Sinead Campbell of London Flats Insurance looks at the importance of delivering exceptional customer service.
We all value great customer service in our own dealings with organisations and service providers, but how much thought do most businesses put into the service they provide for their own customers?
Delivering exceptional customer service is supposedly at the top of many a list, but we’ll be digging a little deeper into what it takes to provide the best service possible and why that’s so vital in today’s market.
Why Is Customer Service So Important?
In a flooded marketplace with so many options available at similar price points, consumers often use customer service as a benchmark for narrowing down their options. They’ll ask friends and family for recommendations, check reviews online and look at your website for an idea of how friendly, helpful and approachable your brand is.
If you make it clear that customer service is a priority for you then you may make the shortlist. In fact, Dimension Data report that “84% of organisations working to improve customer service report an increase in revenue”.
Fantastic service also helps you retain the customers you already have- and we all know it’s far more expensive to onboard new customers than it is to hold on to the ones you have. It makes simple business sense.
In a world where word of mouth is king and your Google Reviews can make you sink or swim, it makes sense to put customer service at the very top of your list and to actually work by those values.
So, what makes for great customer service in this modern world?
Speed is of the Essence
Take this with a pinch of salt and remember the old adage; ‘less haste, more speed’. When we say that speed is important, we mean in terms of your initial acknowledgement of the issue and then accurately managing your customers’ expectations.
With emails, keep your initial response times low- even if that means replying to messages with a well-written, automated response that details an SLA. As long as your customer knows their correspondence has been received and they have a reasonable timeframe in which to expect a proper response, all should be well.
If your customers are coming to you via phone, keeping waiting times to a minimum is a must. Use a phone system that tells the caller where they are in the queue or how long to expect to wait- and choose the hold music wisely too!
According to Comm100, “only 35% of customers are willing to wait 30-60 seconds for a response on live chat”…we live in a fast-paced world and your customer service avenues should be designed with that in mind.
Promote Self-Help
This hits on the need for speed but also, many customers would prefer to head online or to an app to trouble-shoot an issue themselves without the need to speak to a soul.
It’s important that this is made possible wherever you can, for example, by creating in-depth FAQ sections, keeping sites updated about any current IT issues you’re having and how long you expect them to take to be rectified or by providing a great live chat service.
If your customers can find the answer to their question online then they won’t need to take up valuable resources (theirs and yours) by calling or emailing in.
Knowledge is Power
Knowing your industry and products back to front is paramount. Your customers don’t want to go through the hoops of getting in touch, only to speak to someone who can’t help them. They want to get through to the oracle that is going to solve their problems and then send them on their way- so you and your team better know your stuff.
Attitude is Everything
If you think back to any great customer service experiences you’ve had in the past, you probably can’t remember the details of the issue you were having or how long you sat on hold waiting to speak to someone, but you can probably remember the likability of the person you spoke to.
Even if the problem is really tricky and possibly can’t be solved there and then, a positive, friendly and helpful approach will soothe most people. If your customer service team is made up of positive problem-solvers, you’re on to a winner.
Your customers need to feel that you want to help- it’s vital that that comes across in all communications, regardless of the eventual outcome.
According to Zendesk, friendliness is valued almost as highly as speed of service: “Speed of response (89%), speed of resolution (89%), and friendliness of representative (82%) are seen as the most important aspects of the customer service experience, regardless of channel.”
Promises Should be Upheld
For the sake of not only the particular client relationship in question, but for all the damage they could do by word of mouth or reviews, always stick to your word.
If you say you’re going to call back, call back. If you say the refund will be processed today, make sure it’s processed today. You should never be in a situation where a customer is chasing you to do something that was promised in a previous conversation. If you are, the battle is already lost regardless of the eventual outcome.
Treat People as You’d Like to be Treated
Ultimately, customers want to be treated as people, not numbers on a screen or tickets in a queue. Without your customers, your business doesn’t exist, so they should be put on a pedestal and treated with the same respect and care that you would like to be treated with in your own dealings with companies and service providers.
Allow your customer service reps to take their time in speaking to people and don’t discourage ‘small talk’. If it’s appropriate, a bit of chit chat can humanise the process and provide clues as to the source of the issue and diffuse complaint situations- especially when it comes to very angry customers.
Our Top Tips and How We Put Our Customers First
Our top tips for providing genuinely outstanding customer service are:
- Accept and act of any constructive feedback you receive
- Go the extra mile wherever possible (including re-directing customers to another provider if you can’t provide a solution- they may well come back to you in the future and recommend you to others)
- Utilise technology to provide fast, efficient customer service avenues
- Make your customers the priority in all decisions
London Flats Insurance offer bespoke insurance policies which put our customers first. Our team are all specialists, so you can be sure that we know what we’re doing and will always have you covered, no matter what.
Our policies offer:
- 24-hour claims line in case of emergency
- All our insurance policies and products are underwritten by the most reliable A-rated insurance companies in the UK
- Whilst our products are of the highest quality, we have also worked hard to ensure our prices are still the most competitive on the market
- Our team is comprised of insurance specialists who are professional, friendly and will go above and beyond to ensure you are satisfied with our services
We invest a lot of time in ensuring our services are something to be proud of, and we think that starts with you. The happiness of our customers is paramount to how we measure our own success- which is why we work so hard to make sure you’re happy.
For more information, please speak to a member of the team on 020 7993 3034, email info@londonflatsinsurance.co.uk or request a quote online.