This Week in Small Business: It’s Customer Service Week!
By Kim Honjo
ICYMI, this past week was Customer Service Week, where companies took the time out to recognize the importance of customer service as well as the teams who serve and support customers every day. We saw a lot of great articles on the topic, ranging from advice from customer service leaders, strategies for building strong support teams, to practical tips to help you deliver better experiences. Read on!
The Customer Is Always Right: A Dangerous Platitude for Small Businesses
Is the customer always right? While we’ve heard this saying before, but businesses should define their customer experience values as a company first. Yes, you should listen to all feedback, but only incorporate the feedback that aligns with your core service values. We spoke with Jonathan Hunt, COO for Desk.com, who talked about other ways small businesses can to refine their customer service strategy as they look to grow. [via Medium]
3 Ways to Make Every Week National Customer Service Week
According to a recent Gallup survey, customers who are fully engaged provide companies with a 23 percent premium over the average customer. This article shares 3 things companies should do consistently to keep customer coming back again and again. [via Entrepreneur]
How to be Your Customers’ Biggest Champion
When it comes to your customer service strategy, having an agile approach for evaluating processes and adjusting them quickly is key to making sure you keep your customers happy for the long run. We spoke with Christopher O’Keefe, Chief Operating Officer at Irmat, about how his company has optimized its approach to customer service to keep customers at the center of its business. [via Medium]
7 Considerations for Finding Your Ideal Customer-Support Structure
Customer demands can be relentless and in this 24/7 age of instant service, having a strong service team is key to keeping customers happy. Whether you’re looking to build a team from scratch, reorganize your existing team or prepare for growth, you should first figure out the right structure for your support team. This post lists seven considerations you should take into account when figuring out what customer support structure works for you. [via Entrepreneur]
4 Tips for Customer Service that’s Anything But Small [Slideshare]
One of the many things customers love about small businesses is the high-touch, personalized treatment they receive when interacting with the business. Just because you’re small doesn’t mean that you can’t deliver the world-class service that helps you compete with the established guys. Check out this post to get 4 tips for customer service that are anything but small. [via Medium]
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