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One bad customer service experience can tarnish customers' opinion of a product or a brand indefinitely. But one exceptional experience, on the other hand, can turn them into loyal brand advocates.
Customers will do a lot for brands they're loyal to. They will join a brand's loyalty or VIP program or spend more on the brand they are loyal to, even if cheaper options exist elsewhere.
So, what is a baseline for "good" customer service?
Good customer service means building relationships with your customers. This can mean you have a rapid response time to service requests, respond to all customer feedback (positive or negative), have self-service help documents, and have a frictionless process for getting in touch with support.
In addition to the ones listed above, let's break down the six most common characteristics of good customer service teams.
1. Rapid Response
Customers are always looking for fast solutions. Customers say that the most important thing a company can do is value its time. This means your team needs to focus on efficiency and develop a workflow that streamlines different support functions
2. Customer Feedback Collection and Analysis
Since customer needs vary from industry to industry, good customer service looks different depending on the type of business you're running. The best customer service teams use feedback collection tools to identify the specific needs of their customers and create personalized solutions for them.
Rather than assuming you know what your customers want, reach out to them through surveys and interviews to get their perspective on your business. These tools will help your team uncover new opportunities to enhance your products and improve the customer experience.
3. Customer Self-Service
When your customers want to find their solutions to service problems, they should use self-service resources provided by your business. For example, one of the most common self-service resources is a knowledge base.
Knowledge bases consist of categorized support articles and FAQs that offer
solutions to common user roadblocks. With more customers wanting to solve problems independently, self-service tools are assets when providing a high-quality customer experience.
4. Omni-Channel Support
It should be easy for customers to contact your support team, regardless of the medium they're using. Your team should be equipped to respond to incoming service requests via phone, email, social media, live chat, and any other communication channel that your customers prefer. Providing an omnichannel experience makes your team more accessible and creates less stressful service interactions.
5. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence refers to your ability to read and react to other people's emotions. This skill is precious in customer service roles because it helps with diffusing complicated customer interactions. Every business experience a frustrated or upset customer, but the best service teams can de-escalate the situation and prevent potential churn.
6. Creative Problem Solving
The best customer service teams solve their customers' problems. They're tenacious and determined to help their customers achieve their goals. In many cases, this requires agents to be creative and develop unique solutions to customer issues.
Every year, customers change their buying habits, marketing preferences, etc. One thing that will never change is their need for support and service. Companies should always think about the best way to serve their customers and adapt to meet the moment of truth.