customer service trends

Improve Customer service

How Flexisource IT Can Help You Improve Your Customer Service

Customer service is an essential part of the business. It can provide assistance to customers and, ultimately, bring more value to a company. That is why it has been one of the most outsourced services for many years.  In fact, according to a 2013 study by Dimensional Research, customer service (whether good or bad) can directly influence a company’s revenue. Furthermore, customers’ experiences have a long-lasting impact. In other words, providing excellent customer service can make or break a business. So to help you start the year right, we have put together ways of improving customer service.  Why is customer service so important? Before we jump right into the good stuff, let us first understand why customer service is important for businesses in any industry. It is the direct connection between the business and the customers. This person-to-person interaction provides an opportunity for a company to cultivate a better impression and relationship with the customer by providing assistance and value.   Furthermore, customer service can bring plenty of benefits:  Financial benefits Providing excellent customer service can save and make money for a business. 86% of existing customers are more willing to pay a premium for better customer service and experience. In fact, they are willing to pay 13% to 18% higher.  Client retention is a lot more convenient and economical for the business compared to client acquisition. Moreover, existing clients can yield more profit for the business. According to a 2020 Insight Report by the XM Institute, 89% of companies with above-average customer service experience perform financially better than their competitors. Marketing benefits Customer service provides in-depth insight that can help improve marketing efforts. First-hand insights from representatives can supplement any acquired data by the marketing department.  Proactive customer service efforts, wherein representatives reach out to existing customers first, create another opportunity to market a business’ products and services. Personalised customer service can increase the chances of converting potential clients into paying customers. Brand loyalty benefits A company’s customer service team becomes the face of the brand. Providing excellent customer service can convert existing clients into brand evangelists, a community that strongly believes in the brand and its products and services.  Convert customers into loyal customers. It can help retain clients in the event that the quality of a business’s customer service experience diminishes over time. Customers with a positive experience are likely to refer the company to friends and colleagues. Furthermore, a good reputation will attract more clients. What are the 3 key elements of good customer service? With that said, what are the 3 key elements of good customer service that any company should focus on?  #1: People  Customer service representatives are essential. This is because they are the face of the company and have a direct connection with clients.  Naturally, this is why representatives must be well-trained in dealing with diverse clients and knowledgeable about the products, services, and other essential details.  As such, the responsibility falls on the company’s shoulders to properly train and ensure representatives are engaged and satisfied. Because aside from performing well, they can provide plenty of benefits to the business: Happy employees can have a positive influence on one-on-one interactions with clients. This generates happy and satisfied clients, which increases retention. Positive customer service experience leaves a positive impact. As a result, satisfied clients are more likely to share their with friends, family, and colleagues via their social media accounts about their experience  #2: Strategy A good strategy will never fail you.  Even without the assistance of top-notch tools right now, a business with a good strategy is more than capable of providing excellent customer service to clients. A good customer service strategy should carefully consider the most frequent concern or request that clients inquire about and map a course of action that representatives can follow.  #3: Technology  Lastly, technological innovations can help further boost the customer service experience and resolve the common challenges encountered with person-to-person interaction. An example of this is data analysis, which can provide customers with better assistance. One, representatives are able to pull up the relevant information about the client, identify the pain points, and resolve the issue. Two, data acquired from the interaction can give more insight into what aspects representatives should work on. How to improve customer service in the workplace Now that we know what are the 3 key elements of good customer service. We shift the focus to how to improve customer service in the workplace.  Improving customer service in organizational behavior will not only retain more clients. But it can also potentially improve internal processes as well.  Strengthen customer service skills Power skills, more widely known as soft skills, are very important for customer service teams. These are the skills that will make the most impact during the representative-and-client interaction.  Here are power skills an organization should practise and improve:  Empathy Patience Adaptability Communication Work Ethic Thick Skin Look at every touchpoint Bad customer service can ruin a company’s relationship with their clients.  With that said, here are the touchpoints that can contribute to improving customer service in organizational behavior.  Pain points. Identify what are the challenges and concerns that clients usually encounter then identify the effective way to assist and troubleshoot these issues. Opportunity points. After resolving the issue, identify the conversation points wherein representatives can add value to clients. An example of this can be a simple upgrade from a basic subscription plan for the customer to enjoy a better experience. Winning points. These are the minute details found in the customer interaction. Identify the aspects that representatives can further improve for clients to have an improved customer service experience. Improve customer interactions In addition to possessing power skills, representatives need to relate with clients as well. Here are key points that can help improve customer interactions: Identify common grounds or shared interests to be more relatable. Practise active listening to make your clients feel heard and understood. Admit mistakes, even before the customers find out. Follow up after resolving

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customer service trends for 2022

7 Customer Service Trends That Will Matter the Most in 2022

Thanks to society’s technology and capability upgrades, consumer demands and expectations are more challenging than before. With the rise of the digital age, more customers are looking for instant gratification and quick answers to problems. And with that, most customers turn to their devices and the internet to look for answers. Many businesses need to keep up with the latest tech trends to level up their customer service and accommodate customer expectations. However, due to the ever-changing landscape of technology, keeping up with the latest customer service trends can be difficult to keep up with. Likewise, we came up with the 7 customer service trends that will matter the most in 2022. Why is customer service important? Customer service is essential to any business as it retains customers and cultivates loyalty among consumers. According to Zendesk, 77% of customers are more loyal to companies that offer the top services. As such, it’s always important to be up to date with the latest trends in the consumer services industry. The following are some reasons as to why providing top-notch customer service is a must: Helps with customer retention and acquisition Enhance the company’s brand, image, and values Happy customers will refer your business to others Customers are willing to pay more for companies that offer excellent customer services Customer service can offer insights on how to improve your business Creates marketing opportunities 7 Customer Service Trends To Look Out For In 2022 Customer behavior and demand is a forever-changing landscape. Since the pandemic hit in 2020, many consumers have preferred to receive customer service through mobile devices or digital platforms. Lately, it’s all about enhancing the digital customer experiences rather than renewing their traditional services trends. Keeping up with these trends in customer service can be difficult, especially for those who are still transforming their processes to automated ones and are newly emerging to the digital landscape. Likewise, let’s take a closer look at the future customer service trends you might want to include in your strategic planning. 1.   Vital customer service becomes a company brand The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has changed the volume of customer service received by businesses. Industries like tourism, eCommerce, and entertainment are now handling more than double the usual volume of customer service demands during the pandemic. In addition, some of these companies have temporarily dismissed their workers, resulting in lesser available customer service representatives and longer wait times. It is no surprise that more customer support is a critical brand driver. As customer expectation escalates and the quality of customer service drops, the stakes of customers taking their business elsewhere get higher. Likewise, one customer service trend to keep an eye out for in 2022 is establishing solid client relationships.  2.   Digital channels will overtake traditional channels Another excellent customer service trend to prepare for in 2022 is establishing digital media. The COVID-19 Pandemic and global lockdown accelerated the need for businesses for digital transformation. As more people stay at home, they use digital platforms such as email, social media, websites, and more. Not only do they use these platforms to contact family and friends, but these platforms have also become a way to connect with brands. It’s no wonder that these consumer trends will take over in 2022. According to Zendesk, more than half of the businesses globally are expected to invest in customer experience technology over the next 7 years. 3.   Chatbots and self-service is on the rise Another customer service trend to expect in 2022 is the rise of business chatbots and knowledge-based databases (KBDB). As customer service becomes more in demand, many companies have been turning to use AI and automated chatbots. Customer self-service trends had become more prevalent in 2020. According to one Zendesk study, interactions with automated AI jumped by 81% in 2020. It has become a critical portion of any messaging strategy by companies. Chatbots are helpful to customers in solving less complex requests such as order status, tracking packages, account balance, and inquiries. It can also provide answers to minimal technical solutions while the customers are waiting for a human agent to help them. Likewise, KBDB is also a convenient way for customers to take care of things using information from the website. According to the book “The effortless experiences,” 58% of most customers try to find answers on the company’s website before calling the customer service department. Investing in self-service solutions and providing more information on their websites can benefit your company. It reduces the number of calls your customer service receives and also allows your customer services representatives to focus on more important tasks and issues, In addition, this also provides 24/7 support to customers without requiring human employees to be present. It can eventually lead to reduce operation costs and budget cuts. 4.   24/7 Live Support improves relationships with customers Because of the evolution of digital channels, your customers can do their business anywhere and anytime. Companies now need 24/7 interaction with companies, whether doing shopping or in the form of customer service. This interaction can happen anytime. As such, companies need to live up to these expectations and provide the necessary operation to compete with other businesses. Providing 24/7 customer service trends can be done on several platforms such as inbound customer service, SMS, website, social media, or even physically. 5.   Omnichannel communication guarantees consistency in customer service With customer trends needing 24/7 customer care, being available in every channel is also a rising customer service trend in 2022. The information age changed the way we use digital platforms. Today, these platforms are no longer solely used for communication and friends. Most consumers now use this platform as a way to communicate with their favorite brands and companies, Businesses need to offer customers options for contacting their customer service through omnichannel support, including social media, messaging applications, email, etc. 6.   Personalized customer service will take center stage It’s no surprise that hyper-personalization is a part of the new

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