Worldwide, 54% of customers say that they now have greater expectations around customer service than they had just a year ago.
Your clients demand more from you than ever before. In some cases, that means that they’ll expect you to offer multiple modes of communication when they want to get in touch. On the other hand, your people may just want to see you going above and beyond with more personalised messaging and meaningful moments.
A powerful strategy for customer service will help you to reduce churn and improve word-of-mouth referrals in no time. After all, even if you have the best product in the world, your customers won’t buy it if they don’t think that your customer experience strategy is up to scratch.
So, how can you make sure that you delight your audience?
1. Be Informed
Today’s customers don’t want to feel like just another number on your list. 33% of customers that abandon a business do so because the personalisation wasn’t there in their customer service. Make sure your agents have access to contextual information about each client they talk to. That way, you can be sure to deliver empathetic, patient and relevant responses to each customer.
2. Commit to Consistent Growth
The needs of customers are always changing. That’s why it’s important to understand that your business and your agents will always be learning and improving. Inf act, two thirds of customers say that they’re willing to share information with companies so that they can receive more relevant experiences. Be committed to a constant loop of learning and development for your agents. Use the tools around you to train your agents on how to separate a good call from a bad one.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Be Honest
Agents in a customer service environment aren’t infallible. They shouldn’t be afraid of admitting that they don’t know the answer to a question or seeking help when they need it. Customers often ask complicated questions, and your staff may not have the answers. Collaboration tools like RingCentral Glip allow your team to connect with other knowledgeable people in their group and work together on a problem.
4. Create a Connected Experience
72% of customers say that having to repeat their issue to multiple people is the definition of bad customer experience. If your client has spoken to multiple people about an issue, make sure that those notes are passed on. This includes making sure that your team can access contextual information about customers who have gotten in touch using multiple channels, like SMS, phone, email and social channels.
5. Listen to Customers
In the age of social media, your customers won’t be afraid to talk about the issues that they have with your brand. With that in mind, make sure that you listen to your audience to learn more about what they like and dislike about your CX strategy. This will give you more information to guide your decisions in the future.
6. Follow Up After Calls
If you’ve committed to acting for your customer, make sure that your behaviour is recorded and logged so that you can follow up with your client later. Call codes and notes are crucial for ensuring that your target customer gets the kind of resolution they expect. What’s more, the notes you take will also be very valuable for the agents that speak to your customer later on. You might even use automatic routing strategies to ensure that your client speaks to the same agent each time.
7. Empower your Agents
One of the best things you can do to improve your chances of success in customer experience, is make sure that your agents are equipped to deliver exceptional levels of service. Look after your employees, and they’ll look after your business. With that in mind, make sure your teams are happy, engaged, and that they have access to everything they need to operate at their best.
8. Speak your Customer’s Language
A lot of customers today would solve an issue on their own if they could, but they can’t always understand the jargon-filled information available online. When someone reaches out to you for help, make sure that you don’t give them the same jargon. Listen to how your customers talk and use the same language in return to provide the insights they need. Keep your guidance simple.
9. Put Yourself in your Customer’s Shoes
Personalised interactions with customers in today’s CX world aren’t just about knowing and using a customer’s name in a discussion. Today’s agents need to be personable and able to access insights into a customer’s history with a company. Make sure your agents have what it takes to put themselves in your customer’s shoes with in-depth insights into each client’s profile with your brand.
10. Leverage the Benefits of Automation
Finally, though automation is becoming a bit of a “buzzword” in the customer service environment, that doesn’t make it any less compelling. Automation in the contact centre is an excellent way to improve the performance of your teams. Using knowledge bases, bots, and rules-based responses can save crucial team members time when it comes to solving customer problems. Additionally, automation can even help customers to better serve themselves. Don’t be afraid to explore the benefits of automation for yourself.
Remember, customer experience is the key to success in today’s CX-first environment. Make sure you know how to delight your clients with every agent interaction.
Originally published Nov 01, 2019, updated Jan 17, 2023
