5 steps for your tasks in customer service

As an entrepreneur, SME or large company, what is the importance of having customer service skills to aim for a successful strategy? Consumers are the key element, not only to launch a business, but more importantly to keep it alive. So what are the secrets to performing the various tasks best in a customer service environment?
Appvizer has compiled a ranking of the top 5 tips for aiming for TOP customer service .
Customer service tasks: how to deliver service up to par
Let's make a short list of what are the basics of delivering customer service up to par. There are small things that may seem trivial but will make the customer feel respected, and it is something they will remember in the future.
1. To avoid: making the customer wait
Customers are looking for you to solve a problem but you are trying to reduce the time spent on calls because they cause delays for your company. How, then, is it possible to respond quickly and best to your consumer's needs?
Solutions:
Create a comprehensive FAQ page
Include links and concerns that have been frequently asked. For many of your customers, it will be a way to find the right solution without having to wait to contact the assistant: fewer lines for them and your employees. End result? more efficient employees and happier customers
Get contacted through an online chat
The burden of conversations (in any field) has increasingly shifted from the telephone to the Web. Through chats you can reduce the number of calls, handle multiple customers simultaneously and maintain that human contact typical of live conversations.
Email: respond within 3 hours
Usually those who use this tool need non-urgent action. However, this is light years away from being able to mean "I can respond when I have time." If one is unable to respond directly with a solution, at the very least it would be a good idea to let them know that someone is taking care of their problem and that they will be contacted back as soon as possible. Of course, technology comes to our aid: set up an automated email response service keeping in mind that studies claim that the companies with the best response time usually do not go beyond 3 hours.
2. Calls: no more waiting and dropped lines
We've all been there. The waiting, the minutes that pass punctuated by a mechanical voice and music bordering on unnerving. It's not the best, you know? already by following tip #1 you will be able to reduce the number of phone calls and consequently the length of waits. End result? your customer will avoid hanging up exhausted.
Since for certain customers and for certain problems the phone call remains an evergreen a few tricks to make it easier:
Toll-free number
Write it clearly on every page of your site. This will give you a chance to get new cases day after day and not always the same ones.
Alternative options
If you are unable to solve the problem at that precise moment, better to say you will contact them again as soon as possible than to give an ambiguous and meaningless answer. The worst customer support services are those where communication is sloppy. As consumers, we would all rather wait (not too long) to receive an accurate solution than be bounced from one operator to another. Only through the right tools can your customer be satisfied.
3.Build your relationship on trust and it will be loyal to you
A professional working in this field must possess communication and social relationship aptitude and good problem solving skills. Building a good relationship with the client is the basis for keeping him or her coming back in the future.Not only will he or she come back, but the better the relationship the more he or she will be enticed to tell relatives and friends about you, not bad, right? Within a short time trust will ensure that a real support network is created around your company. How to do it though?
- Personalization: Make the effort to get to know your customer; try to remember his or her name: he or she will feel special and at home.
- Take notes: jot down the main points of the conversation so that you are always up to date. That way you won't have to start over again the next time he contacts you.
- Admit if you made a mistake: Getting it wrong happens to everyone sooner or later; if it does, apologize for the inconvenience and admit that it is your fault. This way, your customers will feel you are more trustworthy.
- Make sure they come back: what brings high turnover to your business are customers who stay. Relying on occasional customers does not lead to profits and is not sustainable in the long run. For the best results you must aim for customers who will continue to choose you, and this will be possible with excellent customer service.
- Pay attention to languages: The world is increasingly cosmopolitan and being able to provide service at least in English is a plus that will make you stand out
4. Show interest
The customer experience extends to after-sales service so taking care of the customer will be what makes you stand out from the crowd. How to get to this goal?
- Keep in touch: in the same way that we suggested earlier that you notify them when a problem has been taken care of, with an automated email, you can send questions to see what the experience was like in the support you received.
- Take his comments into account: it is one of the best ways to understand what our weaknesses are and react. They can be the starting point for corrections you hadn't thought of yet. In the end customer is always right, right?
In terms of marketing, word of mouth can be your best friend, and without a good reputation none of this is possible. Your new mantra must be: one (happy) customer attracts another.
5. What types of software are available to help you with all this?
Whether you are an independent entrepreneur or part of a larger team, the right tools are the key to a winning strategy. Indeed, having such a large amount of data under management can be exhausting. Below we present some software that will make your life easier!
Happier customers thanks to customer service software
Customer service software allows you to organize, manage and monitor your customers' requests from a single platform.
- Conversations and requests are integrated and linked with customer records and profiles
- Request management system across platforms so that each file is handled by the most specialized person.
With the following software, your company can be updated with data and statistics to make the right changes and improve customer service:
Software | Features | Target |
RingCentral Engage | Simple, reliable and perfect for beginners | Enterprises |
Zendesk |
Stay connected anywhere and through any device | Enterprises of all types |
Freshdesk | Organization and centralization of information | Enterprises of all sizes |
RingCentral Engage
RingCentral Engage is SaaS software that facilitates the enhancement and management of customer relationships. With RingCentral Engage, you can provide faster and better customer service with the assurance that the fast and accurate flow of information will be maintained and unaffected even during the busiest times. With a platform that is easy to use and understand, you can get right to work. Your agents can give customers the attention they need while the software takes care of the rest. Tasks such as assigning agents and managing resources to give accurate results.
What we like about RingCentral Engage:
- Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram.....)
- Messaging (Facebook Messenger, in-app instant messaging)
- Live-Chat
- Email & web form
- Customer forums and communities
- Recognizes up to 72 different languages
- Integrated CRM tool
- Free demo available
This provides companies with a complete history and accurate account of every interaction to better analyze and manage their business while increasing customer satisfaction as it allows companies to track and analyze performance with advanced statistics. Integrate Dimelo into your CRM for a 360-degree view.
Zendesk
With 40,000 customers worldwide, Zendesk is one of the leading software systems for customer service and support. This online software offers an interface for managing requests, chat to communicate with site visitors, online knowledge base, shared messaging, and a data analysis tool.
Other features of Zendesk include:
- Omni-channel
- 6 tools for creating exceptional customer service: support, guidance, chat, conversation, message, and exploration.
- All of these tools enable clear and effective communication and interaction with customers no matter where they may reach; website, e-mail, customer support interface (ticketing system), social networking sites, etc.
- Compatible with iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BB
- Zendesk customer service feature
Zendesk centralizes all of its customer data in one place, which means you never lose track of what it looks like. It provides access to customer information, allowing you to act quickly on customer requests. Zendesk greatly reduces the time spent with customers and provides them with a high level of satisfaction to win their loyalty and engage them with new products.
Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a customer support-oriented SaaS software and has over 100,000 users worldwide. One of the leading online customer support services, it provides a helpdesk for excellent customer support with its many features. All with a user-friendly interface. Freshdesk allows:
- Centralization of: All customer inquiries coming from the ticketing platform, first phone calls, chats, e-mails or social media. Be present wherever your customers are, but also allows manual or automatic distribution of tickets to representatives who will handle them.
- Automatic filters allow you to assign a task and its level of importance/urgency to an agent: It means you never lose control of the situation, regardless of the number of inquiries.
- The ability to purchase multiple phone numbers and control calls from the online software.
- The collection of costs and usage.
- Management of all channels coming in and going out.
Freshdesk's advantage over Salesforce or Zendesk is its outstanding functional coverage and ease of use, at a very competitive price.
Article translated from Italian