Customers will always want two things from a business they choose to do business with. The first is value for their money. This includes both actual and perceived value. The second is a good customer experience.
According to Ninetailed, customer experience is critical to 73% of all individuals when making purchasing decisions. However, just 49% of U.S. consumers believe businesses today deliver a good customer experience.
For a business that wants to keep its current customers and attract new ones, having a reputation for offering great customer service should be a priority. To do this, businesses need a set of important customer service goals to reach. These business goals focused on satisfying the customer will help enhance the business’s brand as well as help the business’s bottom line.
Make Customer Support Mobile-Friendly
It seems that the role of mobile devices in society is here to stay. It’s no wonder that 84% of companies that claim to be customer-centric are now focusing on the mobile customer experience. This statistic alone should encourage businesses to optimize their mobile customer service.
Adapting customer support to be mobile-friendly is essential in meeting the modern consumer’s expectations. With the increasing use of smartphones for virtually every aspect of daily life, customers demand seamless support experiences on their mobile devices.
By optimizing customer support for mobile use, businesses ensure that help is readily accessible, regardless of location or time. Providing support through mobile-optimized websites, apps, or even SMS can meet customers where they are most comfortable. As a result, a business increases the likelihood of customer engagement.
Mobile-friendly customer support can streamline the resolution process. Features like chatbots and AI-driven assistants can offer instant solutions for common problems, reducing wait times and freeing up human agents for more complex issues. This efficiency not only boosts customer satisfaction but also enhances operational efficiency.
Increase Your Self-Service Options and Automation
Along with being mobile-friendly, one of the other customer service goals businesses should shoot for is to add or increase self-service options and automation. People are engaged with their mobile devices more than ever. To add to that, according to an American Express survey, more than 60% of customers prefer digital self-service channels (website, mobile app, voice response system, and online chat). This means that more businesses will need to offer these options if they hope to capture and please their customers
Self-service options improve the customer experience by offering immediate assistance. Also, it allows customer service teams to focus on more complex issues that require human intervention. Automation, when implemented thoughtfully, can streamline repetitive tasks and processes. This will often lead to faster resolutions and a more efficient use of resources.
Improve Customer Feedback Participation
Enhancing participation in customer feedback mechanisms is essential for businesses seeking to continuously improve their service offerings. Feedback provides invaluable insights into customer needs, preferences, and pain points, guiding the development of more effective and efficient service strategies.
Encouraging feedback can be achieved through various means. For example, a business could simplify the feedback process. They can also do things like offer incentives for participation. Also, they may try to actively engage with customers across multiple channels.
By demonstrating a genuine commitment to valuing and acting on customer feedback, businesses can foster a positive relationship with their clientele. Ultimately, this should lead to improved service standards and increased customer loyalty.
Implement an Omnichannel Strategy
Implementing an omnichannel strategy means integrating different communication methods. This includes physical stores, online platforms, social media, mobile apps, and more. The reason to do this is to offer a unified brand experience. Businesses need to make sure that their customers have a way to get the help they need by whichever method they prefer.
With so many options for businesses, it may be tempting and more convenient to focus on the technology options. However, phone customer support seems to be making a strong comeback. According to Forrester, 87% of companies reported an increase in phone conversion rates in the past 12 months. Not only that, a study has shown that more than 76% of all consumers prefer the traditional medium of phone calls to reach customer support representatives.
It is unclear why the number of customers preferring phone support is increasing. However, businesses need to make this option available for their customers if they want to increase their overall customer satisfaction.
By providing multiple channels for customer service, businesses can reduce bottlenecks and improve resolution times. Customers can choose the most convenient way to reach out for support, whether it’s through live chat, email, phone, or social media, leading to a more efficient and satisfying service experience.
Furthermore, an omnichannel strategy positions businesses to adapt to changing customer behaviors and technological advancements. As new platforms and communication methods emerge, businesses can easily integrate these into their existing customer service framework. As a result, they will be able to stay ahead of the curve and competitors.
Improve How You Measure Customer Service
Improving the measurement of customer service is critical for understanding performance and identifying areas for enhancement. Traditional metrics such as average handling time and first call resolution are important. However, adding customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Effort Score (CES) can provide a more comprehensive picture of service quality.
Customer satisfaction scores measure how products or services meet or surpass customer expectations. Net Promoter Score (NPS) gauges customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend a company to others. From there, the responses are categorized into promoters, passives, and detractors. Customer Effort Score (CES) assesses the ease of customer interaction with a company. It does this by asking how much effort was required to use a product or service. The point is to understand the directness and simplicity of customer experiences.
All three metrics provide insights into different aspects of customer relationships. Advanced analytics and customer feedback tools can also uncover deeper insights into the customer experience. They can highlight specific aspects that drive satisfaction or dissatisfaction. By diversifying and refining how customer service is measured, businesses can more accurately assess their performance and implement targeted improvements.
Keep Customer Service Scores Above 75%
Once you have implemented different measuring methods into your business, setting an overall customer service score (CSAT) of 75% is a great goal to focus on.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a measure used to gauge the satisfaction levels of a company’s products, services, or experiences from the customer’s perspective. It is a key performance indicator (KPI) that businesses use to understand customer satisfaction and to identify areas for improvement. Here are a few ways CSAT is typically measured:
- Survey with Question(s): This is the most common method of measuring CSAT. With this method, surveys ask customers to rate their satisfaction with a product, service, or experience. These surveys often include one key question along the lines of: “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the [product/service] you received?” Surveys may also include additional questions to gather more detailed feedback.
- Rating Scale: Customers are asked to provide their satisfaction levels using a predefined scale. This scale might be numerical (e.g., 1 to 5, where 1 is “very unsatisfied” and 5 is “very satisfied”) or descriptive (e.g., using terms like “Very Unsatisfied,” “Unsatisfied,” “Neutral,” “Satisfied,” and “Very Satisfied”). Some surveys use a binary scale (e.g., Yes/No, Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down) for simplicity.
- Calculation: The CSAT score is calculated by taking the sum of positive responses (e.g., those selecting “Satisfied” and “Very Satisfied”) and dividing it by the total number of responses, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. The formula looks like this:
- CSAT Score=(Number of Satisfied Customers (4 and 5 on a 5-point scale)Total Number of Responses)×100CSAT Score=(Total Number of ResponsesNumber of Satisfied Customers (4 and 5 on a 5-point scale))×100
Keeping a score above 75% would indicate that your business is doing a good job at meeting customer expectations when it comes to customer service.
Reduce Cost Per Contact
In the realm of customer service, reducing the cost per contact is a paramount goal for businesses aiming to optimize their support operations while maintaining high satisfaction levels. This objective involves streamlining processes, leveraging technology, and training customer service representatives to handle inquiries more efficiently.
By analyzing data to identify common issues and implementing solutions such as better training programs or more intuitive self-service tools, companies can significantly lower the amount of time and resources spent on each customer interaction.
Additionally, investing in omnichannel support, as we mentioned earlier, can help businesses manage contacts more effectively across various platforms. This will also reduce costs by minimizing redundancies and improving resolution times.
Improve First Response Time and Average Resolution Time
Shortening resolution time is a direct approach to enhancing customer satisfaction. This goal can be achieved by improving knowledge management among customer service teams. Implementing more sophisticated diagnostic tools and technologies can also help in identifying and resolving issues faster.
If you are new to the concept there are two types of resolution times you should be aware of, Average Handle Time (AHT) and First Resolution Time (FRT). These performance indicators are used in customer service that measure the average duration of a single transaction from the moment a customer initiates contact with a service representative to the conclusion of that interaction. Average Handle Time includes hold time, talk time, and related tasks.
First Resolution Time, on the other hand, refers to the average time it takes for a customer’s issue to be resolved on the first interaction. First Time refers to resolution without the need for any follow-up or escalation.
While customer resolution times vary greatly by industry. However here are some of the average AHT and FRT by some common sectors:
- Delivery: 4.45 minutes AHT | 10.2 hours FRT
- Marketplace: 7.5 minutes AHT | 106.8 hours FRT
- Retail: 6.25 minutes AHT | 9.15 hours FRT
- Services: 8.7 minutes AHT | 22.2 hours FRT
For resolutions that require a longer follow-up such as email or technical issues, resolution times are usually longer. They can be anywhere from 2 to 24 hours.
Create a Customer Loyalty Program
Creating a customer loyalty program is an effective strategy to reward repeat customers and encourage continued business. Programs can be designed to offer exclusive benefits or discounts. They can also offer rewards based on customer interactions and purchases. Many customers will appreciate these perks which often enhance their view of the business’s customer service.
Loyalty programs only incentivize repeat business. Also, they offer important data on customer preferences and behavior. This information can be used to offer personalized marketing and service improvements. By recognizing and rewarding loyal customers, businesses can foster a sense of belonging and appreciation.
Train Team to Handle More Complex Issues
Training the team to handle more complex issues is essential for delivering high-quality customer service. This is especially true as products and services are becoming more sophisticated. Advanced training programs should cover technical knowledge, problem-solving techniques, and emotional intelligence. It is important to equip representatives with the skills necessary to address challenging situations.
This kind of training makes sure that customer service teams can provide accurate, empathetic, and efficient support. These are some of the things customers value and judge their interactions by.
Also read:
How to Set More Achievable Goals
5 Key Goals for Operations Managers
