How to Cash in On Quality Customer Service

Treat others how you want to be treated.

The key to free marketing is as simple as that, which appears to conflict with the number's we've uncovered.

According to an infographic from ClickSoftware, only 1 percent of consumers feel they consistently receive good customer service. Seriously, 1 percent?

The tipping point in driving your businesses growth is dependent on the way you engage with your customers, or in this case, don't engage with them. 

The trouble with this is that 13% of dissatisfied customers will tell more than 20 other people about their negative experience.

So that angry tweet you left unanswered, well, that'll cost you.

Respond Quickly

When it comes to customer satisfaction, timing can make a huge difference. With the introduction of social media as an avenue for customer complaints, immediacy is of the utmost importance. 

This means that businesses must set aside a bit of time each day to monitor their social media activity, and respond to customer complaints and comments. The reason for this is that the quicker you remedy the issue, the less it will spread. The goal is to get to the bottom of their complaint before it gets retweeted a dozen times. 

When a customer complained to Zappos about redundant commercials, they were able to address her concern in 2 minutes flat. 

Think that’s impressive? According to Ignite Social Media, these are the top 10 brands as measured by their first response times to customer posts on Facebook:

Point being, as a result of their timely customer service, Zappos sees a whole lot of this:

Exceed Their Expectations

Sometimes it can be tough to meet your customer’s expectations, let alone exceed them, which is precisely why customers are reporting such dissatisfaction with customer service.

Anyone can put forth the bare minimum, but it’s businesses who go the extra mile that are getting noticed and in turn, receive awesome word-of-mouth marketing. 

By not only meeting but exceeding your customer’s expectations, you are strengthening the relationship you have with them, which will ultimately affect future purchasing decisions as well as their level of customer loyalty.

Any time you see an opportunity to push the envelope, seize it. Take a look at how the paper company Papyrus kicked their customer service up a notch:

Rather than simply apologize for the inconvenience, Papyrus raised the bar by sending the customer additional prints, free of charge.

After all, it’s often the little things that make the biggest impact. See for yourself:

Provide A Solution

Let’s face it, sometimes sorry just doesn’t cut it. 

If a customer isn’t satisfied with your product or service, the goal isn’t to simply just say sorry and move on, but rather figure out a way to put systems in place and provide them with a solution.

This means that you must ensure that whoever is handling the customer service for your business is well-versed in all aspects of your product or service.

It’s clear that Chobani has employed a qualified team of representatives that really know what they’re talking a about:

Not only were they able to clarify the customer’s concerns, but they followed it up with an alternative, as well as a freebie to ensure a satisfaction turn around.

Thanks to their supreme customer service, Chobani is seeing less sour faces and more happy ones, like this one:

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