Offering proactive customer service that meets the needs of your customers before they are even expressed allows you to increase satisfaction and foster long-term loyalty. According to Forrester, companies that have implemented proactive customer service strategies have seen a 33% increase in customer satisfaction and a 32% increase in retention rates. Furthermore, a survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 87% of customers consider proactive communications from a company as a sign that they care about them.
In operational terms, focusing on a proactive customer approach enables you to respond more quickly to complaints. The most frequently addressed complaints are often the same. It is therefore crucial to implement efficient processes to handle these complaints promptly and effectively in order to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
If your customers are complaining about the same issues, take note. While your service may need some improvement, there’s no need to get nervous or irritated. These customers are doing you a favor—if many people have the same concerns, it’s actually easier for your customer service team to satisfy many customers at once when those issues are tackled. Here are five common service complaints that brands experience—and how you can resolve them to your customers’ satisfaction.
Sometimes, customers just need to discuss with a real person. Clearly, having an efficient voice channel is imperative; customers should be able to speak directly to agents when they wish. To save them time, use prioritized callbacks so that they are not placed on hold for too long. However, make agents accessible in other ways as well. For example, IVR menus should offer the option of connecting directly to an agent, and live chat is another channel that allows customers to benefit from human support.
When customers need answers to quick questions, human intervention may actually be unnecessary. In these instances, self-service options are best. Empower your customers to find answers when they need them by providing frequently asked questions on your website, automating simple tasks through chatbots, and using efficient IVR menus that allow customers to look up information easily.
Your omnichannel strategy may not be working well, forcing customers to repeat information when they switch from one channel to another (and one agent to the next). For this reason, agents need to have easy access to a CRM database that keeps customer information updated in real time. This way, agents from different departments can add notes that will help the next employee serve the customer.
You must also choose an omnichannel solution that integrates channel management: phone, SMS, email, chat, and various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, and many others. With an omnichannel solution, your agents can communicate with your customers through their preferred channel.
The number of mobile users has significantly increased in recent years, surpassing even desktop computer users: over 55% of global internet traffic comes from smartphones and tablets. Nowadays, customers demand great mobile experiences. If your website is not loading properly on a smartphone or a purchase is simply too difficult to make, don’t expect these customers to hang around. Your website must be mobile optimized so that customers can easily click on buttons to get information and contact agents. To help them purchase more easily, you can either add user-friendly icons to your website or integrate the buying process into a brand app or messaging platform. For example, using chatbots to automate the process is a great way to ensure that potential customers are never lost.
Do your customers feel that service is impersonal or just sloppy? This could be due to many things. Customer service agents may need more training to develop their interpersonal and listening skills. If a customer cites that a delivery was missed or that an agent never followed up on a case, it may be time to ask if your overall practices are customer-centric. As a company, take a close look at your customers’ needs and preferences, and ask yourselves if your service is really meeting their expectations. Once those needs are met, give customers a little extra something to get excited about: a special discount, loyalty points, or a chance to win free products through a contest. The more you see things from your customers’ point of view, the more you will establish a human connection that will earn their loyalty. No customer problem can be fixed overnight, but every issue has a solution. When companies work as a team to deliver the best experiences possible, customers take notice and reward them for these efforts.
