Plan: The definition of customer service

3 Tips to Improve Customer Service Now

Make it easy for everyone to reach your brand. Build a website that is attractive and functional and partner with a web hosting service that has near perfect uptime ratings. Optimize your platform for mobile consumers so that you rank high in the search. Provide multiple contact methods, one-click online inquiry, live interactive Periscope Q&A events, telephone numbers, mailing address, and social media and blog comment capabilities.

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  Be responsive. Making it easy to reach out to your brand is only half of the recipe for success. Your small business customers expect a timely response, so monitor your social media platforms and respond to comments as quickly as possible. Utilize alerts so your team receives a text or email every time a comment posts on social media or an online inquiry hits the inbox. Survey your customers after each service encounter to find out if you are creating “magic moments” or you are merely frustrating them.
  

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  Train, equip and support your team. Consumers don’t want a robotic, overly-scripted agent on the phone when they have a question or complaint, and nor do they want someone whose go-to answer is “I don’t know.” You must train your staff to respond to your customers with empathy and understanding. Using the caller’s name creates a personal connection, avoiding negative words promotes positive expectations, and reassuring the caller that they will get to the bottom of the issue ensures satisfaction (and relief!).
  

Knowledgeable representatives know industry-specific terminology and know how to figure out what the caller is describing even if he isn’t aware of the proper term for “that little bracket thingy that fell off.” Well-trained employees better serve and educate consumers about how to use your products, and well-informed consumers make better buying decisions, which leads to brand advocates and repeat sales.