Make Customer Support Service Better & Personalized with these Tricks

Providing customer care support services are not limited to conversing over phone with customers; it also involves answering emails, responding over live chats and social media. Companies rendering support services are under immense pressure to offer great services to its valued customers. It is because happy and loyal customers build brand reputation of the company with word-of-mouth communication in the most cost-effective manner.

Every one values personal and prompt customer services, tailored to individual’s needs. So, if you are looking for ways to make your customer support more customer-friendly and personalized, these tips will definitely help you. Even if you use one of the call center outsourcing companies, you should implement these in your customer support team.

Immediate Response is Must – Customers appreciate fast service. Even if you are not able to solve their queries promptly, reply to them instantly letting them know that you are working on their problem. Avoid sending auto-generated responses, as that just makes them feel that there is no real person working on their issue and they are just a case amongst many. Instead, notify them via quick 20 second personal email that induces confidence in them that you care and are indeed looking after their issue.

Talk like humans do, not robots – To reduce response time and to maintain consistency, lot of companies give their agent scripted responses. However, such ‘canned’ responses are overused and even abused. Agents use these responses without making any modifications irrespective of the situation, which makes customers feel like they are talking to a robot. Bring back the human element in customer service. Converse with your customers in a friendly, natural and personal tone. To add a personal touch in a conversation, you can even ask something not related to the issue– like about their job, health, etc. Address customers them by their names. You will see that your customers will respond positively and will talk to you in a similar way. This is one of the simplest methods to retain customers and spread a positive word about your brand.

Don’t assume, actively listen to what your customers have to say– Great service is not all about offering solution, it’s about offering complete and relevant solutions. For this, it is necessary to listen customers actively. It may happen that customers have multiple concerns and if agents do not listen and understand the whole issue, chances that your customers will receive satisfactory solutions are quite dim in one go. Secondly, never assume anything. If you are replying over technical matters, there are chances that you are dealing with non-tech customers. Likewise, don’t assume that your customers are naïve and know nothing. Both ways you risk sounding condescending and can antagonize your customers. Ask the right questions to gauge what they know and accordingly reply.

Explain Things in a way that customer understands – At times a verbal or written explanation is not enough. Getting frustrated with the customer is a perfect recipe to lose him. If the customer does not seem to follow what you are explaining, the onus lies on you to use different ways to convey until the customer understands. Use .gif, a link, a document, a skype call or whatever else is needed to explain. If telling them does not help, show them so that they understand.

Fulfill your Promises – Remain transparent with your customers that what you can do for them and what you cannot. For instance, if you promise them to revert within 24 hours, then make sure to do it on a priority basis. Similarly, if any product is not in the stock, admit it. Customers never mind if companies show them harsh reality but you will lose their trust and respect if principle of “over promise, under deliver” is followed.

Customer is Never at Fault – Always take onus of every mistake and never play the blame game with customers. Primarily, accept your mistake and try to fix it as soon as possible. Either refund the company or ask for exchange. Simultaneously, companies should seek customers’ opinion why they do not like it.

Respond Pro-actively – When a customer asks any query, you should step in their shoes and try to pre-empt the other questions that may have now or may arise later in their mind. So when you answer, don’t just give reply to the question that has been asked but proactively include information for the questions which you think will inevitably follow.

“Invite” before Exit- Before ending conversation with customers, do not forget to ask whether they have any other query or whether their query has been resolved completely or not. This gives an impression that you are not in the hurry to end the call and ready to devote more time to him/her if they are not satisfied with the services.

Delivering personal support services is one of the most challenging business journeys, but the rewards are quite satisfactory if right tactics followed. These tips are part of most of the training programs in customer service outsourcing companies. Hopefully, you will able to gain and retain more customers by incorporating these personal customer support interaction tips.