4 Ways to Improve Customer Service

If you want your business to remain competitive in the long term, you need to keep looking at different ways you can improve your customer service. The higher customer satisfaction you can achieve in this area, the more repeat business you’ll get, and also referrals from customers who are raving about your company to their friends and colleagues.

Here are four areas to think about for your customer service strategy.

Create Systems

One of the most impactful methods of improving customer service is looking at which issues and situations occur frequently, and then carefully developing efficient routines to handle them. By doing this you can significantly increase customer satisfaction, and also cut down on the time required to handle each case. The best way to figure out which types of situations to focus on is to create a log of each case that reaches your customer service, along with details on how it was resolved.

The Personal Touch

Another great way to improve your customer service is getting involved personally. If you normally let your team handle the day-to-day aspects of your customer service, you may not hear about all the challenges they face, but if you dive in yourself you’ll find out soon enough. You could, for example, take one day every month to work in customer service and get a feel for what needs improving and what’s already working well enough.

Timeliness

It’s also very important that all members of your team who deal directly with customers are familiar with your business and the products or services you offer so they can respond to inquiries in a speedy manner. If they’re unable to answer even simple questions from customers without checking with you first, it will reduce trust and confidence in your company. If what you’re selling is complex and constantly changing, set aside some time for continuous education of your team. It may cost you upfront, but it is time and money well invested.

Evaluate

Don’t forget to constantly evaluate how you’re doing, and don’t be afraid of straight-up asking your customers how they feel about your company and if there’s anything they think you could improve. Just remember to look at the feedback you receive objectively, and don’t treat it like a personal attack if you receive some criticism, even if it’s harsh and negative in tone. Think of it as a chance to grow and improve your business.
[tweetthis]If you want your business to remain competitive, keep looking at different ways to improve your #customerservice.[/tweetthis]
Remember that even the best customer service is likely to have at least one area where it could become even better. It’s a journey that’s never quite finished, and the more eager you are to keep improving things, the better chance you will stand out from your competitors who aren’t willing to go above and beyond for their customers.

What ways do you enhance your customers’ experience? I’d love to have your comments below.

Deidra Miller
Marketing and Administrative Consultant