5 Customer Service Best Practices to Win Your Customers' Hearts
Tue | December 2023
We all know exceptional customer service's impact—it creates lasting connections and inspires loyalty to a brand. In fact, 95% of customers say they would stay loyal to a brand that offers excellent service.
If you're reading this, it's likely because you want to improve your business's customer service. This guide will walk you through five simple practices that can help you understand your customers' needs better and offer them more personalized care.
Ready to make your customers happy and build a brand they'll admire?
Let's dive in!
1. Prioritize customer satisfaction
Did you know it costs between 5 and 25 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one? Satisfied customers bring long-term benefits to your business. When customers are happy, they're more likely to stay loyal to your brand and recommend your products or services to others. That's why it's crucial to put your customers first, focus on meeting their needs, and ensure their satisfaction from start to finish.
Understanding this can open up more growth opportunities for your business. But how exactly can you prioritize your customers' needs?
Start by getting to know your customers
We all want to work with businesses that solve our problems quickly and effectively. One of the best ways to understand your customers is by asking for their feedback on your products and services.
Ask your customers what they think about your offerings—what they like, what they don't, and what they'd like to see improved. You can collect this info via online surveys, focus groups, or by monitoring social media discussions about your brand.
Here are some helpful questions you can ask to gauge customer satisfaction:
What can we do to meet your needs better?
How satisfied are you with our products/services?
What is the main benefit you get from our product/service?
You can also ask about their experience with your customer service team. Inquire about its professionalism, friendliness, and problem-solving skills.
Tools like SurveyMonkey or Typeform can be handy for quickly creating and distributing surveys. These platforms let you design professional surveys, collect responses, and analyze the results automatically. You can choose templates and set key customer service metrics.
These include overall satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, and issue resolution speed. After collecting feedback, you'll understand your customers' main challenges. This insight helps you improve and solve issues early. It also guides your customer service team training to meet your client's expectations.
2. Quick and effective responses matter
Imagine a customer messages you worried about their order. Weeks later, you see their message, but they've already posted a bad review online! Ouch! Slow replies hurt business. Responding quickly and fixing problems turns customers into fans and builds a strong brand.
Here's how to show customers you care:
Offer multiple contact options: People like different ways to reach you. Give them choices: phone for urgent issues, email for detailed ones, and chat/social media for quick questions.
Have answers ready for common issues: Save time with pre-written answers for frequent questions. This keeps your responses consistent, no matter who replies.
Be available around the clock: Chatbots can answer basic questions anytime, day or night. It's like having a website helper that never sleeps!
Tools to Speed Up Responses:
Phone notification apps: Get instant alerts for calls and even convert voicemails to text for quick scanning (like Grasshopper).
Email templates: Craft templates for common inquiries like returns or shipping times. This saves time and keeps responses consistent across your team. (See more on creating email templates here: Steps To Creating An Engaging Email Template).
Team chat software: Tools like Zendesk or LiveChat let your team chat with multiple customers, making support fast and efficient.
AI chatbots: For 24/7 availability, AI helpers can answer simple website questions. Just remember, offer a way to reach a real person for complex issues.
Following these tips can improve your customer service response times and build stronger customer relationships!
3. Personalize your service to make customers feel valued
Imagine visiting your go-to site for handmade jewelry after a busy day. A friendly "Hi Gabby, welcome back!" pops up, and a new collection seems picked out just for you. There's even a special preview offer that feels tailored to your tastes. This isn't luck—it's personalized customer service.
This kind of service does more than remember your name. It gets to know your likes, predicts what you want next, and treats you like a VIP. Most shoppers stick with businesses that seem to "get" them. This is where small businesses can really outshine the bigger ones by making real, personal connections.
How can you do this?
Use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools. They track what customers buy and like, which helps you personalize messages, offers, and support. There's much software to fit different needs and wallets. Here are some options:
CRM Software: Manages customer data and makes all your customer chats and emails feel personalized. Examples: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM. Features: Keep track of contacts, what they buy, and past chats, and use tools to segment your customers, send personalized emails, and recommend products.
Help Desk Software: Keeps customer support neat and personal. Examples: Zendesk, Freshdesk, LiveChat. Features: Sort customer questions, live chat, FAQs, check how well your team does, and use customer info to direct questions and tailor your hellos and help.
To pick the right software:
Do your homework and try a few out.
Look for free trials to see how they fit your business.
Pick one that makes it easy to see and use customer info.
You're not just fixing issues; you're making every chat count. Get this right, and customers will become loyal fans, making your business brand stand out.
4. Share what you know with confidence
Good customer service starts with a team that's well-informed and eager to help, just like the customer service team that works at Apple's Genius Bar. They know the products inside out and meet customers with patience and enthusiasm. Help your team reach this level with the right resources, straightforward ways to talk to each other, and ongoing learning opportunities.
Build a go-to guide for your team
Any customer must get accurate answers from anyone on your team. Set up a knowledge base, a central place where all the important stuff about what you do is stored. This should include details about your products, how you do things, and the common questions people ask.
Tools like Zendesk Guide and Confluence can help build this knowledge base. Ensure it's easy to use so your team can quickly find information. For instance, a "Sales Tax" section could explain how to calculate it and when to apply it. It could also include links to the tax policies for each state you operate in. Keep this resource updated, and let your team know any new information.
Talk to Each Other Easily
Great teams support each other. Set up a system where they can chat or email questions and get real-time help. Use apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams, where you can have different chat channels for topics like orders or shipping. This helps keep info easy to find and share.
Keep Learning
Your team interacts with customers daily, so they need to be sharp and knowledgeable. Encourage them to stay current with industry news. Provide access to relevant publications and learning resources. Resources like the Harvard Business Review are valuable if you're in marketing. So are courses from the American Marketing Association.
Invest in your team's education because their growth benefits your business. Allow them time to learn and provide access to educational materials. This could mean covering the cost of courses or giving time during the workday for training and development.
By fostering a culture of continuous learning, you empower your team to be customer service stars and drive your business forward.
5. Go above and beyond with customers
Great customer service is more than just fixing issues; it's about giving your customers a reason to say "Wow." When you do more than they expect, you start to build trust. And that trust can turn into a robust and lasting relationship.
Surprise with Little Extras
People love a special treat, like a discount, a personal note, or a small gift. Take Chewy, the pet supply site. They're not just fast and friendly; they also send birthday and condolence cards that show they really care.
To manage these extra touches, you can use online shop platforms to keep track of any discounts or gifts you send out. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system helps you remember personal details like customer birthdays, which is perfect for sending those surprises. Food websites sometimes add free samples to big orders, which customers love and can help promote new items.
Be Part of the Community
Your customers are more than just buyers—they're real people you can connect with. Being active in your community or online groups related to what you sell helps build genuine ties. Social media is perfect for this. It's where you can share things that aren't just about selling, like a toy store posting fun ideas for playtime that match what they sell. When you share helpful tips without asking for anything, you show that you're more than just a shop; you're a helpful friend.
Organize events that unite people, like Petco does with pet adoption days. They might not profit just from the event but show they care about pets and their owners. It's also a chance for people to see what Petco offers without the pressure of sales.
Making customers happy for a better business
We've looked at many ways to make customers happy and keep them returning. It's all about listening to them, solving their problems fast, making them feel special, knowing your stuff, and giving them pleasant surprises.
Putting these ideas to work means your customers will trust you more and want to stick around. Little things like saying thank you, helping before they ask, or remembering their birthday can turn a simple buy-and-sell into a real friendship.
In the end, good customer service is about more than fixing things. It's about making people feel good when they talk to you and even when they don't. It's about being a part of their day in a good way so they'll keep coming back.
Try out these tips to see how being nice and helpful to your customers can grow your business. It's all about making sure every customer feels like they matter because they do. And when they're happy, your business does better.
Disclaimer: The content of this post has been prepared for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult with your tax, legal, and accounting advisor before engaging in any transaction.