Customer service is very important to customers and if a company does not offer great customer service, they will lose customers. With this in mind, companies have been trying to find new ways to communicate with their customers. Not only is it important to have exception customer service, businesses must offer service that is convenient and also easy to access for the customer. Living in a world where technology is important means that communication avenues must be updated as the world advances. 2014 will bring on a New Year different customer service channels to focus on.
Omnichannel Customer Service
Omnichannel customer service is important for your business. This means that you can communicate with your customers through different means such as phone, email, online chat, social media, and even in store. People are becoming more connected and comfortable using other means than the telephone to contact you and many of them prefer these avenues.
Customers expect to be able to receive an answer within a short amount of time to their inquiry and request. 59% of customers expect a resolution to a problem within 30 minutes of talking to someone on the phone. 52% expect a resolution within 1 day of contacting via social media and 75% say within 1 day of emailing.
Many customers have also said that if they do not receive an answer via these other outlets, they will still contact the company via phone. Consistency throughout the world of customer service is important and also needed. Phone based customer service is still important and will remain important even though the other channels of contact support increase.
Web Self-Service
When customers can help themselves out, they will. Web self-service is not always available for customers but surveys have shown that it is one of the top asked for applications. This is because customers are able to easily look up what they want and find an answer to it. If they cannot find what they are looking for, they will contact your company.
It is important to make sure that you are focusing your efforts on web self-service in 2014. Your customers will appreciate it and you will also boost customer satisfaction.
A company that tailors to this need is WalkMe, a company who offer an enterprise class guidance and engagement platform. They offer tip balloons that offer self-tasking and self-service for your business, so that you can reduce inbound call requests.
Social Media Predictions for 2014
These social media predictions for 2014 are very important for your business. Knowing what to expect and what to prepare for will empower you. You will have the upper hand and can focus your time and effort here. Customers who receive amazing customer service are more likely to refer their friends, continuing hopping at your business, and also spend more money.
Social customer service must be enhanced and also maintained. This means your customers cannot be ignored or put on the back burner anymore. Social customer service is as simple as posting a response to a comment and saying, “I will get back to you within the day with an answer”. If you don’t know or have the answer at hand, find it but let the customer know you need to get them the answer. Ignoring them will only cause more problems.
Another prediction is that social media will begin booming with unhappy customer tweets. As people become more comfortable using the Internet and social media, they will share their experiences with others. This will hurt your company if you are being tagged in many negative posts. If you see a negative tweet or posting, comment and see how you can rectify the situation. This will influence better social customer service.
Response times need to increase in 2014. Even though some companies are available through different avenues, they take too long to respond. Customers expect fast answers and accurate answers.
It is important for companies to focus on customer service and provide it through many different avenue. Providing the avenues is not enough and companies must be quick to respond and also offer exceptional customer service.
