Customers don’t even wait to become unhappy these days. They often contact you already in a tizzy.
In many cases, you aren’t to blame for that chip on their shoulders. They’re so used to poor experiences when they reach out to companies for help or answers, they assume it’s that way everywhere, every time.
So you aren’t just working to make up for the last experience customers had with you. Oftentimes, you need to overcome things that went wrong elsewhere.
This is what has left customers dissatisfied, according to recent research from Forrester Research, Inc.:
1. Inconsistent experiences across channels
Customers don’t want to deal with siloed service. If you answer questions in email, and have a Facebook page, they want you to answer questions on Facebook, too — with the speed, eloquence and style as you would in email. They expect to hear the same correct answers from a rep regardless of the channel they use to contact you.
Tip: Rules, processes and policies that govern how service is delivered must be consistent across channels. If one changes, they all must change with it to ensure customers can rely on consistent service.
2. Reactive service
Customers want to feel like the companies they deal with have their best interests in mind. That’s proven by telling customers about issues or promotions before they have to ask about them. They want partners. They want to be notified when something will be different, inconvenient or a great deal for them.
Tip: Make proactive service a job function in your service operations. Whether it’s a person’s or team’s job, someone needs to be in charge of regular and spontaneous messages to customers.
3. One-size-fits-all engagement
Because companies have large customer bases, they offer vanilla service to accommodate the masses. But customers crave personalization when they contact a company. If they’re great customers, they want to be treated as such. And some customers just want quick responses and no relationship. The best companies learn how to differentiate service based on personal preferences.
Tip: Keep solid records on what customers prefer, their buying cycles and personal information gathered in conversations. Use that to personalize future interactions.
4. Inefficient interactions
No matter how personal customers want their service, they still want it done on their terms — namely, as quickly and efficiently as possible. It’s often not because reps don’t have the authority to see issues through to resolution and customers’ satisfaction. The interaction and resolution process ends up disconnected and time-consuming as more people get involved.
Tip: Streamline by giving front-line reps the tools and encouragement to take customers all the way through to a resolution and time to circle back with customers to be sure the solutions worked.
