Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after the purchase of any product. Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the experience of the customers.
The sole purpose of the customer service is to meet the expectations of the customers so that they are satisfied with the outcome. These services are also available to understand the queries of the customers and ensure that they enjoy a cost-effective experience after purchasing any product from the respective company.
A good customer service benefits the business or companies as it will eventually produce satisfied customers. However, a bad customer service might end up generating unhappy and unsatisfied customers. It may result in effecting a business in a negative way.
Evolving Nature of Customer Service
The need for customer service has been felt by people ever since the very beginning of time. It might be hard to figure out a definite year or time when the customer services began. As soon as people buy something, there is an on-going need for finding out more about the product through the seller in order to have a cost-effective experience.
- In-Person Customer Service – When trading items first began, that was the beginning of the very first kind of customer service; in-person customer service to be exact. Trading began as soon as the people started to realise their need for better items and necessities in life. The people involved in trading, buying and selling items at the dawn of civilisation were unknowingly implementing customer service as a part of their activities. However, now with the advancement in technology, in-person customer service has evolved quite dramatically as the sales representatives are trained to provide the customers with a good and cost-effective experience.
- Automated Customer Service – The evolution of customer service led to the beginning of automated customer service. As the majority of the people began to rely on technology for various purposes, organisations and businesses felt the need to gain direct contact with the customers. This could be done effectively by making use of their websites. Today, there are many large companies and organisations that offer automated customer service software and other solutions.
Developing a Customer Service Model
Now you understand what customer service and how it’s evolved, its time to discover how you can create and develop a customer service team and customer focused business that will support small business growth.
Creating an Ownership Culture
In larger organisations, there are customer service teams, technical staff, managers, sales superstars and all number of hierarchies with distinct and easily defined job roles. In early stage startups, there are usually less than ten people. Customer service is something which can easily fall through the cracks.
A Founder-CEO might want to treat every customer to a personal response. That’s fine if they have the time. If not then there should be a structured, accountable process for fielding customer contacts. One person should be responsible. It should be their primary function. They should have clear and open accountability with every case so that the whole team can learn from wins and failures when it comes to service delivery since how you do with one will impact how you handle one thousand customers.
Prioritise Speed
Have a back-end service in place which sends automated updates to both staff and customers when contact has been made. Make sure inbound social contacts are assigned automatically too since no one wants to have a Tweet – which is public – go unanswered. Customers need to know: a.) they’ve been heard; b.) a timescale for a resolution; c.) who’s responsible; d.) updates if there are any unexpected delays.
The same principles which apply in call centres should apply in startups. Aim for a fast resolution (under 24 hours). Don’t keep the customer waiting so long they feel the need to email, Tweet or call again. If there is no resolution, then it should go up to a more senior member of staff.
Exceed Expectations
Giving a customer false hope is the same as ignoring an email or hanging up during a phone call. All they want is the truth. It will set your customer service free. Aim to give them as realistic a timescale as possible. So if you solve a problem sooner, then they’ll be even happier with the result. This means the person responsible has to know they can resolve the issue within the allotted time. If this doesn’t look likely, then let the customer know in advance, rather than on or just before they were expecting an answer.
The one advantage of being in a startup team compared to a call centre agent is your customers probably don’t have very high – or low – expectations. As a new company there’s little precedent; except for the fact that customer service is a universal experience, so get it wrong and a customer won’t hang around for long.
The Customer Isn’t Always Right
Work in a shop, restaurant, call centre or any customer facing role long enough, and you’ll meet Mr. Belligerently Obnoxiously Right, even though they couldn’t be more wrong. He’s the customer, so he’s right, obviously.
Every startup will eventually encounter Mr. B. O. as well. Do your best. Always do your best to resolve every problem and answer every question. But when the facts are against a customer, and you’ve done all you can then sometimes you have to let go and walk away. After that, the best solution is either to do your best to repair the relationship or move on.
Dealing with Customer Service Challenges
With the rising demand and needs of the people, the complaints and queries of the customers rise equally when these demands and needs are not fulfilled. The expectations and need for better customer services strategies are key now more than ever.
Helping Unsatisfied Customers
The most common problem that is often faced is unsatisfied customers. Sometimes their reason for being unsatisfied with your product is valid, and sometimes it is not. It is the duty of a customer service representative to tackle all their queries and reasons for being unsatisfied and seek a suitable solution. To avoid any misunderstanding and miscommunication in between the customer and the customer service representative, the best thing to do is to be upfront and clear about what solution a company is willing to offer and what a customer may expect.
A customer might also be unsatisfied with the service that a company is providing and that is also one of the most crucial challenges faced by many customer service departments. To always be on top, a customer service representative needs to be upfront and very clear about what the company is willing to do in order to provide them with a satisfying service.
The Ever-changing Needs of the Customers
The needs of the customers are ever changing. With every second call and query, their needs and demands change. It is often a drawback for the company to fulfil the needs of all the customers, hence, a company and customer service representatives are often unable to satisfy all the customers. With the changing needs of the customers, it becomes difficult for the companies to focus on one goal.
When a company tries to satisfy all the customers, they often end up satisfying no one which is often a very common problem for large companies and business. However, for any company to have a customer-focused business, there is a need to acquire all the resources such as trained staff, time and innovative ideas.
Going Above and Beyond
Every customer contact is a chance for you to show them why they made the right choice when they bought your service. Every contact is an added value extension of that service. A chance to keep building the relationship.
That’s why you should never miss the chance to exceed expectations. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture either. A personal, handwritten note can go a long way in a digital age. Send a box of tissues and flu tablets if you know a customer has a cold but is still in the office. With red cup season at Starbucks just around the corner why not send an e-gift card? The little things are what counts in our personal relationships, so as a startup employ that mindset when it comes to customers.
As you grow your customer base, keep finding ways to delight them. The happier your customers, the more secure your revenue, the more inbound leads you will start receiving. Growth will get incrementally easier with a strong customer-centric approach.
