Running a call center is an exercise in providing customer satisfaction with every call. That means that the customer experience needs to be managed to give them what they want when they want it. Yet, customer experience management can sometimes be lost in the flood of calls that come into a a contact center. That’s why, it’s a good idea to make sure your employees know how to set up best practices to meet exceptional customer service standards every time.
Best Practices for Customer Experience
It’s not hard to do, but it does take a little forethought. Here are ways that you can create the best experience for your incoming callers without making a huge effort. These 8 simple practices can keep your operations flowing smoothly and your customers happy. Here are the best practices for customer experience management today:
1. Manage Expectations
A customer should know he wait time to get their call answered and who they need to call to get their issue resolved. Representatives need to manage expectations promptly so that the customer does not feel they have being promised one thing and offered another.
2. Adopt State-of-the-Art Technology
No one is going to spend hours on a website with tons of glitches, no matter how badly they want to talk to a representative. The same is true of extensive phone trees that need to be navigated. It should be easy to log an issue and shouldn’t require them to hang in there until the Apocalypse happens on their screen.
3. Hire Knowledgeable Customer Service Representatives
Your employees should be knowledgeable in the areas that they serve and know where to direct people when they aren’t the experts for that issue. This will help them to always provide the solution for a customer, even when they don’t have it themselves.
4. Keep Track of Calls
In order to handle issues that may be escalated, you must have a good way to track incoming calls and the issue that is being addressed. If it needs to be escalated to a different representative, that person can just open the log and read the issue without making the caller repeat themselves endlessly.
5. Get Contact Information Promptly
Dropped calls and bad information can lead to irate customers. Make sure your call representatives are keeping the contact information updated for each issue, in case a call is dropped or it needs to go to another department for a response.
6. Be Pleasant and Courteous
It goes without saying that your manner of greeting a customer can impact the entire tone of the call. Be as pleasant and as courteous as possible. Remember that a lot of times people call with a problem and may already be stressed, so don’t add to it.
7. Provide Solutions – That IS Customer Experience
A customer may not know what they need, only that they have a problem that needs a resolution. They are calling you, the expert, to help get information they may not have. Don’t just focus on what they ask, also provide alternative solutions that they may not know exist.
8. Collect Feedback on Calls
You may need to collect feedback using a rating system about calls or interactions customers had with your representatives by using an email survey. Or, you can simply listen in on a few calls every day to make sure they are up to standard. This will help you weed out trouble spots and devise training in specific areas that need more attention.
