We’ve all heard about it before—people either complaining about bad customer service or praising establishments for a commendable one. But what really is customer service and how important is it to every business?
Customer service refers to the support a company gives to its customers before and after they take your service or product. It helps ensure that they are able to maximise the benefits of your product or service and ultimately leads to a positive customer experience. Offering great customer service can help your business attract new visitors, retain old clients and customers, and widen its reach. In the past, businesses only offered traditional support such as telephone service. But today, you can do it through different channels, including email, chat support, social media, text messaging, and even through non-human interactions like chatbots. However, what remains to be true is that customers still prefer human interactions, which give companies the competitive advantage.
What makes customer service important is that it provides more than just answers and also delivers the promise of your brand to its customers.
How does good customer service look like?
Here is what you should see when talking about good customer service.
1. Polite
Every customer should be treated with politeness regardless of their concern and behaviour. When they are irate, you should treat them with as much respect as when they are nice and happy. Give them a smiling ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, and ‘what can I do to help you’ all the time to make them feel welcome.
2. Prompt
Customers expect a lot from businesses, especially when it comes to the promptness of the delivery of their orders. Acknowledge every order with an email or text message and inform the customers of any delay, which should be avoided at all costs.
3. Personalised
As a sign of politeness and giving value to your customers, it is a good idea to always personalise greetings. This can include greeting them using their first name, offering products that suit their needs and buying preferences, and knowing them on a more personal level.
4. Professional
By saying professional, you should treat customers with the skills and knowledge required for the matter.
Requirements of a customer service job
It is projected that the growth of customer service representative jobs will grow at 5% until 2026. So, if you’re interested in starting a career from it, here are what’s required.
1. Accessibility, knowledge, and courteousness
The primary task of a customer service representative is to offer help and resolve issues. They should do this using a lot of listening and conflict-resolution skills. In fact, conflict-resolution skills can come in handy.
2. Speaking skills
Listening and speaking skills go hand-in-hand. This is important, especially when a customer is unhappy, unsatisfied, and being rude.
3. Patience
This is easier said than done when dealing with unreasonable customers, but still, it has to be done. Treat every customer with patience and respect and remain calm even at times when it’s impossible to do so.
4. Ongoing training and certification
Just like any other career, a career in customer service is a continuous journey of learning and experience. Enriching your knowledge and skills is beneficial through schooling, attending seminars and training sessions, and certifications. There are numerous online training and classes available that equip you with the right and necessary skills.
Importance of customer service
1. It is a free marketing strategy
It is true when they say that finding new customers is more difficult and expensive than maintaining old ones. Good customer service helps your business keep old customers and clients.
2. It increases brand loyalty
Because customers have a pleasant experience, they always come back for their needs. Repeat customers can also highly increase referrals to their friends.
3. It can improve your reputation
According to a study, 6 out of 10 customers prefer to write a positive review about a product or service on social media. These people can greatly influence buyers to get your products or service since many of them already refer to reviews before making a purchase.
With this, customer service should be a priority. It is impactful, powerful, and doesn’t cost a cent.
