Over the years, the importance of good customer service has become more and more appreciated. In an earlier time, when people had limited options for where to go to procure their goods and services and had limited ability to tell others about their experience, customer service impact was limited.
Today’s world, however, is very different. The internet provides consumers with countless options when it comes to virtually everything they might want to buy. If they are not happy, their dissatisfaction can spread through cyberspace like wildfire, potentially severely limiting your company’s growth.
On the other hand, if you take this matter seriously and provide quality customer service training for every employee, customer service department workers as well as other staff, it can have a decidedly positive impact on your company’s growth.
Benefits of Good Customer Service
Good customer service means happy customers, which can lead to:
- Repeat Business – A customer who has a good customer service experience is far more likely to wish to use your service or buy your product again, even if they had a problem the first time around. A quick, easy and expansive return policy is a sure way to get people to buy your products. If they don’t like them, they can always return them, but usually, they don’t.
- Good Word-of-Mouth – In the 20th century, word-of-mouth meant literally that. People who liked your business would physically go and tell others about it. Today, when we say word-of-mouth, we’re talking about the internet. If the right person likes your product, their review can go viral, which can immediately take your business to the next level.
- More Conversions – If you have a robust customer service department, you have the opportunity to convert more people who call with questions about your product or service into customers. If you have a customer service agent available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you are also more likely to get customers at unusual hours and from faraway locations.
Tips for Delivering Good Customer Service
It should be easy to see how good customer service can lead to great business growth. So how can you deliver good customer service? It starts with quality customer service training. You want to make sure your customer service agents are patient and helpful throughout a call, even if they reach the limits of their knowledge or are dealing with a very difficult customer.
The classic maxim “the customer is always right,” still holds true. Do everything you can to accommodate that customer. Do not make excuses or point out why the customer is in the wrong. If you can help, do it. If you cannot, find someone who can or offer accommodation. The thing your customer service callers want most, likely even more so than restitution or a resolution to their problem, is to feel heard and appreciated.
Mastering customer service is not necessarily easy, but the rewards for your business and its continued growth can be great.