Thursday 9 July 2015

Ways to prevent poor customer service

Distinguishing how much is being lost due to poor customer service is difficult.
The loss a business receives because of the negative impacts of a poor customer can vary, as each customer is different.
However, if a customer does have any complaints about your business they can share their concerns online, along with their complaints. Customers can now resort to Facebook and Twitter to share their poor customer service experience, occasionally their good experiences also.
The sharing of good experiences is extremely beneficial for any business, it matters to the repeat business, to the brand loyalty and to the bottom line.
However, any bad customer experience that leads to the loss of a customer could also mean a business loses new customers they may have referred the business to doing damage to your reputation.
When seeking solutions to fix the problem, there first needs to be an understanding of some of the causes: poor processes, poor communication, lack of attention for the customers' needs.
- poor processes
- poor communication
- lack of attention (or caring) for customers' needs.
Then a business must ask themselves these questions in order to best prevent any poor customer service:
Do we know what we're doing? - A business team should be fully equipped to resolve any customer issues that may arise. Employees should be trained on how excellent customer service should be given, as well as the processes that may need to be followed to resolve any customer service related issues.
Are we communicating effectively? - Following the code: 'Ask, listen, deliver,' a business might want to ask themselves if they do that. Customers that are complaining mainly want to be listened to, only asking for time and the patience to deal with the situation.
Good communication is imperative to good customer service and essentially increased brand loyalty.
Are we responsive? - Customers are likely to move on to another service if the response isn't quick enough to an inquiry. Ensure that customers who enquire to the business are seen to with 24 hours after the enquiry, also, make sure that your company has the correct processes to respond to and satisfy various types of customers.
Please visit our website if you have received any good or bad experience and would like to share it!

Wednesday 15 April 2015

70% of UK consumers won’t forgive bad customer service

A survey by telecom giant 02 has shown that 70% of people will not forgive a business following a bad customer service experience.  However, perhaps more importantly, it also revealed that two thirds of consumers will share their experiences with an average of eight friends and members of family, the snowball effect can be unforgiving.
The study showed that British consumers truly value the importance of quality communication, 71% expecting to reach companies quickly and easily, while 20% felt they should be able to contact a company via email 24 hours a day.
It's sometimes overlooked that customers should be at the heart of any business. As the research shows, customer service and the ability to respond and be flexible is a key requirement for small businesses.
Increasing numbers of customers are now selecting companies based on their online presence. Almost two thirds of consumers feel that small businesses with online and social media presences are up-to-date and forward-thinking, while 46% feel that they are customer-focused.
If you as a consumer have had a experiences, good or bad, we want to hear.  We provide a platform to air your views publicly.