|
Customer Service - 5 Tips to Keep Your Customers from Firing
You
As a business owner, how
you perceive your customers trickles down into all aspects of
your business. How you feel about them, talk about them, and
serve them provides a filter that your employees and service
providers see through, and that your customers can perceive
right away. This is a filter that your customers are intuitively
aware of in their interactions with you. They will be attracted
to you, or not, based on how you feel about serving them.
When you're starting out in
a new business, you may be looking for ways to best utilize your
time, since it may be just you juggling all aspects of the
business. Utilizing the latest technology is one way you can
potentially alleviate some of the stress of being the only
person answering the phone. As a small business, you may be
competing with many larger companies, so customer service is
especially critical. One major advantage of being small is that
you get to interact with your customers on a more personal
level, and this is where you can shine.
If you decide to use
technology in your business it may be one of the first
interactions your customers have with you as a service provider.
Their first impression of your business through this technology
can start you off with a warm, friendly relationship or an
adversarial one. Once a relationship starts off on the wrong
foot, it's always harder to change its direction...
A common example, I
encounter on a daily basis, is the use of directive recordings
for the first contact with customers. As a continuous user of
technology, I want it to provide me with a reliable way to
access information, so I can connect to the people and resources
I need to build a financially viable business. When I call for
support and receive recording after recording, with no option
for talking to a live body quickly, it's wasting my time and
causing me stress and frustration. In this way, technology is
keeping me from experiencing the very ease of communicating and
accessing information it was supposed to provide!
The maze of companies that
have gone to this method of providing customer service is
astounding. In many cases, by the time a person reaches a live
body they are so frustrated that the service rep has to first
overcome their irritation before the problem can be addressed.
In addition, you need to take great care in choosing the tone of
the recording, since reaching a recording, as the first point of
contact with a company, can make customers feel like you don't
want to be bothered with their requests for service.
It's possible to create a
better customer service experience and serve the company's best
interests at the same time. Here are some possible answers to
this dilemma.
1. Give the customer no
more than 3 or 4 recorded options when calling in for customer
service. One of the options should always be allowing the
customer to dial zero to reach a person, who can immediately
direct the customer to the department that can best help them. I
suggest using zero since it's the most universally recognized
number for operator assistance.
2. If you require that the
customer input their account number, don't ask them for it again
when they reach a service provider. If your technology doesn't
allow you to transfer the account number to a representative,
don't require that the customer provide it up front. If the
account rep needs to verify the account number, tell the
customer they are asking again for verification purposes, or
verify other personal information instead. Repetition is a
small, but irritating, inconvenience.
3. Always provide a call
back option if customers have to wait more than five minutes to
speak to a representative. Show your customers you respect their
time and you will find the respect is returned.
4. Always call back the
same day, if possible, but no later than 24 hours after the
initial contact. Unresolved issues that go on for an extended
period of time cause customers to be even more irritated when
they finally speak to someone who can help them.
5. When talking to
customers, always listen to all the issues before responding. I
have had more than one customer service representative interrupt
me before they heard all my issues. This led to me repeating the
problem several times, and more frustration, because I was not
being heard.
Your customers are normal
people with fears, insecurities, and obligations just like you.
These are people who are looking for your business to help them:
• Solve a problem.
• Enjoy life more.
• Feel better about
themselves.
• Provide something they
need.
• Feel more secure.
The bottom line is, they
are coming to your business because they want help. In the
technology arena it's easy to get side-tracked by the latest and
greatest thing to make your life and business "easier". But
technology alone won't pay the bills. Always come back to the
basics of great customer care strategies.
|
Sandy
Reed, "the Soulpreneur's Coach, is a business coach, writer,
former corporate manager, and co-owns her own successful
small business. If you would like to learn more about how
building a thriving soul-based business can feed your spirit
and your bank account, check out her website at
http://www.soulpreneursuccessstrategies.com for
free articles and resources, and to learn more about her
Soulpreneur Coaching Services. |
|
