You’ve converted a lead into a customer: Congratulations! It’s a major accomplishment bringing in a new customer, but your work isn’t over yet. You want to be able to retain the new customer, and the best way to do that is to avoid any pain points that could cause them to be dissatisfied. In order to do so effectively, you need to know the answer to a very important question: What are the three most important things in customer service? These key factors can make or break your overall customer experience.
- Help them to help themselves. Consumers are incredibly savvy. For the most part, they want to be able to troubleshoot their own problems instead of calling for help. In fact, calling is usually a last resort. If they can’t find the answers they need online, then they are going to be frustrated and the call you get might not be a happy one. Avoid this by making sure your knowledge base is up to date and truly helpful. This means FAQs, video tutorials, online forums, and an online chat function.
- Have live customer support. If a customer fails in troubleshooting their own problem, they will want to speak to someone on the phone. Make sure to display a customer service phone number they can reach. Don’t bury it at the bottom of your website or deep within. Customers find it most useful when you have a click-to-call option. You can also install a live chat feature on your site so your customers can speak with a service representative right on your website.
- Don’t forget in-store service. One main reason consumers have shifted to online shopping is because going to a brick-and-mortar store is a huge pain point. Long lines, depleted inventory, unhelpful store clerks, and long wait times for customer support have consumers fleeing to the Internet. To help with this, some retailers with physical locations offer scan-and-pay mobile apps or employees with iPads that accept payments so checkout lines can be avoided.
Customer Experience Is Incredibly Important
Customer experience is becoming a key differentiator for consumers. It’s becoming an expectation, not just a desire, to have a good experience with shopping. One way to provide a great customer experience is to have great customer support. If you’re busy running your business and can’t handle customer calls, it’s time to consider an alternative. Customer experience is so important that consumers are willing to pay more for a product if the business provides great service. And with the saturation in the market, consumers have a lot of options to go with a competitor if they have a poor experience.
Take a Look at Your Customer Experience
One of the most important means of providing good customer service, whether your business is Web-based or a brick-and-mortar operation, is through the phone. Customers are more likely to call a business for information, help, or a complaint versus contacting you through your website, social media, or email. The takeaway here is that you need to be answering your calls! Do you have the bandwidth to do so, or do you need extra help?
Consider Virtual Receptionists
Having a virtual receptionist service means your calls are answered every time. Virtual receptionists can answer basic questions, help process orders, book appointments, forward calls, and take messages. At VoiceNation, we do all of the above. We’re also open 24/7, including weekends and holidays, so your business can always be open. Help grow your business by providing around-the-clock customer service and support. Want to learn more? Give us a call today, or sign up for our free, seven-day trial.