Actually there’s no myth or absolute secret in making your company’s customer service exceptional. Having recognition from customers is not a one-night task but it’s also not impossible. In this article, let’s learn from the experiences of many experts as well as other brand owners who have been in and out with customer service to understand why it is worth.
It may look easier said than done. But after reading through this article with 5 customer service tips, I think you’ll know how to make customer service work right for your own brand.
1. Listen to customers is not enough – understand them!
Jeff Bezos – Amazon’s CEO surely knows the philosophy of an unforgettable customer service experience. With millions of customers worldwide, there’s no doubt that Amazon’s customer service is one of the most genuine and customer-focused ones.
One of the tactics to deliver great customer service is – according to Jeff – to understand customers, not just listen to their needs. For Jeff, it’s easy to listen to customers – like picking up a phone and listening to what the person is talking about.
But you need more to understand the wish behind their words. When working in the “happiness deliverer” department, you need to be customer-obsessed. Be dedicated in how you are going to improve to make customers successful with your product or service.
Remember what Henry Ford once said? “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money… It is the customer who pays the wages”. So, be sure to understand customers before moving on to the next step.
2. Make it 100% perfect and customer-centric
The leader of Amazon also shared one of his recipes to have a desired customer service is to strive for 100% satisfaction (not just 99%). In 2011, the giant Amazon was successful in delivering their packages to 99.9% customers before Christmas, as promised. However, that remarkable number didn’t seem to impress Jeff much. To Jeff, if it’s not yet 100% in what they’re doing, it’s not good yet.
So, you should remember that after hitting a milestone or achieving a pre-set goal, your customer service team still needs to improve for higher target. There’s always room for improvement.
Along with striving for the better, Jeff also keeps in mind that customers are always at the center of Amazon’s huge success. He has all departments working within Amazon run smoothly based on the data from customer experience. And he is right about that. Focus on what is good for customers and align your company’s interests accordingly – you’ll reach the success fruits!
3. Customer service staff is the key to customer’s happiness
When it comes to building an awesome customer service team, you will need to learn from LUSH Cosmetics. Rowena Bird, co-founder and product inventor at LUSH shared the secret sauces in making the store the most customer-oriented retailers in the UK with the highest customer satisfaction.
What’s the secret? It’s all about hiring and training customer service team. She hired knowledgeable and attentive people who have the energy as well as passion for the job. Then she organized fun, interactive training for her team so they understand the products by heart. With that, the team members can help customers find the products that fit them, not the products that are trending.
Valuing the quality of customer service team isthe same advice from the founders of Drybar – a California-based chain that provides hair blowouts and cocktails in many salons. When hiring members for their customer service, they pay extra attention to people who have the right cheerful attitude and welcoming personality rather than ones who have the skill but bad attitude.
4. Build customer’s loyalty = build “a home”
In a recent interview in this year with Danny Meyer by Micah Solomon at Forbes, one of the tips in building an “unshakeable loyalty” is to build customers a “home”. Danny’s idea is about creating a service/company culture that feels like home for customers and that is what makes they come back again and again for your company.
As explaining further in the interview, “a home” as Danny suggested is where your customers get everything they want and need without having to spend much effort to get. It’s the mix of different factors that allow customers do as they please. These factors are the comfort when buying from you, recognition of things they need, of who you areand having their preferences personalized.
It might be hard at first to figure all the factors that keep customers stay but it’s worthwhile to dig deeper and then succeed.
5. Plan for mistakes and never afraid to apologize
Customer service is always full of surprises. Unfortunately, many are bad situations that require your customer support agents to be experienced as well as well-prepared to keep their calm and support customers as usual.
This is how Ritz Carlton Buckhead planned for mistakes and accidents so their staff can still provide exceptional service when there’s sign that customer’s wish hasn’t been fulfilled. They prepared a small gift – a “courtesy of chef” dish – as a last point of contact for customers who are waiting a long time for their order. With this, customers can wait for a little longer with comfort, rather than feel being ignored by customer service.
Of course, you can do the same with planning solutions and reactions for unexpected problems which might arise in reality. And when it’s needed to say sorry, don’t be afraid to give your most sincere apology. It might be embarrassing to admit youscrew things up but a heartfelt “We’re sorry” shows that you company truly cares for customer’s need. One apology works way much better than any other methods to cover up a bad case.
6. Experience is the best teacher!
Don’t ever stop looking around you for the customer service tips as well as best practices or lessons learnt from other brands, even your competitors! To get customer service under your belt is to work hard on many aspects. With the tips above, you now have more resources to sail your service ship to the right direction.
Do you have any tips that help you successful with customer service? Share with us your wise words! And feel free to spread this article if it makes sense to you!
