Sometimes life gives you lemons. It happens to you personally and it will happen with your business too. From the small issues like late delivery of a customer's order to the big ones like a product recall that threatens the bottom line, the trick to handling lemons is learning to make them into lemonade. Here are some examples of companies who turned lemons into lemonade and some tips for how to do it yourself.
The eternal argument: should companies outsource customer service? The truth is, it depends. There are a number of factors that go into deciding whether or not to outsource your company's contact center. Let's take a look at both sides.
Is your company's customer service department stuck in the mantra that negative feedback should be swept under the rug and kept silent? Negative customer feedback can be a death knell in today's world of intense competition, social media and instant virtual report cards, but it doesn't have to be!
In Giva's recent Customer Think article "Why Encourage Negative Feedback to Make Customers "Sticky"?' learn how to embrace negative feedback and turn your customers into a massive marketing force. This guide details how to make the best out of unfavorable responses to keep your customers coming back every time!
Service level is an important KPI in a call center. Basically, service level is defined as the percentage of calls answered within a specified number of seconds. A common example is 80% of calls answered within 30 seconds. This is sometimes considered an industry standard, but customer service is about more than just a speedy response. Let's take a look at some of the other factors involved in setting service level goals.
If your business requires working with an eHealthRecord (EHR), consider investing in some change management software to help out your IT department. Having a change management module as part of your help desk will make it easy for employees to put in a Request for Change (RFC) for the eHealthRecord. Change management has many benefits for any IT department.
Sometimes it is necessary to apologize. Apologies usually come after a mistake has been made. The idea of acknowledging that there is something to apologize for is off-putting to many businesses, but the fact is, mistakes sometimes happen. Whenever your company is dealing with customers who would like an issue addressed or have a complaint to make, an apology is a good place to start.
Is it time to choose help desk software for your business? In a recent InformationAge article, Giva offers advice on selecting the right help desk software in "How to Choose the Right Help Desk Software: a Step-by-Step Guide."
Choosing the right help desk software takes a significant amount of time and thought. Figuring out what your company needs to provide customers with the best possible service should be a team effort. Giva's article helps your company choose a help desk software that will meet the needs of everyone in your business.
Effective knowledge management (KM) is essential to almost any business. Regardless of its size or subject matter, a company should use the knowledge it possesses in the most effective way possible. Techopedia gives a detailed definition of KM here, but essentially KM is about sharing information and applying it to situations. KM helps to create a sort of "knowledge network" so that when someone does not know something, they have an easy way to find an answer. Here are some reasons why KM is important for businesses:
If you have worked in any kind of customer service position, chances are you have heard the phrase, "The customer is always right," from those in management positions above you, who hoped to instill some sense of diplomacy within you during your often rushed training sessions. What these managers often fail to explain (but we all very well know) is that the customer is not always right, but in most cases, you should make them feel that you understand their complaints and will take everything they say into consideration in order to make their future customer service experience better. Focusing on customer retention and satisfaction will build a better brand for the company through everyday subtle marketing and results. You want to gain a reputation for excellence and accountability when things go wrong. There are two important ways to do this—diplomacy and accountability, which both go hand in hand, and survey and application, which are two of a kind.
It's over. You hang up the phone, close the chat window, log out of social media. Finally, after endless waiting and going back and forth, your customer service issue is resolved. Your computer now works again, your money is being refunded, or some kind of resolution has been reached. After a minute, that relief wears off and it registers just how terrible the whole experience was.
It shouldn't be that way. While there is a lot of information available on how businesses can improve their customer service, here is some information about what consumers can do when they have experienced poor customer service.
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