Bad customer service experiences are nothing new – as annoying as they may be to live through. In fact, they’re well documented now via social media – the biggest real-time driver for communicating with customers.
53% of people said unclear communication was the biggest issue preventing them from having a good customer service experience!
The reason for bad customer service can vary. Knowing what causes these problems is the first step to resolving them and improving the overall customer experience. That’s why Tolero Solutions conducted a survey regarding what makes for a poor customer experience.
53% of people said unclear communication. If you want your business to be successful – that’s not a number to be unaddressed.
In my line of work, I can confirm that communications issues are one of the biggest obstacles affecting businesses today. This is why over the years I’ve helped businesses like yours improve communication practices – which improves employee performance, engagement, and brand loyalty. Improving organizational communication also increases innovation, agility, and responsiveness. This all leads to increased customer service satisfaction, improved customer experience, reduced customer acquisition costs, and increased repeat business and brand loyalty! All that leads to increased profit. For most for-profit businesses, increased profit is a top priority.
No one wants to be ‘that guy’ in the business of constantly resolving customer experience issues. Here are 3-ways to ensure you don’t become ‘one of them.’
1. Are you listening! Communication with the customer is imperative to great customer service and increased brand loyalty. Don’t assume. Communicate with your customers. Take the time to listen to their needs. Customers are like snowflakes and no 2 are exactly the same. The process may be different to satisfy one customer as opposed to another even if the job itself is the same. As I’m fond of saying “Ask. Listen. Deliver.”
2. Do you know what you’re doing! We don’t all have all the answers all the time. Don’t claim to either. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver. If you make a mistake, take accountability – own your mistakes and make good on resolving them. Don’t try and shift blame. Make sure someone is accountable to the customer. Make sure those people are trained on what processes to follow to resolve such customer related issues.
3. Be responsive to issues! Be responsive. When a customer has an immediate need don’t give them the runaround, get back to them right away. If you are their POC and don’t know the answers then go back to # 1 and #2 above. Poor process and communication practices internally lead to very slow responsiveness to customer needs and concerns. If processes do exist for customer resolution make them simple to understand and follow and educate customer facing employees on how to execute such processes to promptly respond to customer concerns.
Not just one reason for bad customer experience exists. Fixing the root of customer issues isn’t always easy but it’s a necessity for survival. It’s how you respond and react to those issues that will determine if your business flourishes or fails! You just need to be willing to take steps toward continuous customer service excellence.
Providing an excellent customer experience is a requirement for long-term sustainability. And it helps to increase profits. Many of the factors relating to customer service and experience, including unclear communication, are tied to your strategy and your people and their performance. Focusing on your communication practices is one step to resolving a poor customer experience.
About: Scott Span, MSOD, CSM: is CEO & People Strategist, Communications and Change, at Tolero Solutions. He supports clients to engage and retain talent and wow customers, achieving success through people, creating organizations where people enjoy working and customers enjoy doing business.
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