While every company says they want to improve their customer service experience, many businesses still fall short of customer expectations.

80% of businesses believe they provide “superior” customer service — only 8% of consumers agree. source

Most large companies have multiple customer service teams to handle complaints and customer service issues via phone, email, social, online, and sometimes in-person. The problem is that these teams report to different managers, are measured by different metrics, and operate independently from the other customer service teams.

So, as a large company, how do you make customer service a priority for the entire organization?
Here are four easy-to-implement customer service tips to make superior customer service a company-wide priority (and your customers feel valued).

  1. Set happiness as the barometer for customer service success
    Communicate to your employees that their barometer for successful customer service communications is happiness (how happy is the customer after your interaction?). Not how quickly you can get their problem solved (NOTE: this is different than how quickly you respond), or how much money you can save or make the company from the customer.
  2. Personalize your customer service communications from start to finish
    Take two extra minutes to learn more about the customer (they’re your customer, so you should know who they are, what they like, their last communication with you, their buying habits, even their likes and dislikes). It can be as simple as referring to them by their name. (Simply referring to a customer by name is one of the easiest ways to increase their affinity to your business or brand.)
  3. Encourage your customer service team to empathize with customers
    People want real customer service, not automated scripts and chat bots. Customers want humanized customer service.1 Listen, understand, and respond. Don’t be afraid to have a personality, and whenever possible, empathize with your customers.
  4. Always double-check to make sure all of your customer’s problems are resolved
    Don’t assume that because the one problem your customer contacted your customer service team about is resolved, the conversation is over. Verify with the customer and ask if there is anything else you can do to help.2

Easy, right? If your business is having a difficult time delivering superior customer service experiences, contact us — we’d love to help take care of your customers.

1: An American Express survey revealed that 67% of customers have hung up the phone out of frustration they could not talk to a real person.
2: According to Harris Interactive, consumers feel that customer service agents failed to answer their questions 50% of the time.