5 Tips to Disrupt Your Customer Service and Beat the Competition

We’re currently in the middle of a transformation, where digital technologies are disrupting the way we conduct our business. Customers are still at the center of every organization, however, and when customers change, your organization should change to adapt to their needs.

You’re probably wondering how you can adapt your business to this disruption and stand out from the competitors. You only need to take noticeable steps that pull your customers toward you. Here are five quick ways you can beat your competition through customer service innovation:

Be available on touch points that make customers think of you

Any time a customer comes in contact with your business, you have an opportunity to form an impression. As we are well into the tech revolution, your customers expect you to be present across multiple channels and deliver a consistent experience, which includes online, mobile, and in-store experience.

When creating your social media strategy, carefully decide which channels are important for your marketing strategy. Ensure that you deliver the same tone of messages, similarly branded content, and quick customer support across all the channels.

Choose your promotional channels strategically because more channels would mean more customers reaching out to you (expecting a quick response from your business). You may end up struggling to manage many channels simultaneously and may end up causing a bad customer experience, hence, negative impressions on social media.

Stop comparing yourself to competitors

You want to become the best in the industry, but of course, every organization has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. You should learn from your competitors and adapt their best strategies. But keep in mind that what works for one organization may not work for the other due to each organization’s limitations. Accept your reality, and deliver the type of service you think your customers expect and your team can deliver.

For example, some companies like Moneybird and SuperSaaS do not offer live chat or 24×7 customer support, and they make it clear that their business model is designed to provide cost-effective solutions for their customers over expensive 24×7 customer service. But customers still like them because they make email customer service quick and impressive. Choose what’s best for your organization and customers without comparing yourself too much with the competitors.

Ditch the automated responses

Customers are becoming increasingly observant about the advertisements and marketing messages they receive. They’re becoming more adept at filtering out any communication which seems untrustworthy and automated. They can spot fake personalized customer support or personalization with the name in emails, branded content, etc.

To avoid getting lost in the crowd, be as authentic as you possibly can on your channels, and more so in your customer service efforts. Respond quickly, share helpful links, understand the customer problem properly before sending out an automated response. A quick and personal response will create confidence and customer loyalty.

Be convenient for your customers

Time is the most valuable commodity for your customers. Create convenience for them and focus your efforts on saving their time. Model your business around their needs and requirements instead of what may only work best for you.

Schedule calls with your customers at their convenience, and have your business hours focused on your customer’s schedules. You can also send them automated reminders about your upcoming appointments, send them follow-up emails to summarize your conversation, and make doing business with you easy and effortless.

For example, look at Amazon, which created a single-click support that lets users video call customer service and connects them with a remote tech support representative in solving their problems with their tablets.

Embrace Technology

Complete automation will remove human interference from your customer service, but this doesn’t mean you cannot take the benefit from the latest technological advances. There are some amazing technologies out there which allow you to better connect with your customers but won’t take up too much of your time to set up and manage.

Use software like Maillift which allow you to send handwritten letters to your customers. Other options include a customer relationship management system like Zoho CRM which allows you to keep a track of your customers and their issues, or chatbots which provide quick answers to common questions. There are many amazing tools which can help you automate your work. Explore and automate.

As a small business owner, you have to remember that although you have limited resources at hand, you can make your mark in the industry by doing things differently rather than following the convention.