Infographic: Why companies with efficient Customer Service climb the ladder of success faster?

No matter the size of the company or the type of your business, your customer service department/partner needs to be at the heart of your business plan to achieve successful results. It’s not just confined to apparent financial reasons, but it goes way beyond that. It digs into the very reality of who we are and why we do the things that we do.

It’s true! In today’s time and age customer support holds a vital position and has the power to make or break your brand reputation. This shouldn’t come out as a surprise to anyone that nowadays consumers, whether mobile or social have become accustomed to getting what they want at their own chosen time. The expectations of customers keep accelerating and they want more than just exceptional services.

According to a poll by eMarketer, around 82% of the CEO’s were of the same opinion that customer expectations of their companies were soaring higher than it was three years back. Customers don’t hold themselves back in posting a negative comment online. Currently the products and services that are being offered by you are only as good as the customer service support you provide them with. Therefore it’s crucial to keep in mind the need of customer support from day one.

Ways to Improve Customer Services

In order to turn a reasonably-okay customer service into an exceptional customer service, here are top 4 measures to consider.

1) Set company-wide standards:

Examples:

• Replying to phone calls within four rings.
• Including a polite greeting starting with your name and offer to help.
• Replying to email messages within an hour’s time. Even if you require time to look into the matter, reply back the same in response to the email sent.

2) Selection of right words:

Choice of appropriate words is very important. Customer dealing usually gets blown apart just because the right language is not used. Proper Language engineering is imperative in customer dealing.

3) Exposing employees to high-end companies with extraordinary customer service

A good customer service can be better explained, when experienced yourselves. Taking a field trip to Apple Store or Starbucks and observing how it’s done is a good way to align your practices.

4) Providing after-hours coverage

If a customer service is not available when the customer needs it the most, then it’s a complete failure from your end. An effective customer service is the one which accommodates after-hours coverage. If somehow you can’t afford a 24/7 customer support, an emergency call option may help for the same. Even if it requires hiring more employees, do that.

There are many organizations out there that already emphasize on having smart customer service, but ever wondered how significant is it? Evidently, if you wish to create strides, and serious about making substantial headway in business, you will be required to place your customers on a pedestal. Check out this infographic via Kissmetrics, to know just how much of an influence customer service can have on your industry.