How to deliver quality customer service

Quality customer service is one of the key differentiators of good, bad, and indifferent companies. With the important role that good customer service plays in helping to build good relationships with customers, it’s necessary to ensure that customers leave with a great impression. This will not only make them feel appreciated and valued but will also make them want to do business with your company in the future. In fact, customers who receive excellent customer service are likely to return often and spend more. By recommending your business to their colleagues, friends, and family, satisfied customers will help you attract new customers and clients that you will then retain through maintaining high quality standards in customer service.

With customer service evolving so quickly, one of the questions that managers and business owners have is: What is quality customer service these days? A simple good customer service definition will help to answer this and act as a guide on how companies manage customer interactions.

Quality customer service involves providing efficient, quick, and friendly service to customers as well as building strong relationships with them. It also entails responding to customers’ issues in time and handling any complaints swiftly. This is achieved by understanding customers’ needs and meeting them, ensuring quality solutions, and offering customers several options for communicating and contacting customer service.

In order to entrench effective customer service and ensure it contributes to the long-term success of the business, managers and executives should make it a critical part of the company culture. All employees should not only understand what quality customer service entails but also have the right attitude, good communication, and sales skills to deliver it.

Why is good customer service important?

Three of of four U.S. consumers say they have spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service. This goes to show how important good customer service is when it comes to building relationships and doing business, especially since studies show that it is more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one. Here are the reasons why quality customer service is important.

• Provides value-effective customer service programs: These emphasize treating customers well, answering questions, responding to complaints, and exceeding customer expectations. Such an approach keeps customers engaged and builds strong relationships.
• Reduces employee turnover: Employees are likely to work for an employer who treats customers fairly and recognizes the contributions of their staff. When a company delivers great service, employees will be more engaged in their work and are more likely to stay through challenging times.
• Retains customers: Customers who are appreciated are likely to be loyal to the company. Once the business comes across as trustworthy, there is a good chance existing customers will keep on coming to make new purchases.
• Creates endorsements: Loyal customers will not only keep on doing business with the company but will also help strengthen the brand through online reviews and private endorsements. Companies that provide quality customer service will often get more new customers from recommendations than from advertising messages.
• Increases profits – One of the main goals of any business is to make a profit. Quality customer services helps to retain existing customers and attract new ones, a factor that contributes to higher revenue and a rise in profit.

Once companies understand the benefits of good customer service, they should also learn the difference between great and subpar customer service. While in the latter case, companies do the minimum to keep customers satisfied, the first case involves going beyond keeping them satisfied to retain their loyalty. In the end, 51% of customers will not do business with a company after one negative experience.

Examples of good customer service

The term “customer experience” is all the rage these days. As a result, there are countless good customer service examples and good customer service stories. Check out the following examples of good customer service stories and scenarios in everyday situations.

Examples of good customer service in retail

Sometimes, you may run into a situation where the customer is actually the problem. Handling these types of problems requires good customer service skills in retail. For instance, if you own a store with a 10-day return policy that is clearly printed on the receipt, and the customer wants to bring a shirt back 15 days after the purchase. To resolve the problem, you can explain the policy, accept the return if it can be resold and is unworn. Then you will be able to welcome the customer’s future business. In the end, the customer gets what they want and you don’t lose out because you can actually resell the dress. In situations like this, you are able to provide the customer with the best customer service experience, which is a win-win situation.

Examples of good customer service in a restaurant

In a restaurant, promptness is everything. However, being prompt doesn’t mean hovering or rushing. It does mean giving the customers what they need when they need it. When you provide good customer service experience examples, your customers will always return to your restaurant for a pleasurable experience. Good customer service in the restaurant industry also means welcoming and friendly service as well as being available. When the customers can see hosts, managers, and waiters, it can increase their experience because they know you are always available to help.

How to improve customer service in the workplace

Customer service is one of the keys to any successful business. This means that companies that do not have it should make it a priority and find ways of improving customer service. However, customer service has evolved over the years, making it important to identify effective customer service strategies that will help keep customers satisfied and increase business performance. Here are a few tips to help improve customer service at your organization.

Create customer service standards for the team to follow

Once the leadership understands the importance of customer service standards, they’ll be in a position to define them for their organization. Creating customer service standards will allow the team to know what is expected of them, enabling them to make the necessary adjustments. In order to ensure that the practice is continuous and sustainable, it has to make it part of the company culture so that it forms one of the values that guide employees’ conduct and business operations.

Improve good customer service skills with dedicated practice

Embracing habits that promote improved customer service can take time. And effective customer service skills can only be developed and strengthened through continuous and dedicated practice. An example of good customer service skills is effective communication. By communicating effectively, agents can clearly answer questions, provide accurate information, and address complaints in a calm manner. Instead of waiting for agents to talk to customers in real-time, give them a safe space to practice applying their communication skills in difficult scenarios. This will give them the chance to hone their skills and gain confidence in their abilities before speaking with customers.

Train reps on key procedures, processes, and other important knowledge

Before agents can improve their customer service skills, they need to receive training on key procedures, processes, and other important company knowledge. In order to meet the needs of your customers agents have to know how to handle a wide range of situations. Training will help them keep up to date with emerging trends that influence customer service, a factor that will place your company ahead of the competition.

Look at every customer touchpoint

It’s also critical that companies know and understand their customers in order to deliver superior service. Looking at every customer’s touchpoint will not only help to personalize messages but also respond through the right channel. With the numerous communication channels that technology has brought about, businesses should have agents who are familiar with each platform.

Enhance your customer service strategy

Any business that is looking to improve customer service must have a clear strategy to help achieve set goals. Effective customer service techniques will not only serve the customers better but also deliver the desired results. Managers can consult experts in this field in order to come up with strategies that will ensure return on investment.

Better customer service starts with Seismic

Great customer service requires effective training and enablement. Support teams across the globe use Seismic Learning (formerly Lessonly) to decrease onboarding time for new agents, practice essential skills, and deliver coaching at scale. Read how one customer decreases new agent ramp time by 34% while earning a CSAT score of 90%. Or, get a demo to see Seismic Learning in action.