If you run a business, you’d know that your customers are the lifeblood of your organization. After all, they’re the ones bringing in the money by purchasing your products and services. Therefore, you need to do all you can to encourage them to return and patronize your brand. It’d be even better if they’d tell their friends about their positive experience with your company.
With this in mind, you should focus on increasing satisfaction through excellent customer service. This factor is used by a majority of Americans in choosing to do business with a particular brand or not. (1)
One of the key ways to accomplish this goal is through effective communication. Whether you’re reaching out to prospects or your existing clients are trying to contact you for their inquiries, you have to implement processes that’ll make communicating with them more efficient.
Here are some communication strategies that can help you increase customer satisfaction for your brand:
Maximize tools for efficiency and accuracy
These days, operating a business has become more convenient for entrepreneurs because of technology. Various tools have been created to automate almost all tasks involved in running a company, from customer relationship management programs to collaboration apps to promote internal communication.
Moreover, these tools are also specifically developed to cater to a particular industry’s needs and demands. For instance, if you have a field service company, you should look for lawn business software that can help you organize your operations and improve efficiency as well as accuracy. The program must be designed in a way that addresses the common pain points that are encountered by both consumers and business owners.
Invest in multiple communication channels
Choosing which type of communication channel to use for your business can also be confusing to you, and adopting a new one may initially take some time getting familiar with. The best way to go about doing this is to understand the needs and preferences of your target demographic and base your decision on the data that you gather.
As such, these are the top communication channels that most consumers prefer:
- Webchat: In this day and age where people are conditioned to receive information instantaneously, human-powered webchat has become one of the best communication channels for businesses. It allows you to give detailed and personalized service to your clients. You can also incorporate chatbots to offer 24/7 service, which is valuable if you have a global audience.
- Messenger apps: You can also utilize this type of app to reach out to your target audience. They’re convenient, quick, and they enable you to monitor when messages are delivered and read by the recipients.
- Social media: Posts, comments, and tweets are valuable in engaging with potential customers. It can help you establish your brand’s voice and communicate with consumers with that style.
- Email: Email isn’t going away anytime soon. The communication mode lets you deliver personalized marketing messages to existing clients and prospects. It’s also versatile since you can use it for disseminating updates on your company or customer support.
- Hotline: Just like emails, traditional phone calls are still valuable for communication between consumers and brands. It’s frequently used in allowing customers to contact the company if they have inquiries, issues, or feedback on a product or service. (2)
Foster proactive service in your company
Consumers have become disillusioned with the process of complaining about their experience with a brand. This is because resolution always seems to take so long, sometimes even to the point that the customer has given up on it.
To avoid frustrating your clients, you should promote a proactive approach when dealing with concerns about your products and services. For instance, you can use chatbots or a mobile app to provide a self-service kiosk to empower customers with the tools and information they need to resolve the issue themselves. Then when they still can’t find a way to solve the problem, you can have a representative contact them for better support.
Hone your employees’ communication skills
Your representatives must have the skills and knowledge to assist your clients effectively and efficiently. You can conduct training to equip them with technical information that’s specific to your company.
On the other hand, they should also have the following customer communication skills:
- Full attention: To be able to understand the root of the consumer’s issue, your representatives need to listen or read the concerns intently. This way, they can figure out the best way to resolve the problem. As much as possible, avoid interrupting the customer while they’re talking or typing so that your employees can see the full picture.
- Personal touch: Something as simple as using the client’s first name when addressing them can lend a personal touch to the conversation. Teach your representatives to make the person on the other end at ease to earn their trust.
- Positive scripting: Make sure to keep the tone light and positive when communicating with consumers. Adopt a resolution mindset. Rather than dwelling on the problem or having the customer relive a horrible experience with the products or service, your representatives should focus on how to make the ordeal better for the client.
- Empathy: You have to let customers know that you understand the frustration or helplessness that they feel. Your employees must be able to put themselves in the client’s shoes so they can view the situation from the latter’s perspective.
- Simplicity: Avoid using jargon that might not be easily understood by the customer. For your suggested solution to be effective, your representatives must have sufficient technical knowledge to be able to explain complex terms and processes in a straightforward manner.
Monitor your communication metrics regularly
Analytics is crucial in any business because the process provides you with substantial data to make smart decisions. Similarly, you can track your communication metrics to develop effective strategies and see areas where you can implement improvements. It can also help you evaluate your team’s performance and, ultimately, improve customer interactions. (3)
Here are the top three metrics that you should track:
- First response time: This measures the number of minutes or hours that have passed before a customer receives a response from your customer service team. Ideally, it should be kept in the lowest possible time through proactive measures.
- Average resolution time: It refers to the total time that a representative takes before an issue has been resolved. It’s calculated by dividing the number of tickets catered to by the number of hours in a given period.
- Customer satisfaction: To measure customer satisfaction, you can ask your clients to rate their experience after interacting with your representatives. It can be as simple as using numbers to represent their happiness with your service.
Conclusion
Keeping your customers happy is crucial if you want your business to prosper. One of the best ways to go about this is through effective communication. Make sure to invest in the proper tools and channels that can meet your clients’ needs and preferences.
Invest in your people and equip them with the technical knowledge and right communication skills. This way, they can help you be proactive about customer service. Lastly, make sure that you monitor communication metrics, such as first response time, average resolution time, and customer satisfaction.
References
- “Global State of Customer Service,” Source: https://clouddamcdnprodep.azureedge.net/gdc/gdcPiLLQw/original?ocid=mkto_eml_EM582302A1LA1
- “12 Customer Contact Channels & Their Key Benefits,” Source: https://gettalkative.com/info/12-types-of-customer-contact-channels-and-their-key-benefits
“8 Effective Strategies for Customer Service Communication,” Source: https://www.revechat.com/blog/effective-customer-service-communication/
