When It Comes To Service, Your Customers Have a Long Memory
If you have been keeping up with our blog, by now you are well aware of the impact that customer interactions have on business. In this same vein, you know that top-of-line quality of customer service is critical for improving customer retention, which in turn has profound power over your company’s bottom line.
According to a recent survey conducted by Zendesk and Dimensional research, a stunning 39 percent of consumers will avoid a vendor for two or more years after a bad customer experience. Meanwhile, 55 percent will simply switch to a different product or company following a negative interaction. This same study also reveals that consumers are far more likely to share experiences than they were even five years ago when things go awry with a brand.
What these numbers boil down to is that customers are likely to remember how they were treated by your organization—and for longer than you expect. Here are three ways you can avoid becoming a bad memory:
Real-time interaction
Nothing makes a customer happier than getting quick answers to pressing problems. On the flip side, it’s why obscenely long on-hold times are always frustrating and why customers continually press zero in the IVR menu. Today’s technology makes it possible for customers to visit a company’s website, chat digitally or even request a call back from a representative so that questions are answered quickly: bottom line. Skills-based routing, for example, ensures that complex calls are received by the Communicator best equipped to handle that particular inquiry. Getting the most seasoned agents on the most difficult calls helps boost first-call resolution rates and, consequently, customer satisfaction.
Customized CRM
Customer service representatives spend a sizeable amount of their day seeking information needed to effectively manage customer interactions, according to a recent Aberdeen report. That is precious time that can be reclaimed, however, with the right CRM solution. Comprehensive customer profiles and customized scripting that pop on screen as soon as an inbound call number is recognized allow Communicators to skip the tedious and irksome process of asking the customer for personal information and move right into providing personalized customized service.
Quality assurance
Like anything else, call center processes need a regular checkup. Program supervisors that conduct skills assessments each month and independent quality assurance teams that remotely monitor representatives are two ways that managers can ensure that their facilities are embracing constant improvement. To help foster this, supervisors can engage in training exercises with Communicators. For example, a supervisor can play the role of a caller during a mock interaction to give a Communicator a more realistic idea of what a live customer call will actually feel like, from the simplest to the most complicated scenario.
Rather than biting your fingernails at the realization that consumers today have the memory of an elephant when it comes to customer service, take it as a grand opportunity to distinguish your brand. After all, customers remember outstanding service just as they do poor interactions. In fact, 52 percent of customers are more likely to repurchase from a business following a good experience, according to Zendesk.
We all want a strong reputation, in life and in business. By taking advantage of the many solutions at your company’s disposal, you can be certain your brand will be remembered – for all the right reasons.