The Top Customer Service Best Practices You Need to Succeed

In 2019, providing a solid and dependable customer experience is central to your company’s success. Esteban Kolsky, the founder of thinkJar and a former Gartner analyst, says 67 percent of consumers are likely to switch to a different product or service provider after a poor experience with the sales or customer service team.

In contrast, 55 percent will pay more when a good experience, before and after the sale, is guaranteed. HR and recruiting are no different. If you want to attract and retain your clients, you need to be able to offer an outstanding and consistent customer experience. Here are some best practices you can adopt in 2019.

Personalization

Personalizing your interactions with each customer is a good place to start. In your profession, you might deal with dozens of people a day and hundreds in a week. Remembering names is a good first step, but that’s only the beginning in offering your customers a truly personalized experience; after all, your clients want to feel like you know them and understand their needs.

Moreover, they’re looking for companies that will offer a unique experience that takes into account how they like to communicate and when. For instance, if you are marketing your products or services to busy entrepreneurs, having a call center that’s only open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is not respecting your customers’ unique needs.

Social Media as a Communication Channel

Don’t forget social media. Indeed, it’s not just a way to connect with your followers. Some of your customers want the ability to send you direct messages through those platforms, so make sure you have direct messaging enabled on all of your social profiles.

According to Sprinklr, roughly 54 percent of people like to use social media messaging to contact companies instead of calling, because they can upload photos and send other media. On the business side, this works well for you, too. The right chatbot can provide customer service 24/7.

While these clever little programs can’t handle all situations, like answering questions about garment sizing or providing advice on which product would best suit the needs of a caller, they can forward the issue to someone who can. They can also handle simple questions, which could free up your customer care team to focus on the bigger issues.

Self-Service and Choice

Self-service options are becoming increasingly popular, but they have to be rolled out the right way for your HR or recruiting company to realize a benefit. For instance, too often, a company will roll out a self-service website as a way to answer customer questions or perform simple actions, then direct all of its other communication channels there. In turn, when customers call in, they are directed to use the website. Don’t let that be your company.

When your customers choose a particular communication channel to get in contact with you, follow their preference. Prompting them to use one of your automated systems could come off negatively. If you want one communication channel to be the last resort, use it as an escape hatch from your other channels.

For example, if you send an automated email, include an email address where your customers can write back if they have questions or ask website visitors whether they were able to find the answer they needed. If they could not, offer a way for them to contact a live agent.

Context

When your clients do have to progress from one communication to another, the transition should be seamless. Every single agent or chatbot that interacts with your clients should be recording the exchange and listing it in your CRM. This way, every time your customers reach out to your call contact center, the agent will be aware of any previous issues, past interactions, transaction histories and so on. Every exchange becomes a continuation of the next instead of a frustration.

Conclusion

No matter your industry or demographic, today’s customers want to always be on the receiving end of positive brand experiences — and they will stop patronizing any business that doesn’t rise to the challenge. With that in mind, take the time to personalize your interactions with your clients beyond remembering their first names.

Additionally, offer social media and self-service options, but remember that live agents are still a big part of providing a good customer experience. Context matters as well. The more seamless you can make your customer service, the less frustrating it will be — and that’s always good for business.