A male and female office worker reviewing a customer service strategy.

The Essential Guide to Building a Customer Service Strategy

Top-notch customer service is essential for any business. Without an excellent customer service strategy, any business can go under. If you are a business owner, marketing manager, marketing expert, VoIP provider, or other professional looking for customer service strategy tips, this essential guide is just what you need. This guide is going to help you make the best customer service improvement strategies starting today.

Create a fantastic On-Hold Message

One of the first experiences that customers often have with a business is being put on hold. This makes many customers angry. Why is that? Think about the current on-hold message or on-hold music your company has at this time. Think about the on-hold responses you often receive when you call other businesses. Most of the time it is annoying and frustrating.

It is important for your customer service management strategy to have an engaging and informative on-hold message. If customers call in and get frustrated with the on-hold message or music, they are more likely to hang up. Some customers may not buy from your business again if they receive an on-hold response they don’t like.

There are many on-hold messages that connect with customers. Some of these include the following:

  • “We are sorry for the delay.”
  • “Please continue to hold and we will be with you shortly.”
  • “Thank you for your patience. We will be with you shortly.”

Another option could be to say in the on-hold message how many more callers are before that person. This way, the customer knows that your company is making progress in answering the calls.

The music that you have on your on-hold calls should be appropriate for the majority of your target callers. It should not be offensive or aggressive. Sometimes, laid-back or dance music is a good option.

Positive Language is a Must

When looking for strategies to improve customer service quality, positive language is essential. The way that the employees at your company speak to customers when answering phone calls can significantly affect how customers perceive your business.

If you or another employee is talking in a negative tone, this can really offset the entire tone of the conversation. However, if you or another employee is using positive language, this can grab your customer’s attention and make them want to continue buying from your company.

Take a moment to look at the difference here:

  • Negative Language – “That product won’t get here until next month. It is on back-order and we don’t have it in stock yet. You will have to wait and call us back next month.”
  • Positive Language – “ That product is available next month. I can put your order in for you today. This way the product can be shipped out to you as soon as we get it in.”

You see the difference here. The language that is used when talking to customers who call into your business can make or break a sale. It is important that everyone at your company is trained to use positive language when talking to customers.

Use the Jollibee Customer Service Strategy

Jollibee is a multinational Filipino-based fast food chain. If you want to know how to build a customer service strategy, you may want to follow their lead.

According to Jollibee, their growth was attributed to their constant attention to piloting, testing, and innovation in the area of customer service. In addition, one of the aspects of evaluation of the Jollibee employees was customer service.

All business owners, marketing managers, marketing experts, VoIP providers, and other professionals should look into the Jollibee customer service strategy. They can learn some excellent ideas and tips on how to develop a robust customer service strategy.

Getting Feedback

Another very important aspect of customer service is the feedback that a business receives from their customers. A business shouldn’t just leave it up to the customers to leave a review online after buying the product. Obtaining feedback from customers should be an essential part of any customer service strategy plan. In fact, it can be beneficial to get feedback during customer calls, when making follow-up phone calls, and at other times, as well.

If your employees are finished having a phone call with a customer, it would be a good idea to set up a short customer service satisfaction survey. This way, your employee and the business will be able to track – in real time – how things are going with customers. For instance, if there is something a customer didn’t like about the way a phone call was handled, this can be put into a plan to address sooner rather than later. Once it is addressed, other customers won’t have to deal with that particular issue.

Give Out Discounts

Have you ever considered giving out discounts or deals to customers that call to talk to customer service representatives? You see, some business professionals think that customers are calling to complain. Sure, some customers might get a little angry at times. However, you can use that as an incentive to improve your business. For example, if a customer is upset about not getting a product on time, you can offer them a discount on their next order for being so patient (yes, even if they aren’t being that patient). This might be one of the successful customer service strategies that gives your company a one-up on the competition.

Conclusion

If you are a business owner, marketing manager, marketing expert, VoIP provider, or other professional who is looking to amp up your customer service, hopefully, this guide has helped you. These are are some sound and practical customer service strategies that can be implemented in most industries. Now that you know how to implement renewed customer service strategies, you can boost your customer service ratings starting today!

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