SUMMARY:
- Globally, 54% of all consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did just one year ago.
- 64% of Americans contacted some form of customer service.
- 75% of brands report that they are measuring customer engagement, but cannot define what it is.
- Across the globe, 96%of consumers say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
Our ISP is rebranding as Quantum Fiber. While they are trying hard to make the switch as painless as possible, it’s not uncommon to wait 20-25 minutes to speak to a customer service person. It took me three hours on the phone to get my Internet restored. According to research from Velaro, all it takes is waiting on hold for one minute and almost 60% of customers will hang up. In a survey of “more than 2,500 consumers, nearly 60% of respondents believe that one minute is too long to be on hold.
89% of consumers have switched to doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. The average American tells 15people when they’ve had a poor customer service experience.
Customer service is an essential part of your brand. 72% of consumers say they expect the agent to know who they are, what they have purchased, and have insights into their previous engagements when contacting customer service. Yet today, most people are asked for account numbers, phone numbers, or other information.
91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will leave without complaining, and that’s a lot of lost revenue, but there is a good chance that if you call your ISP or other service-driven company, you’ll wait on hold.
Your customer service team is often the face of your company, and customers’ experiences will be defined by the skill and quality of the support they receive. A strong company will already have great customer relationships. But a smart company will always be asking, “What is good customer service?”
So what makes great customer service teams?
1ne: Empowering people to solve problems rather than pass them off to other departments – Nobody wants to be passed from department to apartment; let your customer service people solve problems and reward them for doing so.
2wo: Make sure that your customer service team has the right skills for managing customers’ needs. No amount of CRM software can compensate for shortcomings in this area.
3hree: Even if they’re working at home, ensure they get frequent breaks. Listening to customer problems all day can demotivate anyone. Ensure they take frequent breaks.
4our: If the wait time is longer than ten minutes to talk to customer service, hire more people. Yes, it’s that simple.
5ive: Give examples of excellent customer service and reward employees who go the extra distance to ensure you have a satisfied customer.
6ix: Hire the right people. People who like to problem solve and people who have empathy are winners.
7even: Communication from top executives that your customer service people are an integral part of the company.
8ight: Show them how their work benefits your company.
With poor customer service, you’re essentially telling your customers you don’t care about them. Today that’s inexcusable. With more people working from home and using digital for more services customer service is an essential part of your company.
