Many business owners understand the importance of customer service, but some don’t realize that it can make or break their company. One bad customer experience can go viral, for example, affecting their reputation, revenue, and overall trajectory.
What are some universal rules that apply to customer service in general? Here are four principles of customer service that any customer service representative should consider daily.
Respect
Customer service agents have to understand that respect is paramount. If you treat customers with disrespect, there’s a very good chance that they will go elsewhere (to a competitor, for example) for future business. For example, a staggering 90% of Americans consider customer service as a factor when dealing with a company.
Customer service representatives should remain as sincere as possible when interacting with customers. It goes without saying that customers should be treated well, but respect also requires that promises be kept to show that the customer is respected and appreciated.
Organizations should also realize that respect also means accessibility. A customer that can never get a customer service agent on the phone, for example, may feel like they are feeling disrespected and underappreciated.
Empathy
Customers can often feel stressed out and powerless when it comes to a product that doesn’t meet their expectations. One of the most significant ways to ensure that you have a customer for life? Make sure that your customer representatives understand the power of empathy. If the customer is detailing their journey with your company, actually thinking about their thoughts and feelings can go a long way towards finding a resolution. Empathy is about personalization, which is more important in business than ever before.
Some of the best customer service representatives are individuals who go out of their way to put themselves in the customer’s shoes. They might even add comments into the conversation to prove this to the customer, such as “I can see how this is frustrating” or “I would be upset, too, let me see how I can help.” Empathy can also help uncover pain points that the customer isn’t even necessarily bringing up.
Speed
If you want customers to stick around, your customer service agents will have to solve issues quickly and efficiently. This obviously isn’t that hard to understand: you would feel much better if a company processes your refund immediately, rather than a company that took a week to do so. A tool like Chirpish can be instrumental in helping you address your customers’ complaints or concerns as soon as possible.
You can earn more respect from customers if you can resolve their problems as soon as possible. This might take a significant amount of time, effort, and training, but it often separates an average company from a great one.
Friendliness
It can be extremely difficult for an individual to remain friendly while someone else is being hostile, but that’s exactly what is required of a customer service associate. It takes patience and restraint, but customer service representatives should always be politely understanding the situation and seeking solutions rather than escalating the situation.
After some time, remaining friendly can put the customer at ease, and help them calmly explain their issue and what they expect to happen next. At the end of the day, unfriendly customer service representatives can lead to poor customer retention, which can affect an organization’s financial future.
