Customer Service Strategies

Interesting blog post by Leigh Fletcher on Desk.com, originally posted on Salesforce.com, about customer service. 

Customer service doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. In fact, what if you were so proactive with your service that you were able to delight customers before they could even become disappointed? Or, when they do become disappointed, if you could react so quickly and effectively that you can delight them straight away? Below are the insights I gained from my experience:

1. Store (and Reference) Your Customer Data

Keeping a centralized view of your customer data is critical. This is both to allow for proactive customer contact (based on key stages or timelines) and to make sure you can react effectively when issues arise.

2. Play as a Team

In a previous Salesforce article of mine, I wrote about the importance of team handovers between departments, particularly when handing over sensitive issues. Ensure that the person you are handing the issue to has a good executive summary of the issue, whether this is verbal, or in a central system if you are geographically dispersed. Conversely, if you are handed an escalation or issue, take the time to ensure your staff fill you in on the details first.

3. Manage Your Culture and KPIs

The culture of business (while not the easiest thing to change) is critical. Leaders and managers in the business are key, and should lead by experience, going out of their way to challenge themselves and solve issues, and cultivating this type of action among their staff.

KPIs (key performance indicators) and bonuses are also important to regularly review. Do you track and make visible your customer service success’ to your staff? Furthermore, are they the right targets? Are they measured on how quickly they close down an issue, or how happy the customer was? Are your staff or key management motivated financially or verbally for providing good customer service?

4. Break Down Silos

Constantly look for ways to break down traditional barriers and retest assumptions about how your company and partners can and should work. Remember that customers are looking for holistic outcomes and service. The less that you can expose them to internal red tape and complications, and the more you can help manage their outcome, the more satisfied they will be.

5. Understand the Desired Outcome

Have your staff act like doctors. It is their role to not act based on initial symptoms, but to ask questions and probe deeper to understand what the true issue is. Like a doctor would commit malpractice for prescribing medicine based on first impressions, staff should make sure they uncover and assess various elements and draw together a holistic and relevant solution.

This article, explains strategies to not make customer service difficult for your customers. The article touches on key learning points to take from these strategies. Customer service plays an important role in any business, using customer data effectively and ensuring staff members play a vital role in customer service is core to customer satisfaction.