We Offer Amazing Customer Service
Be it any business like a solo entrepreneur or large corporation, a florist, an accountant, a legal firm, or anything related to customer service matters. We at Crabtree Solutions know that customer service is important, that’s instilled in us, but how many people know what the purpose of customer service is and how to offer a positive customer experience? Here, we’ll discuss all things fabulous customer service, from how to offer a great experience for your consumers to the benefits you’ll reap if you follow our advice! We’re passionate about offering amazing customer service to our clients and helping them to provide a positive experience for their consumers too.
Amazing Customer Services
It all starts from basics to tailored solutions
Most businesses would agree that customer service plays a key role in a company’s growth and development. However, how the organization chooses to approach their customer service can significantly vary for each industry. There’s no one-size-fits-all blueprint for delivering excellent customer service and sometimes brands fall short when trying to improve their customer’s experience
Before implementing systems and technology to go above and beyond for your customers, you should look a little closer to basics first. Offering amazing customer service starts with taking care of your employees. Quite simply, when your employees are satisfied with their role, they become more productive and therefore more likely to offer amazing customer service. If they recognize that you, as an employer, are going the extra mile to look after them, then they’ll be proud to represent your company and they’ll want to help you build a strong, positive reputation, by offering great customer service. Not only that, but they’ll genuinely want your business to succeed and they’ll want to be a part of that success.
Offering a personalized service starts with using humans, not robots. Bots and interactive voice response (IVR) systems might seem like the cost-effective option, they could drive potential business away. Put simply, they could actually lose you money rather than help you to save it real people at Crabtree solutions offer an unrivalled, personalized service that bots and IVR systems simply can’t match Personal touch. It all starts with being friendly, empathetic and proactive and show the customer that you truly care. Then, tailor your service to meet their needs. There are technologies to help you do this, such as CRMs, which are systems that manage important customer insight and data, to help you track their previous interactions with your business. That way, you can pick up where your colleague left off if they’ve contacted you regarding an ongoing enquiry. If you’re a small business on a tight budget and you don’t have a CRM, listening carefully to the customer and being proactive will go a long way.
Build relationships with customers
Building positive relationships with customers will pay off dividends. Not only it increases positive feedback, but it increases customer retention and customer satisfaction. To build strong relationships with every customer there are a few things that you can do quite easily. The key is communication. Make sure you and your employees respond to all messages and emails promptly, whether these are new enquiries or customer complaints. No room for poor customer service to become an issue. Whenever a new member is employed, train them effectively so they understand the importance of communication for business success. Besides communication, you should also always aim to exceed the expectations of your customers, engage with them online through the likes of social media and always ask for feedback so that they know you’re committed to listening to their needs and making changes where necessary.
Make user experiences enjoyable
Great Customer Service Can Be an Asset to Your Business as we’ve already mentioned, creating an enjoyable user experience starts with offering services delivered by humans. When it comes to providing enjoyable user experiences for good customer service, the key is to make things as easy as fast as possible. If customers have a problem that requires a solution, they don’t want to spend ages trying to find that solution or trying to get in touch with your customer service team. Make your communication channels and your website easy to use and navigate. Make it easy for customers to find solutions to their issues online, with comprehensive FAQs and other content for example, and if they do need extra support for their issue or enquiry then make it easy for them to get in touch with you and avoid long response times.
Have the right and balanced attitude
Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or have a team of people to deal with your customer enquiries, having the right attitude will go a long way! No matter who you’re talking to, whether it’s a potential consumer or even a customer that has a complaint, it’s important to keep your cool, balanced mind and maintain the right attitude and tone. Having the right attitude means being positive, empathetic, proactive and actively listening to the customer’s problems so that you can offer, guide, solve and tailor your service accordingly.Showing that you have the right attitude can be as simple as emphasising, or even asking, what your company can do to help a customer, rather than explaining what can’t be done to help them. Being positive doesn’t just bring benefits to customers either – remaining positive can also create a positive work environment.
Your word is your bond in business.
When you begin to follow your words with action and consistency, you show not only others but yourself that you’re capable of seeing things through. It’s time to break the bad habit of meaningless commitment and go back to the old ways, so remember — Your word is your bond
It’s always wise to avoid making promises that you can’t keep! In business, it’s usually best to under-promise and then over-deliver, exceeding customer expectations and going above and beyond by doing so. If you do promise something and then don’t stick to your word, the customer will feel let down and will lose trust in the business. It may even prompt them to post online reviews, which could affect your reputation. If you do promise something and cannot stick to it – for example, if you don’t follow up with a customer in the agreed timeframe or your customer doesn’t receive a delivery on time – then offer something to make up for the broken promise. Whilst offering a freebie might come at an extra cost for your business, you’ll likely gain a loyal customer in the long term, so it’s definitely worth it!
Outsource your customer interactions and 365 days a year advantage.
If you feel swamped with all your customer interactions, why not outsource some of them to us. We at Crabtree solutions customer interactions and deliver fabulous customer service, If your customer service is starting to suffer because you don’t have the resources to deal with every inbound call, live chat message or email effectively or efficiently, then perhaps it’s time to consider Crabtree Solutions as your outsourced work force partner.
All of our inbound call center services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We know the importance of happy customers, and nothing makes customers happier than knowing your business will be available around the clock to address any questions or concerns. Your customers can speak to a real, live call center representative no matter when they call.
How To Answer A Customer Service Call.
Answering with a professional tone
Professional communication is important but a balanced Friendly communication is essential more, as it makes sure that we answer the phone in a way that strikes the right balance between professionalism and friendliness. Being friendly and enthusiastic can help the customer to feel comfortable and therefore open up to you about their problem or enquiry. When the phone rings, you should always try to answer within three rings to prevent the caller from feeling ignored. You should then answer the phone with a friendly greeting and by telling the caller who you are and which company they have called. Following up with a simple phrase such as ‘what can I do for you today?’ will help you to assess what the customer’s needs are and if they need to be forwarded onto another team or colleague, who is better suited to deal with the enquiry.
Avoid unnecessarily complicated language used to impress,
Using any phrases that the customer is unfamiliar with can make them feel overwhelmed and it also increases the likelihood of misunderstandings. It’s wrong to presume that the customer understands what you mean when you use specialist terms, as they might not be familiar with your sector. When communicating with customers, use language that is clear and easy to understand. You can also invite them to ask any questions so that you have the opportunity to clarify anything that they might be unsure about.
Importance of Customer Service
How to Create Customer Loyalty and Retention?
Great interactions begin with knowing what your customers want and need. Customers love the personalization and attention you give them. Because of this, it’s a good idea to know all of your customers by memorizing their names as well as prior conversations you’ve had with them. We take note of what was discussed earlier so that we can refer to it the next time interacting with the customer. A retained customer refers to a person that hasn’t taken their business anywhere else yet – they have only bought services or products from you. A loyal customer buys from you repeatedly and encourages others to do the same with positive feedback. Their loyalty goes beyond spending money.
Retaining current customers is always a cheaper option than attempting to acquire new customers, so maintaining a great standard of customer service is well worth it. Providing a positive customer experience that keeps them coming back for more is cheaper, and probably a lot less stressful, than designing and executing advertising campaigns and marketing strategies that target a brand new audience. And, of course, customer loyalty and retention can drive sales, which is one of the best perks for business owners. You should then answer the phone with a friendly greeting and by telling the caller who you are and which company they have called. Following up with a simple phrase such as ‘what can I do for you today?’ will help you to assess what the customer’s needs are and if they need to be forwarded onto another team or colleague, who is better suited to deal with the enquiry.
Why is a good brand reputation important?
With the increased level of trust amongst the customers and the good reputation of the brand in the market, the customers remain loyal to the brand by purchasing the products and services of the firm and not going for the offerings by the competitors in the market despite the discount packages and reduced prices. This way the brand can also demand a premium price. Making customers happy and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction, this can only have positive effects on your brand reputation. Through online reviews and word of mouth, people soon get to know your business and are quick to form an opinion about it. Regardless of what sector you’re in and what business you run, first impressions always matter.
You can focus on creating positive first impressions in two ways. Firstly, by offering fabulous customer service to your customers, you’ll help them form a great first impression of your business and values. Secondly, this will increase the chances of receiving positive feedback and an online review from this customer. This will then impact the first impressions of users that see your online reviews. Consumers trust consumers, and if potential customers see that other customers have had positive experiences, they’ll be more likely to get in touch or buy your services and products.
Reduce staff turnover.
Employee turnover is defined as the number or the percentage of employees who leave the company and are replaced by new employees.There are types of employee turnover: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary turnover occurs when an employee chooses to leave, and involuntary turnover occurs when the employer makes the decision for the employee to leave (i.e. is fired).
Whether an employee resigns or is the employee is fired, their absence takes a toll on profit margins. Having to pay for continuing benefits or severance pay, coupled with the cost of hiring someone to take their place, results in lost productivity and, ultimately results in, lost revenue.
The purpose of a customer service team is to help customers. So, if the team makes the customer happy, then they’ve successfully done their job. Of course, these teams are sure to be up against challenges every now and then, especially when dealing with customers that seem angry and frustrated. With that in mind, you should equip your staff with the right tools and training, ensuring that they are well-equipped to deal with issues. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, make sure you invest in your own training and development too.This can help to boost morale and job satisfaction, which reduces employee turnover. Not to mention, employee turnover can be rather expensive, so investing in the right training and tools from the outset can be a worthwhile investment. Besides employee retention, offering great customer service can also help you to recruit more staff when you need to. Prospective employees will be looking for a role within a company that has a fantastic reputation, so pleasing your customers to keep the bad reviews at bay is important.
It amplify value to your offering
A best way of creating , amplify value and increasing wealth is by improving customer service. People are predominantly emotional. They are greatly impacted by the warmth, friendliness, cheerfulness and helpfulness of customer service representatives. Many companies are using customer service as a primary source of competitive advantage in a fast changing marketplace. When a high-quality product comes with good customer service, customers are willing to pay more for it. They know that for their money, they’ll be getting the service or product that they need as well as effective support and communication from the customer service team, whenever it’s needed. It beats cutting corners by paying for a cheap service or product that isn’t that great and doesn’t provide a good customer service experience either. Above all, offering fabulous customer service adds huge value to your offering.
Grow and be competitive with Giants
Big companies in your industry will likely be well-established with loyal customer bases and strong reputations. By investing in great customer service, as a small business, you give yourself a great chance of competing with the big companies, for many of the reasons mentioned above, such as customer loyalty and brand reputation. Investing in ways to provide brilliant customer service, such as a CRM and a telephone answering service, like ours, will ensure that your customer calls never go unanswered, and thus all is worthwhile investments in the long term.