September 26, 2024
For many people, customer care is lacking. It becomes a hassle that is dreaded or even avoided.
From cable companies to the DMV, many people want to avoid interacting with customer care at all costs. There are certain types of companies that seem to be renowned for providing a bad experience (Being on hold for an hour? No thanks), and it causes customers a sense of dread when an interaction is required.
The good news is that your company can learn from this in order to better serve your customers. Improving your customer care should be your top priority, and the best way to do it is by making your interactions less stiff and more human.
From providing the proper training to playing on your staff’s strengths, here’s a look at the best ways to make your customer care more effective and fulfilling.
Make sure your staff is trained and prepared
The first step is to make sure your staff has been properly trained and feels empowered. Can your staff properly help customers through all avenues of communication, from the telephone to email, or social media and web chat?
When your customers want to reach you in a variety of ways, it’s vital that your staff is able to effectively communicate and handle any questions or concerns. Having multiple channels of communication is better for your customer, helping you eliminate what could have been a challenge when a customer sought support.
Ensuring that your staff has been trained in the various aspects of their jobs is important for delivering top-notch customer service.
Be sure to train on any software used to make the job easier, offer your team the tools needed to do a great job, and allow even your newest team members the space to use their best judgement with helping frustrated customers so that everyone can feel like an equal part of the team.
Play on your staff’s strengths
Are there members of your team that are better at staying organized, upselling a new product, or dealing with frustrated customers?
Some staff members may excel at technical issues, while some may be great at making your customers feel welcome while in your store.
Make sure you are playing to your team’s individual strengths to ensure everyone feels confident in their tasks and can bring their best tools forward. While your team is made of humans with different skill sets and strengths, it only makes sense that you let those strengths shine when it comes to interacting with your customer base.
Taking that nervous employee off the phones and placing them behind-the-scenes to work on technical issues will make him or her much happier. Likewise, that bubbly employee of yours would be a great person to answer the phones in a cheerful manner.
Some people are skilled at diffusing a bad situation while others are better at organizing things and handling your schedules and appointments. Place people where their skills can shine.
Do you have a script?
You may have forgotten to arm your staff with a script to work from. Having a general script allows your staff to stay consistent and be prepared for any situation when dealing with customers.
This is especially helpful during special promotions that are new to the staff. Make sure you put a script in place when an unusual request comes in to play, so that the team is prepared in the future if that situation were to happen to them.
Treat customers like you’d want to be treated
Make sure your customers are being treated the way you’d want to be treated as a customer.
Do your customers find your terms and conditions on your product confusing? Is your website or mobile app difficult to navigate? Do your customers get put on hold for long periods of time because you don’t have enough staff members to assist?
Think about what your experience would be like as a customer of your company and make changes where you’d think you’d feel unhappy. Whether it’s high pricing, long wait times on the phone, or difficulty understanding the paperwork behind the service or product, make the proper changes to help your clients have the best experience with your company.
Use these tips to make your customer care something that customers look forward to and praise rather than avoid and complain about.
