{"id":519,"date":"2015-04-29T11:05:55","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T11:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/csm210469\/?p=519"},"modified":"2022-10-21T14:50:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T14:50:56","slug":"six-keys-to-creating-wow-customer-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/six-keys-to-creating-wow-customer-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Keys to Creating &#8220;Wow&#8221; Customer Service Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2873\" src=\"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/wow.jpg\" alt=\"Creating wow customer experiences\" width=\"77\" height=\"60\" \/>Here are some of the key ingredients for putting the &#8220;wow&#8221; back into your customer&#8217;s experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In most businesses, once a customer begins dealing with the customer service department, he or she is already in a negative mindset.\u00a0The best customer service representatives aren&#8217;t those that simply neutralize the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Outstanding customer service representatives take a negative and turn it into a positive that ensures the customer is not only happy, but is convinced he or she has had an outstanding experience \u2013 the &#8220;Wow&#8221; Factor \u2013 that he would not have got with any other company.<\/p>\n<p>The key ingredients of the &#8220;Wow&#8221; experience are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seamless Service<\/li>\n<li>Trustworthy Service<\/li>\n<li>Attentiveness<\/li>\n<li>Resourcefulness<\/li>\n<li>Courtesy<\/li>\n<li>Pro-active Service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Seamless Service<\/strong> means providing everything the customer needs, not just what is required to meet the minimum standards. It\u2019s about making sure that they don\u2019t have to wait and wonder. Customers will appreciate a smooth, seamless process for addressing their needs.<\/p>\n<p>If there are several steps needed to take care of their concerns, keep them in the loop \u2013 update them by email or with a quick phone call so that they know you are working on the situation and progress is being made. By keeping them abreast of what is going on, you are letting them know you haven\u2019t forgotten about them and that you understand their concerns \u2013 reassurance and communication are powerful customer service tools.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trustworthy Service<\/strong> is essential to retaining customers. Promising a customer anything and delivering nothing is the surest way to not only lose a customer, but get the kind of \u201cword of mouth\u201d bad press that can ruin you.<\/p>\n<p>Under promise and over deliver \u2013 If you promise a satisfactory solution and then go the extra mile to not only satisfy the customer, but gain their appreciation and \u201cWow\u201d them, you will get word of mouth that will bring new customers to you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Attentive Service<\/strong> means paying attention during and after the initial<br \/>\ncontact. How many times have you contacted customer service and been subjected to an obviously scripted response from the customer service representative? Does it give you the feeling they aren&#8217;t really listening, but just trying to get to the end of their canned presentation?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Attentiveness<\/strong> should run through every customer service experience, from listening carefully to the customer\u2019s concerns to following up after the exchange is over to make sure their needs have been met. Listening isn&#8217;t just about hearing \u2013 it is about understanding what is really being said.<\/p>\n<p>The words are just the beginning \u2013what about the customer\u2019s tone of voice? Her mood? Is she disappointed, angry or frustrated? Keying in to the customer\u2019s mood and responding appropriately is essential, and it means not following a script.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resourcefulness<\/strong> means finding solutions when there appear to be none. Many companies have iron-clad policies that must be followed whenever a problem arises; however, sometimes a customer won\u2019t be satisfied by the \u201ccompany line\u201d approach.<\/p>\n<p>Resourceful customer service representatives know that there is always a way to move beyond the standard procedures in order to make a customer happy. Resourcefulness involves finding a solution when a solution isn&#8217;t apparent. This may mean moving up the chain of command before the customer demands to talk to your superior.<\/p>\n<p>Companies with excellent customer service also give their representatives some leeway so that they can come up with creative solutions on their own. When a customer senses that you are going beyond the norm to help them, they will feel valued and respected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Courtesy<\/strong> is a commodity that is becoming rarer every day. It takes so little to be polite but it is becoming a lost art. Say please when you ask a<br \/>\ncustomer a question, thank them for their information and take your time talking to them.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing makes a customer feel more devalued than being treated like a number. Use the person\u2019s name, make requests rather than demands and know when to apologize. When something goes wrong for a customer, they want to hear that you understand their frustration and that you are genuinely sorry that they are being inconvenienced. It takes nothing to say, \u201cI\u2019m so sorry you aren&#8217;t satisfied and I hope we can do something to correct this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pro-Active Service<\/strong> means not waiting for the customer to come up with a solution that you simply follow through on. A pro-active customer service representative anticipates the needs of the customer and follows through.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t wait for the customer to ask you what you are willing to do \u2013 anticipate the question and answer it before they can ask. If they call and say they aren\u2019t satisfied, apologize and immediately suggest some solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Customers want you to take the lead \u2013 acknowledge their unhappiness, offer a solution or solutions and explain to them how you are going to follow through. Pro-Active service means taking the lead, which will reassure your customers that you know what you are doing and that you will follow through.<\/p>\n<p>If you keep these six keys in mind \u2013 seamless service, trustworthiness,<br \/>\nattentiveness, resourcefulness ,courtesy and pro-active service \u2013 you will be able to offer every customer the &#8220;Wow&#8221; Customer Service Experience that inspires loyalty and keeps customers coming back for more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.customerservicetrainingskills.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Moment<\/a> is an innovative small business coach, customer service\u00a0consultant and author of \u201cInvisible Profits: The Power of Exceptional Customer Service\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are some of the key ingredients for putting the &#8220;wow&#8221; back into your customer&#8217;s experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"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\/519"}],"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\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26243,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions\/26243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}