6 Fundamentals of Excellent Customer Service

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Customer Service, two words that hold so much power over the relationship between customer and company. Excellent customer service can lead to evangelistic repetitive purchases and referral after referral. Bad customer experience will lead to ‘never again’ and ‘avoid at all costs’ recommendations.

Whether you’re a salesperson, a support technician or someone answering calls on a service desk, from the very first moment that a person starts to dial the number for your company, or you start to dial theirs, your customer service levels need to be the best they possibly can.

While having the right technology in place is a critical piece of the puzzle, and one that we will cover in a future blog, having the correct team with the right mentality is the priority. So, with that in mind, here are the six fundamentals of excellent customer service:

1. Being personable is better than being knowledgeable

Tone of voice and a caring attitude go a long way in making a customer feel like they are being listened to and allow the conversation to lead to a positive outcome. On the other hand, a disinterested, abrupt tone is likely to cause more friction.

2. Relationship building over selling

It has been proven that people will not buy a product or service, or continue to use one, if there is no trust. All forms of purchasing are made at an emotional level that can only be achieved when a relationship is in place. Trying to force a sale or action before the person has built that relationship has a high chance of ending with a no.

3. Listen more than you talk

Hearing what the person on the other end of the phone is saying by paying full attention and not getting distracted should be fairly obvious. A customer-focused company should realise that every person is individual and therefore will need to be treated differently, even if the call appears to be the same. Don’t let the team become blasé.

4. Don’t lose customers to problems

We all know that it’s much less expensive to keep a customer than to acquire a new one. Don’t let a customer with a problem turn into a problem customer who then takes their business elsewhere. Make sure your teams do what they can to resolve any situation. Apologise and be truly sincere if a mistake has been made.

5. The right answer can come from anyone

Confidence is transmitted, people feel it and believe in the person with it and feel more at ease when it comes to a problem they have being solved. Ensuring that your team are well trained and know their job is the desired end goal, but whilst they get there, let them know it’s okay to ask for help, and make sure they know who to ask. A customer would much rather wait a minute to get a correct answer than have a guess or wrong one told to them.

6. Do the same thing over and over, consistently

When anyone in your team can consistently go above and beyond to exceed your customers’ expectations, you’ve succeeded. This is the holy grail that the top brands in the world have reached – the five-star treatment. Set out the levels you expect from your team right from day one, and strive hard to reach and then maintain them.

Many companies make customer service their priority, and so they should. Happy customers will spend more. What company doesn’t want that? With the fundamentals of building the team understood, it’s time to look at the next stage. The technology that will support them in being their best, help you as the manager understand how they can improve, and deliver the customer the best journey. Call Manager Plus will help you there.

Find the answers in our next blog or speak to one of our experts and test our customer service if you can’t wait.