Customer loyalty is the foundation of most strong businesses, and building loyalty requires an excellent customer service team. Your clients' customer service experience is often the deciding factor in whether or not they come back again, and customer service quality also affects how clients talk about your brand, potentially influencing loyalty across the board. Grow your skills in the following areas to become a better customer service professional and help your organization retain business.
Be a Problem Solver
The fastest way to build customer loyalty is to prioritize solving problems. Whenever a customer comes to you with an issue, make solving that issue your number one concern. Don't hand the problem off to a manager or another department, and always follow through to make sure the customer is satisfied with the solution. Customer research shows that 95 percent of customers whose problems are solved quickly become repeat clients, compared to only 45 percent of those whose problems go unsolved.
Provide Accurate Information
Never assume or guess the answer to a customer's question, especially when the customer is angry. Although solving problems quickly is important, providing accurate information is just as important and essential for building customer loyalty. If a customer feels like he's been lied to, he is not going to want to come back. Avoid the temptation to underestimate delivery time frames or overestimate product capabilities. Customers might be disappointed with less-than-ideal answers, but they are going to be much more upset if they find out you provided false information.
Listen and Empathize
Soft skills, such as listening, being friendly, and having a positive attitude, are just as important as your problem-solving abilities when it comes to creating customer loyalty. Disappointed customers are likely to be upset. Listen to the customer carefully, empathize with his feelings to make a connection, and then assure the customer that you are on his side and ready to help. Maintain a friendly tone throughout the interaction to keep the mood moving in a positive direction.
Talk to Your Team
Share information about the problems you regularly see as a customer service worker with your managers and the rest of your team. Steady feedback from customer service workers helps drive continuous improvement. Feedback also helps you anticipate typical problems so that you can gather the information you need to be ready to help customers faster. Clients appreciate knowledgeable customer service workers, and this further builds customer loyalty.
Increase customer loyalty toward your organization by becoming a better problem solver, being truthful in your communication, and enhancing your customer service soft skills, including listening actively and building connections. Share common problems and customer feedback with others in your company to fuel improvement and better anticipate future problems.
Photo courtesy of Jeanne Claire Maarbes at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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