How to Offer Cross-Channel Customer Service

Posted by Guest Author

When you think about corporate customer service, platitudes are a dime a dozen. Every consumer has heard “the customer is always right,” and “customers first” more times than they can count, but it takes actions — not just words — to make those claims feel true.

Nothing can more quickly destroy a business relationship than a bad customer service experience. Some companies are almost universally hated for their long hold times, unintelligent robots, and maze-like help pages.

In fact, succeeding in customer service across multiple channels of communication can seem like an impossible challenge, and consumer expectations are only rising. That’s why we decided to break down exactly what you should do to have great customer service, and how to do it.

Note: Want a shortcut? Take a look at our website for info on how we can do it all for you!

Make it easy for customers to help themselves

Let’s face it: your website’s wait time is five seconds. Any other option is going to take longer. So the first thing a tech-savvy customer will do is see if they can find the answer to their problem online.

If you’re not sure how to cover every question a person could have, fear not: there are whole companies dedicated to helping you do just that.

There are two main things to keep in mind here. First, have an extensive FAQ and troubleshooting page. If your product has a problem, it should be on the page, easily visible, and accompanied by as simple an answer as possible.

Second, make your site mobile friendly. Just do.

Courtesy of SuperOffice.com

Get That Response Time DOWN

When it comes to rising customer expectations, social media is a double-edged sword. According to surveys by The Social Habit, nearly a third of users who message companies on social media expect a response within 30 minutes.

On the bright side, notifications make it easy for you to respond within 1–2 minutes, even if it is just to say that you have received and are going to answer the question. That kind of turnaround time sends a powerful message about how seriously you take customer inquiries.

If you can handle messaging on social media, it might be worth considering expanding into text — whatever makes it easier for your customers to get the answers they need.

Answer Your Email

Yes, cluttered email inboxes are no fun. No, that is not an excuse to let your customer's questions go unanswered. Having a clear “contact” button on your website is important, but paying attention to every inquiry is even more so.

Email is still one of the most commonly used channels for business communication and is one of the easiest to be good at. Don’t let the lack of bells and whistles lure you into giving it less attention.

Make phone calls as painless as possible

The phone call is every modern consumer’s last resort. As much as a customer might love your company, the last thing they want to do is spend time wading through your phone menu and then holding until an agent can speak with them.

If you can’t reduce the time customers have to spend on the phone, you have two real options. One is to use documentation of calls, empathetic communication, and call follow-ups to improve the interactions. The other is to choose a call center service provider that can do all the above while reducing your customers' wait time to virtually none.

Turn Your Customer-Service from Nightmare to Competitive Edge

If all of that still sounds far too daunting, there is an easy solution. We specialize in helping you perfect your interactions on every platform, allowing you to offer omni-channel customer service while focusing on what you really do best.

According to industry monitors, customer service’s difficulty makes the sector that much greater an opportunity to stand out. Some studies find that barely 4% of companies exceed customer service expectations. Don’t let an opportunity like that pass you by!

If you need any more convincing, you can find our ability to help you enhance your online presence well documented on sites like Clutch.co, a directory for ratings and reviews of B2B companies. We’re proud to have been ranked a perfect 5 out of 5 stars by our customers and would like nothing more than to provide that same quality of service for you.

You can also read through projects like ours on The Manifest and Visual Objects, Clutch’s sister sites. Each one offers a different way for you to find the perfect partner to help you grow your business.

To find out how you can take your customer service to the next level, reach out to us today!

Tags: customer service cross-channel customer service