By Kelsea Mann
Customer service is the best way to add value to your service, and to retain loyal customers who will use your business again and again. By providing the highest level of customer service you can, your business will save money by needing to create less leads going forward, and will have many users willing and able to give referrals, testimonials and reviews of how your service has helped.
Furthermore, excellent customer service has many data-driven benefits that show how cost-effective it can be for your business. Bain & Company’s Prescription for Cutting Costs reports that an increase of customer retention by just 5% can actually equate to an increased profit margin of 25%. This is because a loyal customer is shown to spend 67% more at your business.
One way to increase customer service is to first look into employee satisfaction at your workplace. If an employee feels under-appreciated at work, they’re less likely to feel happy in their position. This is so important, in fact, that 87% of employees who report being happy with their jobs are also willing to work extremely hard for their business’s customers. After all, happy employees create happy customers, who’s referrals will only create a domino effect. Keep reading to see more ways your business can innovate in the area of customer service.
- Multichannel Customer Service
Today’s high level of smartphone users make it easy to follow a combination of routes to reaching your store’s phone, or coming in person. For example, today’s customer journey can cover everything from looking online and placing a pickup order, to asking a question on social media, to using an in-site portal to drive your service. Make sure you have a range of options, and that your customer service professionals have a full understanding of all of the ways your customer can leave with their needs met.
- Chatbots for Better Self-Service
Taking advantage of a basic chatbot installation on your website is shown to provide a large amount of value for your customer. A basic AI-powered chatbot can answer all of your customer service needs, and prevent customers from getting frustrated as they endlessly search through your FAQ’s section and online forums for answers.
According to an Accenture report, the largest advantage of chatbots is their ability to greatly reduce the number of contacts that need to be handled by human agents. This frees live agents up to answer only the most complicated questions, where they can provide the best service.
- Social Media for Customer Care
Maybe you’ve seen news coverage of Wendy’s sassy twitter account and others like it recently, but customers and businesses taking to twitter are becoming increasingly more common. Leveraging your business’s online presence to address concerns that are tweeted, posted, or snapped about is a great way to show the attentiveness of your brand. And, preventing unaddressed customer claims from trending on Twitter is of course another huge plus.
Social media has become the way that the overwhelming majority of people communicate with each other. If your business has a platform, customers are going to expect that there’s a real person behind the account, waiting to answer their questions or send them a message to handle concerns.
Excellent customer service is an unbeatable advantage for any business. If you’re in the industry of providing any service that needs shipment, consider PartRunner to get your products to customers faster. We cut out the need for a large box truck or delivery van by giving you access to our fleet of delivery drivers and various vehicle sizes. Learn more about us below!
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