Customer service is at the heart of every successful business – after all, a business is only as successful as its list of customers. Excellent customer service is essential for cultivating a loyal following, getting positive testimonials, retaining customers, and attracting new ones. Loyal customers are a business’s dream – customer retention is a lot cheaper than customer acquisition.

The statistics speak for themselves: a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profit by 25%. Your customer service determines how customers perceive your business, and 96% of customers stated that good customer service plays a significant role in their decision to stay loyal to a brand. Statistics show that 72% of customers will share their positive experiences with six or more people, giving your business more attention via word of mouth. As a business, it is important to prioritise improving your customer service as much as you can; the better your customer service is, the larger your customer base will be.

So, here are five ways to improve your business’s customer service:

Promote Customer Feedback 

In order to improve something, you need to know where you’re going wrong. First, you must identify your strengths and weaknesses, and a great way to do this is by encouraging customers to help you. Encourage them to review your products and services through online testimonials, distribute condensed surveys for them to fill in, and offer them an incentive at the end, such as a discount or free shipping. You can even call customers directly and ask them to share their thoughts about their experience with your business. Ask them what they felt you did well and what can be improved next time. Finally, check your stats regarding loyal customers; if you have a bunch, the chances are high that you are doing something right!

Have A Reliable Phone Line

The communication between you and your customers needs to be smooth and straightforward. It is so important to have an efficient phone line. Having phone calls with customers in real-time requires focus; sometimes, you’ll be dealing with queries and complaints, and other times you’ll be tackling more complex issues that demand solutions. If your phone line is cutting off, the customer is not only going to be dissatisfied with the service, but they may also hang up. If your line is faulty at the start of a phone call and your customer is met with silence, 90% will hang up within the first 40 seconds.

In some situations, asking your customer to hold will be unavoidable. However, don’t fret! The phone lines we provide will enhance your corporate image and keep your on-hold customers entertained by advertising products and services that your business offers. We offer a range of phone lines dedicated to meeting the needs of your business, including a traditional fixed-line, multi-line, single line, analogue, ISDN and VOIP.

Personalise Your Customer Service Training

A one size fits all approach is futile when it comes to customer service. With the help of technology, specifically sentiment analysis tools, those responsible for customer service will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses. When there is an emphasis on individual training needs, the overall quality of customer service will vastly improve. By surveying the training and progress of your employees, you can measure their performance and gauge what still needs to be worked on. Soon enough, everyone will be performing at the top of their game!

Improve Response Timelines

With technology growing and developing at a rapid pace, customers expect you to have access to you at any given time, as quickly as possible. With this in mind, your responses have to be quick and efficient. Monitoring your social media inboxes and utilising technology such as chatbots will give customers instantaneous replies, even outside of office hours. You could also explore using a digital writing assistant tool to help your business establish tone and formality.

Consider Implementing Face-To-Face Communication

We underestimate the power of in-person communication, especially since Covid prohibited this. Of course, businesses can communicate with customers via telephone, but telephones are not necessarily the correct substitute for face-to-face conversations. Eye contact provides people with a sense of connection and openness, which is something a telephone call will never be able to replicate fully. A great place to start is by utilising video calls. If this method of communication is successful among customers, you could begin scheduling face-to-face meetings with them via Zoom or Teams. By using more personal methods of communication whenever possible, your customers are bound to feel more valued and connected to your business.

Overall, at the epicentre of improving your business’s customer service is technology. The best steps towards elevating your customer service from great to exceptional are using chatbots and digital writing assistants. Implementing these services alongside reliable broadband and phone line connections will allow you to conduct personal meetings with your customers. At Eze Talk, we have the best technology at our fingertips. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help improve your business’s customer service experience.