{"id":12292,"date":"2017-12-23T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T00:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/?p=12292"},"modified":"2018-01-15T16:38:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T16:38:13","slug":"5-ways-to-ensure-your-customer-service-is-a-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/5-ways-to-ensure-your-customer-service-is-a-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Ensure Your Customer Service Is a Hit This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shep Hyken offers some solid tips to ensure your customer service takes off in the coming year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\" According to the Five9 Customer Index 2017 report<\/a>, 77% of customers in the B2C space will not do business with you again if you give them bad customer service the first time they do business with you.<\/p>\n

This is huge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This means that more than three-quarters of your customers will not give you a second chance if you don\u2019t give them the customer experience they expect the first time around. Now, while the survey is focused on retail and consumers, don\u2019t be fooled into thinking someone in the B2B space is exempt. The numbers are different, but the concept is valid for any business in any industry.<\/p>\n

Our customers are smarter than ever, at least as customer service is concerned. They know what good customer service is and they aren\u2019t just comparing you to your direct competition. Anyone that has delivered a stellar customer service experience \u2013 in any type of business \u2013 to one of your customers has just set the bar higher for you.<\/p>\n

Customer service is your competitive advantage. Numerous surveys are proving that customers are starting to shift toward service being more important than price. And, a large majority of executives have announced a major push toward creating a better, more competitive customer service experience.
\nFive9 surveyed 1,138 consumers and found that 89% said a \u201cgreat customer experience\u201d is a key reason that helps them decide which company to do business with. And, that reasons trumps price, product quality, and even recommendations from friends.<\/p>\n

So, what is a company to do to ensure success in 2018? Here are a few suggestions:<\/p>\n

Customer service doesn\u2019t just happen on the front line.<\/strong> It happens throughout the entire company. It\u2019s part of the company\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n

Be present in the moment.<\/strong> What you are doing right now \u2013 what kind of experience the customer is having at this moment \u2013 it is going to ensure that the next time he or she needs what you sell, they will come back to you.<\/p>\n

No company and no person is flawless.<\/strong> You can\u2019t deliver a perfect customer experience all of the time. So, when there is a problem or complaint, don\u2019t just fix it. Restore the customer\u2019s confidence. Assuming you handle the issue well, it validates the customer\u2019s choice to do business with you in the first place and proves why they should come back.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t argue with a customer.<\/strong> You\u2019ll never win. There\u2019s an old saying that says, \u201cYou\u2019re not trying to win an argument. You\u2019re trying to win a customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always show appreciation to your customer.<\/strong> Say \u201cThank you\u201d over and over again. They want and expect to know you care.<\/p>\n

Some of you may say that these five ideas are common sense. Yes, they are!<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not always as common as it should be. Number one, which is focused on the culture, is strategic. It takes time and an effort that is never really finished. The other four concepts are tactics. They are easily carried out by any person on your team.<\/p>\n

So, take the time to share these ideas with your colleagues. As these statistics teach us, most of the time you only have one shot at impressing your customer.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t strike out!<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shep Hyken<\/a>\u00a0is the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. As a professional speaker and best-selling author, Shep helps companies develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shep Hyken offers some solid tips to ensure your customer service takes off in the coming year..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12292"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12401,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12292\/revisions\/12401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}