For the majority of people, great customer service means quick, easy, efficient, personalised and convenient. This is backed up by the results of our customer care survey of 5,000 global consumers.
What does good customer service look like?
When asked what good customer service and experience looked like, consumers ranked the following in order of importance:
- Quick response – the faster, the better. In fact, 38% of consumers expect a response within 3-5 hours.
- Positive attitude – a customer service representative who is willing to help is always appreciated.
- Convenient experience – the more ways the customer can reach out, the better.
- Quick, efficient resolution – not only does it please the customer if their issue is resolved, but if it’s resolved quickly, they’re even happier!
- Support available 24/7 – if customers need help, they need help now.
What frustrates customers?
If the above list is what great customer service looks like, what does it not look like?
Here’s what ranked highest in terms of frustrating customers the most:
- Unhelpful reps – if the issue isn’t resolved or the outcome isn’t satisfactory, customers are left disappointed.
- Businesses taking too long to respond – mirroring the top contributing factor for a great customer experience, taking too long to respond really frustrates customers.
- Going around in circles – customers don’t appreciate having to repeat themselves or being transferred from department to department.
- Chat sessions timing out – whether this is via live chat or a chatbot, customers get irritated if they can’t resolve their issues before the system times out and the process needs to be repeated.
- Being treated like a ticket or a number – your customers want to be treated like human beings, not another ticket or case that needs to be resolved.
How to create and deliver great customer service
It’s clear what customers want and what they don’t want, but how can you meet and exceed these expectations? Here are some simple ways to elevate your customer service.
Be proactive
Proactively offering additional value can be easily managed with automated messages which are sent to customers when they’ve purchased a product or service.
For example, you could send follow-up information on product care, next steps, a video tutorial, or answer FAQs. This can be sent through multiple channels including:
You may opt to choose one or a combination of channels as part of a multichannel strategy, to reach out to customers after a purchase.
Read next: SMS for customer service: Best practices and message templates
Increase self-service options
Part of assisting the customer isn’t just about providing solutions but guiding them with the right tools they need to solve their own problems in the future. This can help your customers become less dependent on your support team, freeing your reps up to focus on more complex projects.
From a knowledge base to a community forum or even a chatbot, these options can also help you offer support 24/7 – without having to allocate human resources.
Embrace technology
While technology requires an initial investment, it reduces resource time and allows staff to focus on more complex cases. Offering a range of communication channels is your first step. For example, live chat or two-way chats via SMS or WhatsApp can connect customers with agents almost instantly. A chatbot can handle queries round-the-clock.
Your next step is bringing all of that together to create an omnichannel experience. So, even if your customers start their journey on one channel and finish on another, their experience remains seamless and consistent.
Is your business equipped to deliver great customer service?
Customer service expectations are at an all-time high. Today’s consumers are looking for quick responses to their queries and efficient resolution from helpful customer service reps. They also expect to be able to choose from a range of ways to connect with a business. Yet globally, there are still 15% of businesses that offer just one method of communication.
These are just a few of the statistics we found from our global customer care survey. Dive deeper by downloading the report below.
Laura Haynes
Hey I'm Laura, UK&I Marketing Manager at Esendex 👋 I enjoy developing and implementing marketing strategies and campaign experiences that create brand awareness and drive revenue by winning, growing and retaining engaged customers.
