Delivering excellent customer service should not be difficult as it’s mostly common sense. If companies get it right, then it is poetry in motion but if they don’t then it’s far from a masterpiece. During the pandemic some companies have excelled and some have epically failed. Reeling out the old Covid chestnut to excuse poor customer service is now wearing thin and could prove very costly. Customers have memories like elephants. Here are 5 ways to deliver excellent customer service and ensure that you stay in Nelly’s good books.
Offer incentives and loyalty schemes
There are many benefits of offering incentives and loyalty schemes to improve customer service. They can help gain customers, increase customer retention, encourage repeat business and even build loyal brand advocates too. This is achieved by gathering valuable customer data to inform and improve marketing efforts. By understanding the needs of your customers, you can build trusted relationships, tailor make experiences, reward your customers- and drive sales!
For example, a good automotive customer loyalty programme could be tiered with different levels of loyalty. Alternatively it could be in the form of a membership plan, referral scheme, personalised rewards or a points based system. Choose the one which is right for you and your customers.
Demonstrate genuine empathy and interest in resolving issues
Increasingly it is the tone of the Customer Service response, which can make all the difference. Whether in writing or over the telephone, some companies still do not appreciate that regardless of whose fault the problem is, their job is to deal with it, ensure the problem does not happen again and by doing so, restore customer faith in the company regardless of their own personal opinion on the matter.
Be consistent in excellent service
The problem with a lot of organisations is that they may sometimes manage to deliver excellent customer service but they do not consistently do so. In order to ensure a first class experience time and time again, companies need to be open and honest in their approach, learn from mistakes made, always aspire to exceed customer expectations in behaviour, attitude and service and above all, focus on the basics of customer service. By this I mean delivering a quality product or service at a fair price in a reasonable time, reliably and efficiently and without any issues.
Avoid cutting corners
Failing to do the job properly in the first place just causes problems further down the line with products and services being poorer quality and the overall customer experience taking a major hit as a result. In extreme cases, cutting costs can cost lives and it’s about time companies realised this, took some responsibility, changed their priorities and made essential changes to their practices.
Listen to your customers
Larger companies in particular seem to have stopped listening to their customers. They claim they do so and market themselves accordingly but in reality, they may hear their customers but they are never really listening. Good customer service involves actively taking on board what is said and acting promptly and accordingly. It is not a box ticking marketing exercise and should not be treated as such. All contact details should be clearly visible, waiting times for support minimal, opening hours as flexible as possible and helplines should be well staffed.
Any company worth its salt will welcome feedback from customers and will act on it to improve their product or service. Those that do not, run the risk of one day becoming victims of their own arrogance in an ever changing and increasingly competitive market.
Delivering the best of customer service is not rocket science. Yes the pandemic has presented many challenges but companies have had plenty of time to adapt to the new way of working. If they aren’t doing the above already then it’s high time they started. Delivering excellent customer service is more important than ever.
