Successful Habits of Great Customer Service Managers
Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and how you value your customers will ultimately determine the level of success you’ll achieve. Fail in customer satisfaction, and you’ll be on the sure path to doom. As a service manager, the pertinent question lies in how you can continuously provide excellent customer service to build a loyal customer base. There are a couple of habits you should cultivate in your team.
- Attitude Says A Lot
Customers are human beings, and they want to feel valued. Portraying the right attitude during customer interaction goes a long way in building positive rapport with your customer base, particularly for first-time customers. Remember, you only have one chance to make a great first impression, so make it worthwhile. The right attitude not only attracts customers but also retains them.
- Be Prompt in Your Responses
Time is a precious resource that people cherish. The last thing customers want is being forced to wait for prolonged periods without a response from your end. Small queries shouldn’t take days on end to solve. That being said, there are more complex issues that might take significantly longer to resolve, and it’s important to let your customers know how long they’ll have to wait.
- Introduce Self-Service Avenues
Most customers try to seek solutions personally before reaching out to a business representative. Today, more customers want the ability to solve an issue on their own. Self-service avenues are accessible and affordable channels where customers can easily obtain solutions. One of the best approaches is to create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section on your website or app where customers can access helpful information.
- Understand Your Product or Service
It is fundamental for your customer service team to have a deep understanding of what your business offers. Often, customer service involves various inquiries and troubleshooting. Addressing an issue or complaint requires an in-depth comprehension of the product’s or service’s features. Sometimes multiple customers will bombard you with a wide array of questions, and your team should be in a position to offer satisfactory answers.
- Listen to Customer Feedback
There’s a famous adage coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, “The customer is always right.” Customers know what they want and will communicate their satisfaction or complaints. Listening to customer feedback is an excellent information resource and uncovers the aspects of your business that need a bit of tweaking. Paying attention to your customers could also help to come up with tailor-made products or services specific to your customers’ needs.
Managing Your Customer Service Teams
A team is only as good as its members, and the same goes for customer service. Having an assembly of competent and knowledgeable staff makes all the difference between good and great customer service. News of sub-standard customer service travels fast, and you’ll therefore, want to manage your customer service team properly for optimal results. There are a few ways to achieve that.
- Continually Build Trust
Employee trust isn’t something that’s achieved overnight. It takes time to build stable foundations of trust within your customer service team. Actively engage members of your team on how the business can improve customer service delivery. Additionally, anchor your team in values such as transparency, honesty, and accountability to guide them in quality service delivery.
- Look for Employees with Motivation
Competency isn’t the only prerequisite when hiring a customer service representative. You need a team with the right attitude and charisma. Look for individuals with an innate desire to satisfy your customer’s needs and people willing to go the extra mile for the sake of customer satisfaction.
- Empower Your Team
Employee empowerment is a culture that must be nurtured continually. You can do so by setting boundaries within which your team can act without micro-managing them. Give everyone the necessary tools and resources to implement their roles and offer constructive feedback. Additionally, have an open mind on employee input and involve your team in the decision-making process.
- Cohesiveness is Key
Working together creates a familial feeling within your team. As members of your team interact and bounce ideas off each other, they build cohesion within the group. Having a well-gelled customer service team ensures everyone reads from the script and, therefore, delivers consistent results.
In Conclusion
Customer service is the bridge that links customers to your business. It is, therefore, paramount to understand how to effectively engage with your customers. When your customers feel valued, they’ll always reciprocate that feeling with loyalty. In today’s competitive world, excellent customer service could be the difference between business success and failure – make yours count.
