Customer service and sales are our passion. People are our inspiration and we enjoy helping them reach new heights through impeccable customer service.
Our goal at the Blind Muse Foundation is to assist businesses with their messaging and growth plan through scalable actions that enhance the customer service experience through their digital presence.
Customer service is undoubtedly one factor that influences a company’s optimal functioning. It is essential to align our work processes with customer service to provide the customers with maximum satisfaction, improve the sales process, and, therefore, the company’s profitability.
Many brands understand this well: integrating customer service into the company’s strategy in a superficial and almost symbolic way is no longer enough. It must now be the mainstay.
But what is customer service today? Why make it the heart of its business strategy, whether in B2B or B2C, regardless of its size and sector? And how to set your business up for a quality customer service experience?
This article will answer all these questions!
What is Customer Service?
The concept of customer service is one of the most important aspects of business strategy. It is a service the company provides to the potential buyer before, during, and after the purchase. It includes aspects such as advice, personalized attention, or the ability to serve customers through multiple channels.
Customer service is a company’s department dedicated to assisting and handling customer requests (questions, complaints, etc.)
At the heart of customer service are men and women: on the one hand, the customers, who are ultimately the reason for these teams, and on the other hand, the company’s representatives, who are the main actors!
Customer service can be expressed through tangible elements, such as the amenities provided by a store, accessibility, the atmosphere of the sales space, the friendliness of the vendors, etc. But it can also be virtual.
For many years, customer service rhymed only with physical reception. But today, the advent of digital has driven the evolution of customer services. If the traditional channels remain available for consumers, new channels such as social networks and instant messaging are now booming.
The speed and proper functioning of the online store, delivery times and return policies, communication via telephone, chat, e-mail, or social networks, and the information provided on the sales website itself are aimed at improving customer service.
A company should align its entire customer service strategy with its ideal customer to improve its services in all phases of the purchase process, whether physical or online.
Importance of Customer Service for Businesses
Let’s discuss the importance customer service has for businesses with numbers. Recent statistics indicate that:
- 78% of consumers abandon a transaction because of poor customer service.
- 69% of consumers remain loyal if the site accompanies them in their browsing.
- More than 50% of dissatisfied customers stopped ordering in the year following a bad experience with customer service.
- Consumers share a negative experience twice as easily as a positive (e-reputation and satisfaction)
These figures immediately illustrate the importance of making customer service a pillar of your business strategy. Indeed, your customer service reflects your business and often the only showcase for many customers!
When a company is unreachable, the message sent to its customers will be perceived negatively, whatever the reason (does it not want to exchange with its customers? Is it only interested in acquiring new customers? etc.).
In any case, the brand should try to meet its customers’ expectations. On the contrary, when a company combines responsiveness and relevance in its responses, the customer feels valued, confident, and ready to renew their buying experience and even to recommend the brand.
Customer service is important for a company from different perspectives:
- Brand: good customer service influences the customer’s response to your brand, so it also becomes a form of business branding.
- Shopping experience: without a doubt, the main reason for offering customer service is to provide a good shopping experience, thus facilitating the sales process.
- Loyalty: customer service helps to retain current buyers because if their shopping experience or after-sales service has solved their needs, they will have more confidence in the brand to repeat the purchase.
- Profitability: customer service directly contributes to meeting the objective of increasing sales and, therefore, the profitability of the company. Recurring sales help provide stability to the company.
- Competitiveness: customer service is a factor of competitiveness, so it is important to reflect on how to analyze the competition and see how you can improve customer service.
Anticipate Customer Needs
Having good customer service requires taking the time to anticipate their requests. In the beginning, the task maybe challenging and will depend mainly on your market research and the identification of targets. But over time, you will be able to get a more precise idea and thus improve the customer service policy of your online sales site.
Consider the previous remarks to improve the future quality of your products. To sell better online, count on requests and comments to extend your range of items and services (warranty, express delivery, VIP service, etc.).
Train Your Staff
Having good customer service requires training the members of the customer service of your online sales site, the particularities of your products, your business philosophy, and how to provide friendly and personalized treatment. Thus, even if several people make up the team, the speech must be coherent and align with your business model.
Offer an effective tool to collect feedback from your employees. If you handle this aspect of your business yourself, centralize and save all customer feedback.
Adopt the Customer-Centric System
Selling online on a customer-centric concept is the business philosophy of considering the customer as the most important link in the sales chain.
Customer satisfaction begins with the definition of a pleasant user experience on your online sales site or your physical store. Follow your customer’s journey from landing on the online store until the validation of the purchase.
Use Multichannel
Interact with your customers on social networks and other communication channels (e-mail, telephone, chatbot, etc.)
It is of the utmost importance that companies today provide customer service through multiple channels. Buyers are currently used to making phone calls, using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, requesting information via Whatsapp, or sending an e-mail to provide them with different channels for their convenience.
Therefore, the idea is to make it easier for customers to communicate effectively with your company through the channel they prefer.
Companies, approach this communication challenge problem using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software tool, which allow you to keep track of customer interactions through multiple channels.
Always be Available
Excellent customer service means 24/7 availability. Timeliness on all communication is a key factor to good customer service.
Resolve Problems Promptly
A company’s customer service must be fast because if problems are not resolved promptly, the difficulties tend to be greater later. Therefore, the customer service team must resolve the customer’s doubts, questions, or needs quickly.
Conclusion
Customer service will ultimately be the department that will accompany the customer throughout their life with a brand, from their first order to their first parcel delivery and all the following ones. And this, in such a way as to always combine productivity and customer satisfaction.
Indeed, it is a link between your brand and customers. Incorporating impeccable customer service into your organization is well worth the investment. Ready to take it to the next level. Complete our self-assessment survey to start the process.
Get Started Today!
