20 July 2015

Improve Customer Service with These 5 Tips

Customer service is crucial to the success of any good business, and no matter how good you are; there’s always room for improvement. Here are five tips to help your business improve its customer service and keep your customers happy.

Be available 24/7

Thanks to modern technology, your customers should never be unable to reach you. Today’s customer is busier than ever, many don’t have traditional schedules and they all expect to get assistance when they need it, not when you feel like providing it. Live chat options on your website make it easy for customers to get real-time help when they need it, whenever that may be.

Don’t keep them waiting

Make sure you have enough customer service staff on hand to eliminate any long wait times. Busy customers don’t have time to wait around, and they may be tempted to take their business elsewhere if they do have to wait. Consider using a call centre if adding staff isn’t in the budget, and you can have calls answered 24/7.

Get social

Social media is a huge tool that lets your customers contact you with problems and praise. Many people prefer the ease of communicating through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and if you keep an eye on these accounts at all times, you can wow your customer with quick responses.

Build a community

Businesses that have a strong customer community tend to have better relationships with their customers. This translates to better customer service and can even make your brand go viral. Offer your loyal customer rewards for doing business with you, provide a forum for customer interaction and just be available in as many ways as possible to create a strong customer community full of happy customers.

Listen to your customers

Don’t just go through the motions; make sure your customer service staff knows how to really listen and understand your customers’ needs so you can meet them properly. Genuine, thoughtful customer service is worth its weight in gold, so make sure you offer a ‘fortune’ to your customers in order to keep them happy.