Delivering proactive customer service is the key to rising above the industry standard and setting your company up for success. Today, those companies who commit time and energy into providing proactive, instead of reactive, customer service are reaping the benefits of their efforts. One shift in how you approach customer service effectively gives your business a major advantageous over the competition.
The How To Of Proactive Customer Service
Proactive customer service builds trust between you and your customer. With open and honest lines of communication, and a commitment to always being upfront even when the news is not good, you build a relationship – an important part of doing business today.
- Know what they expect. Intricately knowing what your customer expects from you is critical to good customer service. But you don’t get to know these things all at once. A good contact management system, like Halloo, is critical to managing this type of information. You can add notes on your customers with each interaction someone at your company has, so every time an expectation is shared, it is noted in the system where all employees can see it. Make recommendations and reach out to your customers regularly based on that carefully collected information.
- Consistently go beyond expectations – in both communication and execution of service/ goods delivery. If a customer calls or emails, provide them with more information than they are asking for. If they are checking on a shipment, don’t just give a delivery date – share the date it left its origin, the anticipated delivery date, and a tracking number so they can follow it at their convenience.
- Foresee delays and problems and notify the customer before they call to complain. Monitor the process of order fulfillment carefully. Ensure that appointments are respected and promises are kept, whenever possible. The reality is that life happens and despite our best efforts, sometimes there are failures. But if you are on top of the order fulfillment process, you will know about such breakdowns before the customer. Communicate any issues in a timely manner and provide a new plan or solution. You show a top-notch level of customer care when you keep them abreast of the bad and the good in your order fulfillment process.
Not only is proactive customer service of benefit to your customers, it is also a plus for your employees. Because of the nature of how your team approaches customer service, there are fewer calls from angry customers. In fact, you often deflect any negative feelings from the customer by delivering bad news before they find out on their own. This makes for a much more pleasant customer service role for your employees.
Customized communication is the principle ingredient in proactive customer service. Using business tools like Halloo helps facilitate customer service that goes above and beyond anything that your competition is offering. Embrace proactive customer service strategies and witness your customers becoming happier than ever.