Before diving into customer service, it is important to define who is a customer. A customer is a stakeholder, which applies to any person associated with the business. It could be the external and internal customers, shareholders, vendors, non-management executives, investors, a board of directors, and top management.
The function of customer service is to sustain customer satisfaction while using an amicable and empathetic tone when interacting with potential clients and existing customers. Furthermore, adherence to stipulated SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and SLAs (Service Level Agreements) ensures the business’s reputation and exhibit employee’s professionalism. Any deviation from the guidelines can hamper the revenue stream and put the firm’s reputation at stake. In some businesses, this function is the barometer for ascertaining the quality standards, also known as Service Control. Therefore, the top management takes the utmost care to develop a strategy and adaptable planning. Various aspects are taken into consideration at the time of strategic development. This silo’s role involves an array of strategies and multiple scenarios kept in mind at the time of the planning phase. Quality Control is all about ensuring that the customer feels valued, appreciated, and satisfied.
Superior service starts with the employee and attitude. If the business development and training department identify any gap, it is the same department’s responsibility to ensure that adequate training is given to employees. Any employee interacting with the customer must exhibit quality service. At the time of interaction, the customer does not know who the person is, but what the customer is fully aware of is the firm’s name. Any false commitment or deviation from the SLA can significantly sabotage the firm’s character, which is unacceptable to all the stakeholders.
Develop Customer Service Strategies
Planning, developing, and implementing strategies that address each possible scenario of customer experience is of pivotal importance. The first and foremost step is to document SOPs and SLAs and have them signed by the respective department or division heads. To further augment service quality, develop a frequency table, where one can gather key stakeholders, collate their responses and feedback, with the help of a moderator. The analytics department will corroborate the input, and if any changes do occur, the concern will be forwarded to the respective department.
Recruit Adequately
Even potential employees are also customers; therefore, utmost care must be taken to maintain quality standards. When the recruitment officer interacts with the candidates, it is vital to inquire about their perception of the quality of service, customer satisfaction, and the magnitude concerning business operations. Present them with various scenarios and seek their responses. This will give a fair amount of idea for the human resource department regarding the aptitude and the attitude that the business is looking for in their employees.
Provide Customer Service Training
Ensure adequate training is given to employees concerning customer service approaches and policies. Design role-playing training sessions that help identify the role players did right and where they can move forward. Training and development on how to deal with client needs can lead to significant improvements in customer retention and reduce refunds, cancelations, and dissatisfaction.
Survey your Customer
Another approach to check customer satisfaction levels is to welcome clients to give you an evaluation of customer representatives attending to their needs. This can be achieved through overviews, center gatherings, or by having a web or in-store remark box accessible. Painstakingly auditing compliments and complaints and searching for repeated issues can shed light on what aspects require attention and where improvements can be made. Consider compensating staff members for extraordinary levels of customer service as this encourages consistency and improves motivation.
Customers frequently share their perspective of businesses through social media today, which means even one wrong move or inefficient behavior can spread quickly and damage your business reputation. In addition to providing high-quality customer service, it is essential to monitor what’s being said about your business on social media so that you can quickly address and resolve any complaints as they arise from people online.
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