combined with them.
Live chat widgets can be launched on company websites to provide instant customer service and support - in another easy way that may be more convenient for your customers. In order to operate them effectively, some businesses turn to chatbots - such as CenturyLink, which used Conversica's Angie to start communicating with new leads to save sales and customer service staff time.
8. In-person
Finally, in-person service is another type of customer service. Retail and food industries are examples of brick-and-mortar stores. Shoppers are usually approached by a customer service representative who asks if they need assistance, and then rings them up.
In-person customer service may seem like a thing of the past, but nothing leaves a better impression than a great experience.
Now that you know the types of customer service available, let's look at some specific examples to provide some context and inspiration.
Customer Service shining examples
Spending additional time on customer issues might not seem worthwhile to you as a business, but it will. Results are better when customers are happy. The importance of creating a culture of dedication and extreme helpfulness in the team cannot be overstated. Here are some role models we can look up to.
The Ritz-Carlton Company
The Ritz-Carlton Company provides employees with autonomy to use up to $2,000 to solve customer problems. This company's policy might seem over budget to your organization, but the more significant reason it created such a policy is worth remembering.
Ritz-Carlton rewards employee engagement because it believes that engaged employees will improve customer engagement as well.
Amazon
Customer service has been credited with some of the most well-known business success stories.
Having a fantastic product or service is only the first step towards attracting new customers. In order to grow revenue, it is important to keep existing customers so they continue to buy from you.
The leaders of brands like Intuit, Pepsico, and Zappos have a lot to say about customer service because they focus on it.
How should customer service expectations be set?
It's almost painless and virtually cost-free for customers to switch to a competitor if your service doesn't meet their expectations. A customer will switch to a competitor after one bad experience, and the number jumps to 80% after more than one.
The speed at which you resolve a customer's issue has become a central component of customer service expectations. Having access to real-time, 24/7 support and having friendly conversations with support agents is the second benefit.
Customers also expect to be delighted with above-and-beyond service, which comes from personalization. Customers are highly likely to purchase exclusively from brands that show they understand them, and 66% of customers already expect you to understand their needs and expectations.
Well, serving your customers and meeting their needs will always pay off, as mistakes are not a deterrent if you provide excellent customer service.
Responsibilities in Customer Service
Customer service reps are responsible for answering questions from customers via email, phone, chat, or social media. Among their duties are processing returns, monitoring customer service channels, and resolving customer issues.
Communication Skills
Customer service reps must be able to communicate clearly because they communicate with customers on a daily basis, often when they are upset. In order to help them find the right solution, you must be sure you listen to what they have to say, respond empathetically, and then help them find it.
Empathy
Interacting with customers at various emotional levels is part of customer service. Reps must be able to identify and feel with the emotions that each person is experiencing. It is important to understand where the customer is coming from in order to make them feel valued and heard.
Troubleshooting as a Principle
Especially in the SaaS world, customers often seek support when something goes wrong. You must be adept at figuring out what's happening, solving it, and communicating the process step-by-step to customers as a customer service representative.
The ability to listen
You won't know why customers are calling or what their emotional state is if you don't listen to them.
A customer's response is the focus of active listening. The rep pays less attention to what they're going to say and more to what the customer is saying. After that, they repeat it to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Adaptability
There is no such thing as an identical customer service case. Customers' experiences can vary dramatically even with common problems with recorded solutions. The key to success is adaptability. Great service reps understand that your company's processes should never inconvenience your customers, so sometimes protocol needs to be overlooked for a customer's needs.
Product Knowledge
After waiting on hold for an hour, it's frustrating to speak with an ignorant service rep agent. Empathy and active listening aren't enough for reps. Additionally, they must be familiar with the products and services their company offers so they can competently assist all customers.
To provide excellent customer service, reps must be educated with expert-level knowledge of products/services.
Customer Journey Mapping
A customer service representative interacts with current customers on a daily basis, often when those customers are not satisfied. Reps can make changes to the map or products if necessary based on this insight.
Customers' experiences of service may make or break their commitment to your company, so reps need to provide the best service possible. Customer service reps need to be flexible if a service case isn't going according to plan.
Delight Customers With Remarkable Service
Today, the customer has the power when it comes to customer service. Therefore, customer service professionals are responsible for helping them succeed. By helping your customers succeed, you will positively impact your bottom line and grow your business.
Implement the various customer service types we discussed and use the examples provided as inspiration.