How To Set Yourself Apart From the Competition With Stellar Customer Service
Customer service is the key to long-term, positive relationships with your clients. Even the best products and services can be taken down by unpleasant, untimely or poor-quality customer relations. While many businesses understand that this is a pillar to their success, not every company understands how to embrace and embody exceptional customer service. If you want to harness the power of customer service so that it sets you apart from the competition, here are a few must-know tips and tricks.
Never Leave a Call Unanswered
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is keeping your clients waiting for responses. In this day and age, immediate responses and timely assistance are expected; however, this can put a lot of pressure on your team. If you want to have someone on the receiving end regardless of the time of day, consider outsourcing some of this traffic to a virtual receptionist. Not only can you give timely responses, but this can reduce the impact on your team and leave you with a more sustainable approach.
Always Offer Expedient Responses
In the case of more complex issues, you may need time to find a solution. Never put off resolving these issues. You can use a virtual receptionist like voicenation to intercept initial concerns to free up some of your team’s energy and time so that they can do a deeper dive into finding a solution. In cases where the issue will take longer to resolve, always make sure that you offer an expedient update to manage the customer’s expectations and keep them in the loop.
Prioritize Active Listen
When a customer is upset, there are times that they just want to be heard. It is important that in these moments, you use your active listening skills and show that you care about their situation. Embracing empathy during these moments can help put you in this person’s shoes and can help boost your motivation to help resolve the issue. Being a listening ear can help show your clients that you prioritize their needs and respect them as more than just a customer but as an individual.
Never Make Promises You Cannot Keep
When you want to resolve an issue, you may be misguided to make promises that you cannot necessarily keep. While this may assuage some immediate concerns, it can also lead to mismanaged expectations and frustration down the line. If you want to provide exceptional customer service experiences, it is important to always be honest, authentic and realistic. To help resolve the issue, you ultimately want to be able to follow through on what you have promised, and you cannot do that when you overpromise.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
Social media has become one of the most influential tools in customer service, as this has become an avenue to address issues. Invite your audience to reach out to you with any problems or questions and use this as an opportunity to improve that relationship. When you receive negative feedback, publicly acknowledge the comment and then invite the person to take the conversation offline. This can help you identify the root of the problem and find a viable solution. Keep in mind that your conversations are never completely private on social media, so they should always exemplify exceptional customer service. Then use the online feedback to help your business grow and adapt to better meet client needs.
Because truly extraordinary customer service takes time, attention and a carefully curated approach, it can be time and labor-intensive; however, with these tips and tricks, you can stand out as an industry leader. Let your customer service be the shining star that transforms one-off customer interactions into a life-long relationship.