In today's competitive market, whether you're an established corporation or an emerging start-up, the battle for customers is relentless. Many companies focus on product quality, convenience, pricing, and marketing, often treating customer service as an afterthought. However, great customer service is crucial for creating loyal customers, who choose your brand over competitors despite cost or convenience.
August 29, 2024
Whether you are an established corporation looking to reduce customer churn and maintain market share, an up-and-coming start-up aiming to disrupt the marketplace, or simply coming up with a better way of doing things, you are in a battle for customers. You direct your efforts toward product or service quality, convenience, pricing, and marketing strategies to attract new customers. You may also use tools such as loyalty programs to encourage repeat business.
However, too many companies treat customer service as an afterthought, a contact center as a cost center, and customer complaints as simple inconveniences. As a result, they do the bare minimum required to support their customers. This may be intentional, but a company often finds that providing good customer service is much harder than anticipated. It requires more than a desire – it requires the hard work of professionals who understand the customer journey and how to deliver the support demanded by today's consumers efficiently.
The result of delivering great customer service should be to develop loyal customers – not just repeat customers. There is a difference. A repeat customer comes back out of convenience. They may be driven by factors such as location or low prices. These drivers are transitory – the customer will go elsewhere if they find the product slightly cheaper or it becomes available on another platform. A repeat customer will immediately switch brands if they encounter a poor outcome. A loyal customer, on the other hand, feels connected to your brand. They actively choose it over competitors, even if the competitor is cheaper or more convenient.
True loyalty can only be developed by building an emotional attachment to your brand.
Here are some statistics:
On the other hand, 86% of customers are willing to switch brands because of a bad experience or if they know another company will deliver a better experience.
Many companies feel that delivering good customer service is expensive, but study after study shows that it’s far more costly not to.
So, what is required to deliver great customer service? It doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg. There are simple things a company can do and simple strategies to understand, but they will require significant effort, focus and intention to implement effectively.
Customer journey – when a customer unexpectedly steps off the "happy path" due to an unexpected obstacle, they need support to resolve the problem and get them back on the path.
A customer should feel like their problems are important to you and that their concerns and feedback will be taken seriously. When someone reaches out to you, they must be made to feel like you are eager to speak with them and resolve their issues. Allowing customers to contact you using their preferred communication channel (phone, text, email, SMS, social media, etc.) should be mandatory. A company should provide (and meet) clear service level expectations and provide opportunities to have the customers' contact attempts returned as soon as possible (i.e. virtual callbacks).
Customers should also have access to effective self-serve options if they choose to utilize them.
Once a customer reaches one of your agents, they expect a certain standard. It's not enough to be marginally better than your main competitor. You are being judged against the standards of some of the world's best companies.
The Benchmark Trap: Why Comparing to the Competition Isn't EnoughWhile benchmarking against competitors can be a valuable and often used starting point, solely focusing on surpassing your nearest competitor can be a recipe for mediocrity.
Consider a scenario where a company measures customer service success by being "marginally better" than its main competitor. To understand this better, let’s look at a major Canadian travel provider I once worked with. They consistently provided long customer wait times to reach an agent – upwards of 30 minutes. Their rationale was two-fold. First, they were 5 minutes quicker than their major competitor. Second, by having long wait times, they encouraged customers to book their travel needs online rather than speaking with an agent. Pointing out that the close rate of customers asking for quotes from an agent was nearly five times higher than that of those who checked prices online didn’t help modify their strategy. Also, pointing out that a customer will not differentiate between a 30-minute and a 35-minute wait time didn’t help. For customers, the service would be seen as poor for both companies.
A constant focus on outdoing the competition in price or features can lead to a race to the bottom. This ultimately hurts margins and makes investing in employee training and service improvements difficult, further perpetuating the churn cycle.
Customer expectations are constantly evolving. What may have constituted "good" service by a competitor yesterday could be perceived as average or inadequate today. Simply keeping up with the competition may leave you lagging in evolving customer expectations.
By fixating on competitors, companies may overlook opportunities to differentiate their brands. Focusing on exceeding customer expectations, rather than merely meeting competitor benchmarks, allows businesses to identify unique value propositions and cultivate a loyal customer base willing to stay, even at a slightly higher price point.
This requires understanding customer needs, building strong customer relationships and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By delivering exceptional customer service, companies can create brand loyalty that goes beyond price point, leading to sustainable growth and success.
First and foremost, the customer must feel respected. They must feel your Company cares about them and empathizes with their issue. The agent must practice active listening skills. They must assure your customer that they will do everything possible to resolve the issue as quickly and expertly as possible and then deliver on that promise. The agent must understand the value of the customer and, where possible, go that little bit extra to compensate the customer for their inconvenience.
Furthermore, the agent must be ready to thank the customer for their feedback and assure them that the problem the customer encountered will be communicated to the people who can do something about it. Then, they must follow up with whatever process is in place to ensure the product team knows of the issue and can remove the obstacle.
Finally, there is a reason that the customer needed to contact you. Something went wrong in their customer journey, and they couldn't correct the problem themselves. There's a bug in the technology, a problem with the process, they didn't know how to do something, etc. Once the customer issue has been resolved, it is imperative that the rest of the Company must know why customers are calling, along with their sentiment. Knowing this will allow the Company to prioritize improvements, correct bugs, identify new revenue source opportunities, or take other measures to improve the customer experience and, in the end, drive customer loyalty.
HBR Lego exampleLego Customer Insight Through Support Inquiries
In a Harvard Business Review case study, Lego discovered valuable customer insights through their customer support channels. While traditionally focused on children's toys, Lego realized a significant number of adults were contacting them with inquiries. This "aha moment" led them to recognize the potential of the adult market, a segment with greater spending power. As a result, Lego shifted its marketing strategy to target adults as well as children, leading to significant growth and market expansion.
Federal testing exampleSerefin Optimizes Customer Experience for Dynacare's At-Home COVID Testing Program.
As COVID-19 testing became mandatory for all arriving and returning Canadians, airports faced a surge in testing needs. To ease airport congestion and offer a convenient option for eligible travellers to Montreal, Dynacare partnered with Serefin. Serefin, a customer experience solutions provider, managed a contact center staffed by nurses who remotely guided travellers through the at-home testing process via video calls.
Initially, a high volume of calls indicated the need for clearer communication. Serefin's data-driven analysis pinpointed areas for improvement. Working with Dynacare, they enhanced airport information, clarified test kit instructions, and advised on packaging redesign for better clarity. This collaboration resulted in a reduction of calls from 20,000 calls to 4,000 calls daily, an impressive 80% reduction in call volume, streamlining operations for Dynacare and improving the testing experience for travellers.
Empowered agents are at the heart of exceptional customer experiences. While technology and processes play a supporting role, the real value comes from the direct interaction between agents and customers. It's essential to prioritize empowering and retaining agents, as it drives cost efficiency and ultimately improves customer experiences.
Unlocking the full potential of the customer experience team requires a holistic approach: selecting the best-fit candidates, providing comprehensive training, fostering a supportive and respectful environment, and implementing effective management practices.
Focusing on these areas ensures that your agents are well-prepared, motivated, and aligned with your brand's goals. This empowerment translates into exceptional customer experiences, higher satisfaction rates, and long-term customer loyalty.
Finding the right people to represent your brand is the first step in building a high-performing contact center. The recruitment process should be strategic and deliberate, ensuring candidates possess the necessary skills, attitudes, and cultural fit.
Once suitable agents are onboarded, the next step is to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to excel. Comprehensive, interactive training programs are essential to prepare agents for their roles and help them understand your brand's nuances and customer service expectations.
Creating a positive work environment and fostering a culture of respect is crucial to empowering and retaining agents. When agents feel valued, supported, and engaged, they are more likely to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Maintaining high-quality standards is the cornerstone for delivering exceptional customer service. A robust Quality Assurance (QA) framework ensures that agent interactions meet or exceed expectations, drive customer satisfaction, and continuously improve performance. An independent QA team that operates separately from the operations team is vital for maintaining impartiality and delivering unbiased evaluations.
In today's fast-paced digital world, leveraging the right technology is essential to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Implementing advanced tools and systems can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your contact center.
Effective management is the backbone of any successful contact center. It provides the strategic vision and operational expertise needed to thrive in a competitive environment.
Seasoned managers employ their expertise to streamline contact center operations, ensuring smooth and efficient functioning within budget limitations. This entails implementing robust hiring processes to attract the right talent, using advanced workforce management techniques, and continually refining operational workflows to minimize costs and boost productivity. We are adept at efficiently accomplishing this within your budget: leveraging management expertise to optimize processes, control costs, and deliver high-quality service within budget constraints.
Delivering exceptional customer service is not just a goal but a crucial strategy for businesses across industries. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and loyalty, companies can differentiate themselves in a competitive market and cultivate long-term relationships with their customers. Effective customer service goes beyond resolving issues; it involves understanding customer needs, empowering agents, and continuously improving processes to deliver seamless experiences.
As businesses adapt to changing customer expectations and technological advancements, they must invest in a customer-centric approach. This involves recruiting and training the right agents, creating a positive work environment, and implementing effective management practices. By empowering their teams to deliver exceptional customer experiences, companies can prioritize customer satisfaction, drive growth, enhance brand reputation, and achieve sustainable success in today's customer-driven economy.
Contact us today for a free consultation on how we can help you build a winning customer service strategy.
Below are the additional team members who contributed to this blog post.
Follow us on Social Media!
