As the first month of 2014 comes to a close, many businesses are taking steps to integrate customer service tips into their existing procedures. If you're at a loss about where to start, consider the choices you're offering customers. By narrowing down the options, you can streamline service sessions and reduce frustration on both sides.
Customer service professionals sometimes encounter customers who are angry, frustrated, upset, or downright livid. In an emotionally charged situation, having too many choices can irritate a customer even more. To avoid overwhelming your customers, one of the most useful customer service tips is to limit the number of available options. In doing so, you can make it easier for customers to make decisions.
When you're embroiled in a tense customer service system, coming up with choices that are useful and helpful can be difficult. The first step in implementing choice-related customer service tips into your business is creating a solid customer service policy. Your policy should guide customer service agents through each of your most common service calls and give them the best choices for the situation. If you frequently get calls from customers who need to return products, for example, you might direct your agents to offer refunds or store credit. Your customer service policy should lay out the options for agents so that they can present them quickly to customers during a call.
In the age of the Internet, many businesses are turning to online self-service systems that help customers find answers for themselves. If your company is implementing this kind of system, following customer service tips about limiting choices is even more crucial. Internet users are accustomed to making rapid progress as they browse through websites and follow links; if you make your system too complicated, you risk losing their interest.
When you send customers through an online service system, covering every potential issue is impossible, so paring down the options can be a challenge. Most online systems involve multiple stages, during which you can offer selections from drop-down menus or lists. The most effective customer service tips advise you to offer the most common solutions at each step of the process; that way, your customers will feel supported but not overwhelmed. Then, to cover other issues, include options, such as "Other" or "My problem is not on this list." That way, customers can move through the system quickly. According to Inbenta, your online system should also include a knowledge base with the answers to the most common customer questions.
Whether you're finding ways to integrate customer service tips into your existing service plan or developing a new system, choices should be a key focus. By offering a limited number of useful choices, you can help customers make fast, effective decisions.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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