Many fundamentals adopted by businesses online or retail are the same, even many of the specifics and tools look very different. The same can be said for customer service. Customer service is all about taking care of customers, and any brand’s ability to continue to adapt to this ever-changing landscape will imply how their customers experience the brands and their support.
Maintaining a good customer experience will benefit the customers. Acquiring a customer costs five times as much as retaining the already existing customers. However, changing the customer service strategy to follow the best practices can make all the difference for any brand. One of these practices includes having multiple channels of communication for their ease. For instance, Comcast Xfinity, one of the largest internet service providers in the US, has multiple channels of communication such as phone service, email, social media platforms, etc. through which customers can reach out to the Xfinity customer service for any queries. Just to give you an example, one of the ways you can reach the customer service department of Xfinity is by clicking the following link https://www.localcabledeals.com/xfinity/customer-service. Having multiple channels of communication open can allow customers to use their preferred medium of communication at their ease, making it one of the best practices for improving online customer experiences.
Online Customer Service
Online customer service is referred to as the process that companies use to answer the queries and issues of their customers. Typically, there are one or more channels used for such communication, which include using email, phone, video calls, social media platforms, live chat, SMS, self-service, etc. Some established companies might have a larger, process-based customer service strategy, while some might stick to just one to two different communication channels.
Best Practice for Online Customer Service
Understanding how to properly conduct online customer service is extremely paramount to a successful customer experience. Following are some of the best practices in place;
Easy to Contact. Customers often find it discouraging for having to hunt for a way to reach out to online customer service, hence brands should make it easy as possible for customers to be able to reach out to them. Comcast Xfinity has Xfinity customer service dedicated to resolving all or any queries that customers might have about Xfinity services of internet, home phone, home security, TV, or mobile.
The brand’s websites should have a ‘Contact us’ or ‘Support’ link at the top of the navigation bar to make it easy for the user to find it right away. Also, ensure that the brand’s contact information is visible on the search engine index.
Empower Employees. It is important for companies to make sure that their employeesi.e. the customer support team are empowered and feel productive enough to deal with the customer’s inquiries. Also, they should encourage employees to share feedback on how things might be changed for the better. The whole leadership team in the company might know tons about how businesses are run, but the customer service reps can present better insights due to their first-hand experiences with the customers.
Timely Response.The longer you make customers wait for your reply, the more time you are giving them to explore your competitors’ services. Brands should make sure that their helpdesk comes equipped with required reporting tools that are robust enough to drive the needed results.
Use Feedback Analysis.Brands should collect feedback from customers, asking what they think about their products or services. They should avoid making the mistake of ignoring their customers and thinking they know what’s the best way to promote their products or services since it will lead to losing customers. Hence, collecting customers’ feedback can be evaluated and used to have an in-depth understanding of what is lacking in customers’ experiences of their products or services.
Track Queries and Complaints.CRM or Customer Relationship Management programs can be used to centralize interactions with the customers and address key issues. It is an important tool for every business that is client-oriented since it allows the whole team to see what is going on. Often there will be someone dealing with a case from one department, having it transferred to a customer support rep in another department. Instead of having to tell the whole issue from the beginning, the customer support rep from another department can just follow through using CRM.
Final Thoughts
In summary, brands need to adopt some of the methods being discusses above to apply to their business model for the best online customer service. Working on the improvement of online customer service methods will work as a very powerful marketing tool that will keep the customers happy enough to recommend the brand to their friends, families, and acquaintances, hence, bringing about a boost in the brands’ revenue generation.
