How to improve customer service. Client service. How to improve customer service. Laws of quality customer service

16.06.2021

A conscious attitude to the quality of service as a competitive advantage has become a global trend. 82% of companies think high level service is the main indicator that allows you to stay ahead of competitors. 77.5% rated customer service as a strategic driver of revenue (according to the 2016 Benchmarking Report, Dimension Data).

Customer service - difficult process, the quality of which depends on many variables. In this article, we have outlined 10 practical advice how to improve the level of service in your company. Let's look at them in detail.

1. Organize continuous training for employees.

Customers come to the company to satisfy their need. As a rule, they expect qualified assistance from the staff, practical advice and, of course, respect. Unfortunately, educational institutions do not provide such knowledge and skills. It is the responsibility of employers to train contact staff on how to provide excellent service.

In order for the quality of services to be at a decent level, the staff needs excellent knowledge of the product, sales techniques and general principles client service.

There are active and passive learning methods. The passive ones include seminars and trainings, where people only “absorb” new information and they don't need feedback. Active Methods training involves the involvement of each respondent in solving a situation. These include business game and brainstorming. They require maximum concentration on the task. This format of training allows employees to generate new ideas, develop systems thinking, and form a responsible attitude to work.

With regular attendance at training events, motivation increases, employees are “infected” with new ideas and approaches. Over time, when people begin to apply the acquired knowledge, they will communicate with customers much more confidently, show themselves as professionals, increase their performance and, accordingly, the performance of the company.

Systematic reading of books is another great way to gain new knowledge. There are many books devoted to service: “Customers for Life” by Carl Sewell, “Sincere Service” by Maxim Nedyakin, “Sincere Service” by Klaus Kiebel, “First-class service as competitive advantage” John Shoal.

2. Evaluate the quality of your company's service

Any improvement in customer service rules is impossible without an analysis of the current level of service. Marketing research helps to make a cut of the quality of service, to find out the expectations of customers, to assess the level of their satisfaction and loyalty.

The "Mystery Shopper" study allows you to evaluate the implementation of customer service standards, the honesty of employees, their sales technique, stress resistance, and the implementation of visual standards. To check the managers of online stores, the Mystery calling method is used. Also, this study is suitable for checking call center employees, technical support, reception managers.

Quality of service and customer satisfaction are two sides of the same coin, without one there is no other. Customer satisfaction can be measured using the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI).

The NPS (Net Promoter Score) customer loyalty system allows you to identify the number of company supporters (customers who are ready to recommend you to their friends and acquaintances), neutral consumers and critics. An open clarifying question in the questionnaire will reflect the reasons for satisfaction or, on the contrary, dissatisfaction with the product. The responses received are new ideas for improving the business.

You can start improving the quality of service right now. Call 10 customers and find out how satisfied they are with the quality of service in your company from 1 to 10. Get feedback today and immediately start improving the service.

3. Hire "your" people and form a common vision of the purpose of the company's existence.

In essence, an organization is its people. It is very important to bring together people with the same values and views in order to realize the mission of the company.

There are enough qualified personnel on the labor market. But how appropriate are they for your organization? The recruiters of the company always face a difficult task: to find an applicant who will best fit the company's ecosystem and have the necessary experience and knowledge.

A detailed description of the requirements for a candidate is half the battle in finding the perfect candidate. Well-written vacancy, except for the work schedule and functional duties, contains information about the company; values that guide employees in working with clients and within the team. At the first stage, it well weeds out “not their own” candidates. Employees who share the values of the company quickly join the team, generate new ideas, and stimulate the improvement of the quality of service.

In addition, for successful work, the team must have a common vision of the purpose of their work. There is a wonderful story on this subject. At the construction site, a worker was asked: “What are you doing?”. He replied that he was laying a brick. They asked the second builder what he was doing. He replied: "I'm building walls." The third was very passionate about his work, humming something under his breath, but he was also asked: “What are you doing?”. He replied: "I am building a temple." This story vividly demonstrates how important it is to create a common vision among employees, which will become their “temple” and help them achieve their goals. In our case, a high level of service.

4. Invest in new technologies.

Create a convenient and understandable website, be sure to take care of its mobile version. According to some forecasts, by 2020 there will be 6.1 billion smartphone users in the world. Many customers will search for information about your company, and even wish to order a product or service from their mobile device. Develop an application where a client can track their orders and payments in a personal account.

5. Empower your employees.

Empowerment of employees is the elimination of the reasons that prevent them from doing their job more efficiently. This is especially important for account managers.

First, by giving employees the opportunity to make their own decisions, you reduce the bureaucratic chain and reduce the waiting time for the client.

Secondly, the employee will feel like a significant link in the company. Solving the client's problem on his own, he will feel like not an “ordinary manager” or a “little man”, but a manager-manager who is able to satisfy the client.

6. Be available to the client in all respects.

Company contacts should always be in a conspicuous place. Perplexed by their problem, the client will not scroll through the “sheet” of the site in search of a phone or email. The ability to order a callback on the site is an additional way to retain a client.

Appreciate the time and nerves of your customers. Nothing is more annoying than waiting for a call to be answered. If you say to the client: “Expect a response within 28 minutes,” they will most likely be furious. The conclusion suggests itself that the company saves on personnel since it cannot serve all customers. This threatens to lose its customers and negative reviews about the company.

Being in touch is a rule of good form in working with clients. The phone rang - pick up the phone. Remember that everyone lives in their own rhythm and their schedule may not coincide with lunch break in your firm. In such a case, it would be appropriate to have an attendant in the office who will always answer the call.

Respond promptly to email inquiries. Even if it is impossible to solve the client's question now, write that you have received his request and respond to it within an hour, for example.

Give the client the opportunity to contact the first persons of the company. Hang the top manager's phone in a prominent place in the office or store. Often this method is used by retailers. The ability to reach out to management contributes to increased customer loyalty and demonstrates the openness of the company. But it is not enough to post the phone number of the management on the site and in prominent places. It is imperative to answer calls and deal with customer questions so that the opposite effect does not turn out.

7. Make honesty the first commandment of building relationships with customers.

Honesty is a virtue for all time, and customer relationships are no exception. If a company plans to build long-term relationships with its customers, then it should establish transparent and understandable “rules of the game” for its customers.

Refuse the project if it is not within your area of expertise. Admit your mistakes. All this indicates that you are developing, learning, becoming stronger and not chasing any money, but are a specialist in your field.

Receive an order from a corporation, and fail to fulfill obligations due to lack of resources and competence. What could be worse? The most valuable thing a company has is its good reputation which, once lost, cannot be returned.

8. Educate your clients.

Improving service standards, training staff, introducing new technologies - sooner or later you will notice that your client is no longer yours. The company has made a huge step forward, and the client has remained at the same level.

Modern communication channels allow you to actively maintain contact with your customers. messengers, social networks, corporate blogs, webinars, live master classes - allow you to move from a monologue to a dialogue with the client. Educating clients means killing two birds with one stone. First, through articles, helpful tips, information about new products and features of the product / service, you can educate consumers. You will begin to speak the same language with the client, it will be easier for you to convey to him why you need to do this and not otherwise. Training helps to work with objections and explain that “we want it that way” is not always the right approach to setting a task.

Secondly, customer training is also one of the sales techniques that will provide you with loyal customers. This method suitable for services with a long sales cycle in the B2B segment. At the first stage, you conduct a master class with a coffee break and handouts; webinar or skypecast. At the second stage, you start selling the main products - in the eyes of customers you are already an expert, which means you can be trusted.

9. Take care of the client's comfort.

Service quality is a set of activities, rules, mechanisms and attributes that affect customer satisfaction when contacting a company. Location, interior and exterior of the company in this list is far from last.

Let's put ourselves in the place of the average consumer. It is important for any client that it is easy to get to the office, store or branch. Ideally, if the company is located in the city center. For people with disabilities, it is of paramount importance to have a ramp that can be accessed by a wheelchair. The room should have intuitive zoning, sufficient lighting, quiet background music, comfortable air temperature at any time of the year, and no extraneous odors.

Pay attention to the customer waiting area. Here you can hang certificates, photographs, promotional materials. This is a great opportunity to introduce the client closer to the company and distract from the tedious waiting in line.

All of these circumstances affect the subjective experience of customers, but they are a significant component of the customer experience.

10. Develop a work schedule that is convenient for the client and keep employees in mind.

The life of people in the metropolis is very busy, so you should study the lifestyle of your target audience and its habits. And, if necessary, make sure that the branch, store, department works on weekends or until 22:00, for example. On the one hand, this is good for the client, but hard for employees. To work late or holidays does not affect the quality of service, provide employees with a convenient work schedule, and a sufficient number of days off.

Learn my target audience. Analyze her habits, lifestyle, needs, expectations.
Measure and Analyze. Qualitative and quantitative marketing research is the source primary information about your clients.
Develop improvements based on the received data. And, of course, implement.

Good luck and more loyal customers. Remember, only high-quality service can make a client fall in love with your company.

Every store owner can attest that shoppers are becoming more and more demanding. They are accustomed to a good quality of service and are not ready to pay for anything else. The boundless loyalty of the Russian client is a thing of the past.

Today, few people focus only on the price level, not paying attention to improving customer service product quality and freshness. Moreover, we are ready to pay obviously more high price if with us in this place were just kind.

The importance of service is especially evident in areas where the list of goods of dozens of stores is absolutely no different. Only the quality of service allows you to win this war for the buyer.

Best Article of the Month

If you do everything yourself, employees will not learn how to work. Subordinates will not immediately cope with the tasks that you delegate, but without delegation, you are doomed to time pressure.

We published in the article a delegation algorithm that will help you get rid of the routine and stop working around the clock. You will learn who can and cannot be entrusted with work, how to give the task correctly so that it is completed, and how to control staff.

Implementing the Ten Service Secrets can dramatically increase your bottom line by expanding your customer base, increasing your average check, and increasing your repeat purchases.

Customer service rules that increase sales in 3 steps

The #1 secret to better customer service. Change the picture of the world

Improving the quality of customer service begins with changing your worldview, your idea of service.

The concept of quality of service should be expanded as much as possible. This is not only a dialogue with the seller at the checkout, at the scales. The client is served at all the so-called points of contact with your store: when looking for it, parking nearby, looking for the right products, carrying them home, etc. Make sure that the client is comfortable throughout the interaction with you. Each next step in the purchase should be obvious, easy to implement.

Implementation. Go to Sberbank, take a closer look at how employees work in the hall, feel the changes. Remember what your nearest savings bank was like three years ago. Call their customer support line. Do you believe in such changes? Imagine how much effort it took for such a giant to change so radically. It will be much easier to do this in your store!

Secret to Better Customer Service #2. Know your stats

The store owner must be aware of the following.

A satisfied customer will bring 9 people.
Dissatisfied will take away 18 people.
O good product the buyer will tell five friends.
About a bad product - ten friends.
A thousandth blogger will spread information about you across the entire subscription list (1,000 or more potential clients). Add to that the following reposts. Among your clients there may be consultants, trainers, information businessmen with subscription lists of up to 150 thousand people or more, who will use you in examples.
Attracting one new customer is 5 (!) times more expensive than providing quality service to a loyal customer (according to John Shoal).
Research conducted by the site http://prodawez.ru showed that 68% of customers who change suppliers do so because of rude treatment.

Knowing how much each new client how much profit it will bring to you, it is much easier to think about improving the quality of service for these customers. By collecting statistics, you can understand where the business is not working as it should.

If there are few potential customers, then they simply cannot find you or it is inconvenient for them to look for you. Change the advertisement, make the directions as clear as possible.
If there are many potential customers, but few purchases, the problem is in the layout of goods, prices, and staff. It is inconvenient/unpleasant for people to buy.

By thinking like this, by correcting mistakes, you can take your business and customer service to a whole new level.

Implementation. Calculate the conversion of your store. This is done as follows: a visitor counter is installed (it costs from 4,500 rubles, there are stand-alone options). You will know how many potential customers you had. Number of purchases average check you already know.

Now you can build a sales funnel. Count how many people pass by your store and how many come in. The ratio of these numbers indicates the quality of advertising, the attractiveness of the facade and shop windows, the convenience of the entrance. The ratio of the number of buyers to the number of visitors will show the convenience of shopping in the store, the quality of the display of goods, the length of the queue at the checkout, etc. Based on these data, further development can be planned.

How to increase the number of store customers at different stages of service

Secret to Better Customer Service #3. Implement positive communication

Few people like gloomy salesmen. Introduce special rules to keep your store upbeat. People are unconsciously drawn to energetically charged, successful people. This should especially apply to the so-called front line - sellers, consultants.

Compliance with the rules of etiquette, courtesy and politeness also work wonderfully in favor of oneself.

Implementation. Set an example. Radiate energy when you come to work. Smile and compliment employees. Genuinely take an interest in people. Encourage salespeople to read Dale Carnegie's books and test staff on the knowledge of simple and effective techniques described by a psychologist.

Secret to Better Customer Service #4. Get Feedback

You need to create a special unit, appoint an employee or transfer additional functions to someone. The name may vary: customer service department, customer relations department, customer relations department, etc. The main functions of this department are as follows:

processing of claims, wishes, customer requests;
preparation of analytical reports;
training of personnel involved in customer service and improvement of its quality level;
external contacts with consumers through promotions and special events.

The goal of the department is to motivate clients to contact the company, receive feedback from each client in any form. No one but the clients themselves can more precisely point out what we are doing wrong and advise on the best way to solve the problem.

People involved in working with visitors to the store must clearly understand two things.

1. The information they receive will allow the company to make a breakthrough. Few of the competitors are collecting reviews, so almost everyone is mistaken about what the client really wants, why he left.

2. Returned customers whose dissatisfaction has been removed stay with you for a long time. They are proud that they were able to defeat the system, and grateful that you gave them the opportunity. They will stay with you forever. Unless you ward them off with some stupidity.

I want to note separately: a department or a person dealing with the elimination of claims from customers is not a punishment, not a super stressful job. This is the only way to find out what really matters and what your customers need. And on the basis of this, become better.

Implementation. Set aside a budget for generating feedback. Invite customers to leave a review of your work in exchange for something inexpensive but valuable that will play into the benefit of improving the quality of service. And remember: your store needs positive reviews, and you - negative. Only by collecting negative opinions can you truly improve the service.

Mystery shopper method: how MegaFon checks its employees

Secret to Better Customer Service #5. Be polite and listen to customers

It's so easy to greet customers, say "thank you" and "please".

And how does calling by name affect a person! Just try to thank him by calling him by name when you return his credit card or check documents. I assure you, his attitude towards your store will warm up by tens of degrees.

Everyone wants to be listened to and helped to solve a problem. If you show interest in the buyer, ask him (when appropriate) how things are at home, how the children are, how the health of his dog is, he will be grateful and will definitely return to you for a new portion of positive emotions.

Implementation: introduce rules for communicating with customers and standards for the level of their service.

Secret to Better Customer Service #6. Reach out to the customer more often

Be flexible. Many issues will be resolved much easier if you approach them outside the box. Don't argue hoarsely over a ruble - in the long run, a satisfied customer will bring you thousands.

AT difficult situations help with stress resistance. Nothing helps solve a problem like a clear mind and calm speech when the situation is heated to the limit.

Implementation. Let Line Workers Decide contentious issues in favor of the buyer within, for example, 200 rubles.

Examples of corporate standards and tips for developing them

Secret to Better Customer Service #7. Take the initiative

If you realize that delivery times are being missed, don't wait for the phone to ring. Call the supplier yourself, as soon as you know about the problem, offer two or three options for solving it. And you will be appreciated as a professional, and your company - as a company that truly cares about customers and partners.

Implementation. Trying to be proactive in difficult situations, when things don't go as you planned, is what everyone who creates a high level of customer service should strive for.

Secret to Better Customer Service #8. Be professional

You must know everything specifications, properties of the products you trade. Study the entire product line of the company, because it is the knowledge of the product that makes you a professional. Only professionals can effectively solve the client's problem by demonstrating the quality of service.

Implementation. Conduct testing among sellers - on knowledge of goods, their history, legends associated with them.

Secret to Better Customer Service #9. Keep your word

There are not enough heroes in business today. People who keep their word - the word of a gentleman, the word of an officer. If you keep your promises - all without exception: oral and written, small and global - you will be equal, you will be trusted. Isn't this the key to success in business and the right way improve customer service?

Implementation. You can start from the smallest. For example, at the request of customers, start opening 10 minutes earlier and closing 10 minutes later than the time indicated on your sign. This will not only show that you keep your word, but will also greatly endear you.

Communication between the seller and the client: 6 rules of trade etiquette

Secret to Better Customer Service #10. Do not stop

Implementation good service like growing a garden. At first, this is very hard work, the results of which are hardly noticeable: it is necessary to clear the territory, level the soil, fertilize it, plant trees. Then comes the stage when the first fruits appear, they can be eaten, and they please everyone. But in order for the trees to produce crops regularly, they need to be looked after, trimmed, and watered. So in the service: first you need to make great efforts to establish the system. Then the first results will appear. Final goal- to achieve a permanent effect. To create a system that would function properly, and employees knew exactly the direction of development.

Implementation. Create a service implementation plan. Don't start all over the place at once. Start with the first secret that I talked about in the article. Then move on to the next. This will gradually improve the entire store. And then start again. And set yourself a reminder to read this article in a month.

These seemingly simple rules together give an excellent result. Perhaps, main secret lies in the fact that they need to be applied systematically, regularly, without indulging yourself and not postponing for tomorrow. Our whole life is made up of little things. And the right service is just a set of subtle nuances that create a high level of communication with your company for customers.

Expert opinion

Alexey Zvir,

director of ZEVS LLC, Uryupinsk, Volgograd region

Competition grocery stores quite high in my city. There are chains and small pavilions. Need to stand out.

There are many motorists among the customers, which means that it will be convenient for them to shop in the store, next to which there are no problems to park. Therefore, our company rented land from the municipality next to the store and organized a parking space for cars.

I make a number of requirements to the employees of the trading floor. For example, the seller cannot go to the buyers if he is poorly versed in the product. This is written in the standards. We train newcomers, regularly check those who have been working for a long time. Without tension, they are obliged to remember the manufacturer, characterize the taste of products, and know the shelf life. And don't look at the price tags as a clue. At the place of settlement, cashiers must not only punch the goods, but also put them in bags.

To keep abreast of customer sentiment and maintain a high level of customer service, we regularly conduct surveys and questionnaires. So, in August, they prepared questionnaires and put the girls near the entrance. It turned out, for example, that in our trading floors nice service and interesting goods. I always take care of this personally - I bring an exclusive that is not in the networks. In particular, I buy Swiss chocolate from METRO Cash & Carry. Taking into account the answers, I correct the work of the enterprise; The next survey will take place in November.

Another attractive fact for buyers is the round-the-clock work schedule of the store. Don't rush - our doors are always open!

Expert opinion

Denis Maksimov,

store manager "Lastochka", Orenburg

Much depends on the atmosphere that prevails in the team. Since the psychological climate in the store is good, conflict situations with buyers - a huge rarity. This can be judged by the half-empty book of complaints and the absence of calls from the administration of the enterprise, whose telephone numbers are posted on the trading floor.

And you know, buyers are also different. We are ready to meet halfway, but we also need to identify scammers. For example, we had a case where a person claimed that he did not receive change from a large bill. We looked at the recording of the surveillance camera, but this did not convince him - we had to call the private security with the panic button.

The sellers know the assortment well: they can advise wine, talk about sweets - who is the manufacturer, what kind of filling.

But the survey of buyers has not yet been conducted. The fact is that I personally observed how suppliers laid out questionnaires at the tables for bags. But without presentations and tastings, people did not react to them.

In Orenburg, there is a problem with the organization of parking: there is not enough space. We got out of the situation by making parking pockets for buyers who come by car.

I also have one more rule. The store is open from 8:00 to 23:00, and if a person entered one minute before closing, no one will ask him to leave the hall until he chooses and pays for the goods.

Service level: work to improve

The product or service offered in your store may be the most High Quality, but the number of sales depends on the level at which customer service occurs.

There are really few stores with a really high level of service in our country - this fact is noted by experts, guests of the country, and all of us.

But year by year, positive changes in this area are still taking place, and there are more and more shops with quality service, which are “a cut above” competitors.

But what's the catch? Why is it so difficult to improve the quality of service in stores today? Many experts see the reasons, firstly, in the absence of a culture of service, which has its roots in the Soviet past of our country.

The second main reason is the simple unwillingness of employees to provide quality service to customers, visitors and customers. The point may be in the lack of motivation of the attendants, their disinterest, dislike for their work and the fact that they are not satisfied with the salary.

Professional automation of goods accounting in retail. Tidy up your store

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In most areas of business, competition is high today, but entrepreneurs still continue to live with the idea that “battle” with competitors for a client is a simple waste of time, and the buyer himself will eventually find a store and purchase goods.

This position is, to say the least, wrong. And it is precisely the crisis “unstable” times that make entrepreneurs understand that they will still have to fight for customers, at least in order for the store to stay “afloat” and not go bankrupt.

And the main weapon in this battle will be quality customer service, and this concerns not just the fulfillment of all promises on time and courtesy in a conversation with the buyer, but a whole “complex” of aspects that must be unquestioningly observed.

In many stores, the main work is carried out with key customers, especially significant for the company, who bring the company most of the profits and sales. Any, even the most ridiculous oversight in communications with them can lead to the fact that the client simply goes to competitors.

If an entrepreneur manages to build customer service at the proper level in his store, then the success of such a business is guaranteed. But doing this is not as easy as it seems.

This work is systematic and in order for it to function, you will have to spend quite a lot of time. And after the system can be properly “configured”, it will be necessary to constantly monitor how all the rules are observed and evaluate the quality of service.

Accumulate, systematize information about the client and increase his loyalty with the Business.Ru CRM system. The program will save every phone call, sent message and concluded contract.

How easy it is to improve service. Video

Laws of quality customer service

The concept of “quality customer service” immediately includes a large number of aspects and requirements that your store employees must be able to satisfy.

In addition to the desire to purchase something in your store, each buyer or client comes to it with other needs, and if at least one of them is not adequately satisfied, then the client will put a bold “minus” in the store’s head and will not come here anymore. will return.

Consider all aspects and laws that are included in the concept of "quality service:

Service speed. Any client immediately sees an employee who is not in a hurry, talking on the phone and not in a hurry to serve the client. This attitude is not only annoying, but simply disrespectful;
relationship and meeting. As you know, every customer should feel welcome and long-awaited in the store. Meet and greet customers with a smile good wishes, at the same time, the service personnel should try to do this as sincerely as possible - we all accurately determine falsehood;
Comfort. Comfortable sofas for waiting, fresh newspapers so that the client can take his time while waiting in line, soft drinks, sweets, comfortable room temperature - these are the little things that make the store a good reputation;
Willingness to help. The company's staff must be able to "hear" and "listen" to their client, know exactly what he wants, and try to help him as much as possible;
"Importance" of each client. The store staff must do everything possible to ensure that each customer considers himself the most valuable and expected;
Loyal attitude towards customers. For each client, company employees must find their own, correct, approach, never allow disparaging communication, even if an old woman or a teenager has entered the store. Reproaching customers, deceiving them, making false promises and neglecting them is strictly prohibited.

These are the six basic laws that must be strictly observed in a store that claims to be outlet with a high level of customer service. But, as it turns out, this is not enough today.

Comprehensive trade automation at a minimum cost

We take a regular computer, connect any fiscal registrar and install the Business Ru Kassa application. As a result, we get an economical analogue of a POS terminal like in a large store with all its functions. We enter goods with prices in the Business.Ru cloud service and start working. For everything about everything - a maximum of 1 hour and 15-20 thousand rubles. for the fiscal registrar.

Customer needs during service

Today, experts identify two main areas in the field of customer service.

First direction concerns precisely the quality of service in the course of communication between the client and the store employee.

Second direction relates directly to the maintenance procedure.

The first direction - the “personal” side of service - depends not only on the skills and desire to work of your store employees, but also on their competence, the ability to identify customer needs, establish a dialogue with them, and gain confidence.

But there is another important side - this is the procedure. A consultant can be a high-level specialist and conscientiously fulfill his duties, establish communications with customers, but if the equipment fails in the store, computers “freeze”, delivery is late, there are not enough cash registers, and you have to stand in lines for half an hour, then this level of customer service is definitely will not be satisfied.

Inform customers about discounts and bonuses in a timely manner. The Business.Ru CRM system will help with this. It will save all information about the client and will provide an opportunity to inform him about bargain shopping in just a couple of clicks.

Quality customer service today directly depends on many factors:

Services. All products listed on the site or in the price list must be in stock. Their absence (if it was originally stated that they are provided) will be a "fat minus" for the reputation;
Maintenance procedure. As mentioned above, the service procedure should be debugged to the smallest detail, the activities of the account manager and other employees should be built. This applies to the speed of packing and issuing goods, ease of execution of all documents, payment for goods or services;
Quality of goods/services. So, sellers establish communications with customers in the right way, the equipment works properly, but the goods or services are of poor quality, there is a high probability of marriage or product delays, then the level of store service in the eyes of customers is constantly falling. This must not be allowed;
Return of funds or goods. The mechanism for returning goods, if they do not fit, or funds to customers should be simple, debugged, because this is no less important aspect in the operation of the store and building a high-level customer service system;
Customer service after the sale of goods. Some of the services provided today involve after-sales customer service. The reputation of the store and whether the client wants to contact the company again for a service or product depends on how well the client will be helped in resolving his issues even after the completion of the transaction;
Feedback. Are they satisfied with the level of service? How is the performance of the company's employees evaluated? Were they satisfied with the quality of goods or services? The answers to these questions are of great value to a businessman building a customer service system, and for customers, this is another opportunity to feel significant.

Customer service is not always the most pleasant and easy-to-implement aspect of a business. Even if you have a great product or service, there will still be customers who will be dissatisfied with either the quality, or the service, or the price. It is good if they express their dissatisfaction with your employees or you personally. Much worse if negative feedback will be made available to the general public. This can harm the business, but without such customers and this kind of feedback, the company will not be able to develop effectively. That is why you need to constantly improve your customer service strategy. With its help, you will learn how to work out the negative, while extracting the maximum benefit for your business. In this article, we will talk about several ways to improve such a strategy.

Minimize Customer Effort

You want your customers to make as little effort as possible when they need to get an answer to their question, solve a problem that arose during the checkout and pay for your product or service. That is why it is important to provide as many channels as possible through which they can contact your company and provide a high level of service for each of them. Do not neglect popular messengers. By connecting WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, you will make it easier for many customers to get in touch with you as soon as possible.

It doesn’t matter which communication channel the appeal came through, don’t make customers wait a long time for a response. In order not to lose questions and requests and respond to them in time, use a multi-channel support system (for example). Also make sure your site has an FAQ page and a handy knowledge base - most customers prefer to find answers to questions on their own in the first place.

Encourage Feedback

Remember that there is no perfect way to interact with customers. Sooner or later, any client may have a problem, information about which he considers it necessary to transfer to you. By pointing out bottlenecks, customers make an invaluable contribution to the development of your business.

Therefore, do not wait for people to turn to you with a problem, because according to statistics, only 1 out of 26 dissatisfied customers will leave a complaint. Be the initiator of feedback.

Send surveys to customers, ask them to rate their satisfaction with a product or service after making a purchase, contacting customer support, and more. Moreover, when you yourself invite a client to leave a review, you have a chance to avoid an uncomfortable situation and mitigate a possible negative. People want to be heard and feel that you care.

It is also important to group and analyze requests - if several different clients report the same problem, look for the cause of its occurrence and urgently eliminate it.

Be on the protection of clients

Customers don't like feeling like a soulless wallet full of money. They want to be understood and feel that you are on their side. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate sincere understanding, participation and care, including through customer service. Remember there are always ways to help customers useful information, provide them with unique resources.

Invest in a support team

When clients contact you, they expect friendly and helpful employees who are competent in solving their problems. In many ways, the service desk team influences whether your relationship with potential or existing customers will continue and how long it will last. Therefore, do not spare money for the creation of a full-fledged team, the development of employees and their motivation. Give them everything necessary tools, set clear KPIs and a bonus system, train and enable professional growth. If you have just started building a support team, be sure to talk with employees about the basic rules of customer service. Try to make sure that these people have a direct interest in the success of the product, just like you. If they care, they are more likely to understand, hear the customer and be able to find a solution to their problem.

Be honest and open

Today's customers want to know as much information as possible about the products or services they purchase. The more information about the company and its products is available to them, the better for you. Label Insight 2016 found that 94% of customers are most likely to be loyal to a brand that provides complete transparency. If the client's problem is your fault, admit it honestly. It is not necessary to load the client with unnecessary technical details that are not particularly clear to him, but it is worth keeping up to date on the progress and expected deadlines for solving the problem, possible compensation for damage, providing Additional information who can help him. If you want to have long-term and loyal customers, make sure that all of your company's communications, be it support or marketing, are honest and open.

Always remember that without customers, your business will not exist. And even if communication with them is not always easy and brings joy, do your best to raise the bar for customer service. This will make life easier for them and your life in the long run. After all, the best reward for excellent customer service is a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.