- Encourage staff to go off the script. Scratch that: forget the script altogether. If they’re trained properly, they should be able to have a conversation to uncover the issue and solve it.
- Don’t underestimate casual conversation. “Small talk” has a purpose; it can actually calm the irate customer as the rep searches for a solution to her problem. Savvy representatives can ask about the weather, sports, or whatever seems to resonate with the customer.
- Have humans answer the phone. You’re not AT&T. There’s no reason a customer should have to push buttons to be transferred to the right person.
- Expand your touchpoints. Chat, email, and social media are other great ways to connect with customers (all of whom have their own communication preferences)
- Live chat tools like Zopim and LiveHelpNow let your customers and prospects get answers and help at their convenience.
- Look to solutions like Constant Contact, MailChimp, and StreamSend to help make email marketing simple and give you the opportunity to regularly reach out to your customers.
- Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are inexpensive, powerful ways to connect with your customers.
Make it right. The customer is, indeed, always right. Empower your team to fix the issue and create a happy customer with flexible and timely resolutions.
Every company wants to be known for stellar customer service. Aim to over-deliver every time. Monitor your reps and use performance and response metrics to evaluate results and improve your processes. By keeping your customer support team flexible, informed, and—most importantly—human, you’ll spend less time worrying about unhappy customers and more time growing your business.