Good customer service links a company to success. Providing it consistently will build your company’s reputation, keep your customers happy and increase your chance for referrals.
Good customer service must go beyond what business owners do during their work hours. It is equally important to implement it in every department of your company from customer call-center representatives, to sales staff, to those dealing with complaints, according to CarGuard Trevor Smith.
The goal is to eliminate the need for you to deal with customer complaints because one of your employees has already handled them. That is high-quality customer service.
What Good Customer Service Does for Your Business?
Polls prove that good customer service is the lifeblood of a business. Customer satisfaction polls state that 73 percent of those in the United States make customer service part of their purchasing decisions. Customer surveys show that 66 percent of customers think their time is the most important aspect of a customer service experience.
Fifty-nine percent say they will walk away after several bad experiences even if they love the product or company. Another 32 percent of U.S. consumers said they would stop using a brand they love after just one bad experience.
Another 17 percent said they would stop patronizing the business or buying the product after just one bad experience.
On the flip side, 77 percent of consumers said they would recommend a company to others after having a positive experience. It is shown that happy customers are more prone to upgrade if they have great customer service experiences.
Four Tips for Good Customer Service
High-quality customer service skills don’t just happen. They are developed by understanding your customers’ needs and wants. Good customer service ultimately puts your customers’ needs above your profits. Here are four customer service tips that always put you on the right course.
- Know your product and where it is: This is one of the top complaints of customers doing retail shopping. It is truly an awful experience when a retail person can’t answer questions about a product, point you to the right product, or even tell you where the product is.
Remember, this kind of interaction is the first impression a customer gets of your shop. Make sure it is positive.
- Listen to your customers: One of the ongoing problems of dealing with customers is a worker tuning them out. Behind any concern, complaint or emotion is a real issue. Don’t let the complaint or emotion get in the way of resolving the problem.
- Look for a way around: Many people in the lower end of customer service, particularly those in call centers, provide scripted answers and nothing more. They insist they can do nothing and a supervisor isn’t available.
Something can always be done, but sometimes you have to look outside the box for solutions.
- Respond fast: Time is money. Customers who must wait forever on hold or for a return call will take their future business to someone else. Most people will do business with the first person who returns their calls because it’s a sign you want to provide good customer service.
An Example of Good Customer Service
CarGuard Trevor Smith, who heads a company offering vehicle protection plans, said servant leadership is the key to implementing a solid foundation for customer service. He also believes it’s the executive that sets this standard for the rest of the staff.
As a top executive, Carguard Trevor Smith knows that customer service is crucial to the vehicle protection plan business. His job, as CarGuard Trevor Smith sees it, is to protect your vehicle. That means including things like roadside assistance and rental vehicles.
CarGuard, founded in 2015 in Overland Park, Kansas, offers vehicle protection plans across the country. CarGuard Trevor Smith moved the company to Phoenix, Ariz., in 2020. Yet, its foundation to be customer-focused remains the same.
Part of that service is to respond to customer requests in a timely manner and to settle claims quickly. Other ways CarGuard Trevor Smith implemented solid customer service into the company include:
- Making all vehicle protection plans easy to read
- Offering first-day rentals
- Great liability limits
CarGuard Trevor Smith said implementing solid customer service is one of the things that allows his company to be a leader in the vehicle service contract industry for five years. Vehicle protection plans and the guarantee of high-quality customer service is what CarGuard Trevor Smith offers to give his customers to ensure they have peace of mind.
Conclusion
Peace of mind is what customers want. They want to know a caring person will resolve their problem. Customers don’t want their time wasted and don’t want the aggravation. Offering good customer service throughout a company, similar to CarGuard Trevor Smith, will amount to longevity in whatever industry you are in.
