Customer Support Experience: Definition & How to Improve It

Promise excellent customer service in the public eye and your entire team will feel accountable. Three out of four (74%) consumers say they have spent more with a company because of a history of positive customer service experiences. Positive customer service stories correlate to positive revenue.

Explore the possibilities with AI and machine learning tools designed for experience management. Take a look at our listening tools and see how digital technology powers contact center performance. Improving your customer experience could have a major impact on your bottom line. In fact, a moderate increase in customer experience generates an average revenue increase of $823 million over three years for a company with $1 billion in annual revenues, according to the Temkin Group.

Shift from reactive to proactive customer support

We’ve also compiled benchmark engagement data to help you understand how your employees’ engagement compares to other companies. The process of listening to customer feedback and customer service reps’ feedback is important but more vital is taking action. It’ll help to improve customer loyalty, but also help you to foster stronger relationships with your team as well. Customer service representatives are the front-line of any business, so it’s critical to support them with the best possible training.

Accordingly, Hewlett-Packard rewards its account managers on survey-participation rates as well as results. The authors go on to illustrate how a cross-functional CEM system is created. With such a system, companies can discover which customers are prospects for growth and which require immediate intervention. Ultimately, a business needs to succeed at both in order to thrive and foster lasting brand loyalty. CX involves many touchpoints and engagement channels across multiple departments.

How To Deliver Excellent Customer Service (Benefits, Examples, Case Studies & Recommendations)

Since engagement can vary from industry to industry, you may also want to look at more specific data through a service like SurveyMonkey Benchmarks. Admit your mistakes, even if you discover them before your customers do. It also allows you to control the situation, re-focus the customer’s attention and resolve the issue.

• Beyond listening, customer service is doing everything in one’s power to efficiently and accurately serve each customer.
• Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services as well as overseeing the processes of converting original materials into final products.
• Here’s how retailers can use it to boost brand loyalty and drive business growth.
• Customer experience does not improve until it becomes a top priority and a company’s work processes, systems, and structure change to reflect that.
• Improving the agent experience is worthwhile – the more engaged your customer service representatives are with your company and their career, the better their dedication to customer satisfaction.
• The ‘wow’ factor can come from any type of help, support or advice which a company provides.

Clients receive 24/7 access to proven management and technology research, expert advice, benchmarks, diagnostics and more. Fill out the form to connect with a representative and learn more. For phone staff, this means speaking clearly and slowly while maintaining a calm demeanor even if the customer doesn’t.

The rising importance of customer service

Some customer support executives are able to provide empathy, but not the solutions customers seek. Your customer support representatives could reply with “let me go over what you just said”. Let’s look at some ways to enhance the customer support experience for your organization. The experience your customer’s endure through the customer support process can leave a lasting mark on how they view your company. For some customers, a solid customer support experience is even the clincher.

LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like What Is Customer Service Experience Customer Focus. The dashboard was pulled in favor of automatic triggers that channeled problems to specialists or general managers, who began to make good progress in solving them.

The Cost of Customer Satisfaction

Admitting a mistake shows you take responsibility and demonstrate strong leadership skills. The response is an important attribute in relaying clear communication. Whether verbally, by email, or by text, it’s a good representation of exceptional customer service. You don’t want your customer to think he’s getting 50% off when he’s getting 50% more product.

Dell did an effective job of creating positive customer expectations, but they turned out to be better fulfilled by the in-person sales force at Best Buy. This encompasses discovery and awareness of a business, through to initial purchase and post-purchase care, to hopefully repeated purchases. As a result, it involves numerous touchpoints and means multiple departments need to be involved in creating a positive customer experience. Not every customer journey will look the same, but all will involve more than one interaction with a business. It’s worth mentioning that good customer feedback management software, like Survicate, integrates with major customer relationships platforms, like Intercom or Hubspot, to name a few.

Build a great customer service experience mentality at your company

Use authentically positive language, stay cheerful no matter what, and never end a conversation without confirming the customer is satisfied. Predict, improve, and augment the customer experience using automation and intelligence. CRM, customer service reps gain the context and ability to resolve inquiries in a single interaction. One of the biggest factors in good customer service is speed, especially when a client is requesting something that’s time sensitive.

Through the 1990s and early 2000s, the internet created many more customer service opportunities, or channels. Customers could not only call with questions, they could also go to a company’s website and send an email or, eventually, interact with the latest technologies such as chatbots. Make sure your staff understands how valuable their role is and how seriously you take their contribution and customer service skills. Set standards for what is expected and be clear about why it matters that staff are – for example – always courteous, punctual, positive, and supportive of other team members. Setting clear expectations will help staff members to feel confident in doing their jobs well.

For instance, when withdrawing money from an ATM, or skipping the line in an amusement park. Customers still receive the service they are looking for in a direct level, without face-to-face interaction. Delivering a great customer experience is hugely important for any business. The better experience customers have, the more repeat custom and positive reviews you’ll receive, while simultaneously reducing the friction of customer complaints and returns. Not only will you discover touchpoints and skills that need improvement, but your customers will see that are dedicated to providing top-notch, proactive customer service.

• The world has moved since then, now customers can get in touch quickly and remotely via email, telephone, websites and much more.
• While these things are still effective, we’re learning people also appreciate a human approach to special circumstances.
• These options should be available at the right stage of the buying process for the best effect.
• Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm.
• Meanwhile, frustrating customer experiences contribute to churn.
• Everything you do impacts your customers’ perception and their decision to keep coming back or not—so a great customer experience is your key to success.