How great customer service can create happier customers

Get to know your customers

To provide really good customer service, you must get to know each of your customers really well. What’s their normal workday? What challenges are they facing during their workday? What type of relationship do they have to your company? How do they use the service or product they’ve bought from you? Are they satisfied or not? All these questions serve a greater purpose, namely getting to know your current customers in a better way. With knowledge of their needs and wants you’ll have an easier time understanding what you can offer them to solve their issues.

A way to get to know your customers is to gather all the information in one place such as a CRM system and analyse all the available data you have about them. A CRM system makes it easier to keep track of all promises you’ve given to your customer, it also means you can see when you were in contact with them last time. With this information available you’ll have a clearer picture of what is needed to improve your relationship and the customers level of satisfaction.

Care about the customer’s best interests

Agreeing to everything the customer asks for isn’t excellent customer service, even if you might think so initially. No, great customer service is more about caring for their best interests, which isn’t always the same as what they’re asking for. If you know you can’t deliver on the customers demands then it’s better to decline their request. You’re better off providing your honest and real opinion when the customer requests your support, at least if it helps the customer make decisions that lead to better outcomes in the long term, than just agreeing to anything they might ask.

Sometimes it can pay off to be persistent, something most of us usually don’t want to be perceived as. But a short phone call or an e-mail with a reminder can in fact make your customers appreciate you even more! As humans we tend to respect people who help us improve. So, if your customer tends to be forgetful, you can definitely risk being a little persistant and “pushy” to ensure that they keep their promises.

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Give your customers your full attention

What is one of the most common reasons customers leave a supplier? That they feel they’re being ignored by the supplier. That’s why it’s important to stay in touch and continue your dialogue with them even after you’ve received their order. Make sure you have answered all their queries and helped them get the best possible value from your product or service. Try to keep the customer aware of new products through a regular newsletters. An e-mail tool such as Lime Newsletter is perfect for these kind of campaigns!

Think about how you can reward customers who purchase from you and decide to stay with your company for an extended period of time. Make sure it pays off to be a loyal customer, it’s as simple as that!

Be easy to work with

In a world where products and services are easy to copy, it’s hard for customers to always make rational choices. Regardless of the product or service it’s not always easy to compare offerings, meaning that the customer might make an emotional choice rather than an informed one in the end. If you’re quick to respond when the customer need help and look out for their best, they’re more likely to stay loyal to you and your company. Make sure your support function are easy to access and that they have a positive attitude when greeting customers. Make sure you have all customer information easily available in one place like a CRM system. This way, the people who respond to customer queries always have a complete picture of what has been promised, who’s calling and who’s responsible. This highly improves the likelihood of your company being preferred when comparing to competitors who provide poor responses or let the customer wait in a telephone queue for hours.

Learn more about ticketing management and how Lime CRM can help you with your ticketing!

Establish a customer service policy

Having a customer service policy doesn’t have to be as strict as it may sound. In fact, it’s a highly effective tool to ensure good customer care is part of the entire organisation! A customer service policy is a guide to how employees should behave and communicate in various situations. Is one of your customers unhappy with a product or service that you’ve sold them? Manage the risk of losing them by having a well-considered policy outlining how to handle complaints and feedback.

A first important step is to document the customer service policy and hade it available to everyone that might need to look up things in it. This is an effective way of ensuring that all customers are treated the same way regardless of who they talk to. Next, make the customer service policy an integrated part of how employees act, for example by having it posted on the wall for everyone to read and be reminded of when needed. Finally, be mindful that customers’ needs change over time. Make sure the customer service policy is updated regularly to meet new customer requirements and expectations.

Happy employees means happy customers

Having happy employees is as important as having great products and services. People who love their jobs and benefit from great terms and conditions, also perform better and feel happier. A great working environment is often reflected in the customer’s perception of the company and will in turn lead to better customer services.

Even though you may already be familiar with some of the points above, we hope you have picked up some new ideas on how you can improve your company’s customer care initiatives. We wish you all the best in building world-class customer relationships!

Do you want to know more about how a CRM system can help you get happier customers? Is it time to reach the next level?
Don’t hesitate to contact us, we can help you!