1. Utility Customer Service Best Practices
2. Customer Service Best Practice Examp…
3. Best Practice Guide For Customer Service Professionals Pdf

Over the past 18 months I’ve hosted over 30 events on, featuring brands such as eBay, Citibank and British Gas. While it’s popular to examine the public failures of brands on social media, best practices are also emerging. Here are 15 of the most useful best practice tips I’ve learned from some of the world’s leading brands.

Take responsibility There’s nothing as infuriating as front-line support passing the buck. Responses that bat the customer off to a standard knowledgebase or refer them back to where they started are likely to elicit yet more anger and frustration. As a Community Manager or Service Agent you need to be strong about stepping up and personally committing to making sure issues get resolved. Conveying “I’ve got this” to the customer, goes a long way towards reassurance. Acknowledge the issue head-on Expressing doubt about the validity of a complaint posted online, especially one that’s clearly been written by lawyers to avoid any admission of responsibility, will only exacerbate the problem. Phrases that start “I’m sorry you feel” or “I’m sorry it appears” when referring to facts stated by the customer are likely to annoy the customer and lead to further negative posts or Tweets.

Address the customer by name This is a tricky area on social. In most service channels you refer to Mr Bobbins and, if you like, ask him if you can call him Ted (assuming that’s his name). In social you might just have @TeddyBob. Whatever identifier you have, the best practice is to use it – rather than skirt around. If I’m happy to Tweet as @Gangsta69 then I ought to be comfortable being called that directly. Give the customer your name Nobody likes talking to an anonymous brand or Twitter handle.

By just adding your name or initials to a response, you can start to humanise your organisation and build trust with the customer. Lots of companies don’t do this but others, like Sainsbury’s (below), include their forenames in every communication. Hi Diane, I’m sorry to hear of your disappointment. Did you raise this with our colleagues in store at the time? — Sainsbury’s (@sainsburys) Apologise Around 70% of social customer service enquiries occur because traditional service has failed to resolve the issue.

Little wonder, then, that Facebook and Twitter complainants often seem tetchy. Nobody wants to read a Twitter stream where every Tweet starts with ‘sorry’, but in the right situation a plain spoken, heartfelt apology can disarm even the angriest of customers. Contrition is a powerful shield. Make a clear offer to help Beyond an apology most customers are looking for just one thing: resolution.

The quicker and easier you can make this, the happier they will be. Actively telling customers you’re going to help them both reassures and buys you time to deliver on your promise. Combining an offer to help with an apology and an action – as shown in this @askCiti example below (all within 140 characters) is pretty good going. I’m very sorry 4 the delay & would like to try & help.

Pls DM me your ph#, account type, & country acct was opened. No PIN/Acct #^SG — Citi (@AskCiti) Fix the issue in-channel (if possible) If you can, it’s always best to resolve the issue in the channel the customer has chosen to use.

This might not be practical and you may need to jump a Twitter enquiry into chat, or a Facebook post into private messaging, but if you can, it reduces Customer Effort which, as a metric, is sometimes used in social customer service measurement). Avoid canned responses Service teams have used scripts since call centres first emerged in the 1980’s. Why not on social? Well, there’s a pretty big reason why not: customers hate canned responses. Mcculloch 610 chainsaw manual.

They make us feel part of a tedious process. If you are forced to respond to multiple queries on the same issue, the advice is to spice your replies up with words and phrases that show you’re writing it in person and that you care. Don’t share your own problems The last thing a disgruntled customer wants to hear when their order has been delayed, or their food ruined, is that you’re really busy or your IT system is playing up (see an example below).

Any excuse will add to their sense that your organisation is useless and chaotic. Better to say what you can do now and when you’ll be in a position to do more. Thank others for help As Martin Hill-Wilson, co-author of the excellent book, Delivering Effective Social Customer Service, often says: “Customer service is now a spectator sport”. If you find other people pitching in to amplify or elaborate on a complaint, make sure you acknowledge them and thank them for their input. You never know, you might just have found a regular advocate. Embrace feedback This could actually be the motto for teams the world over.

Taking feedback and criticism and using it to improve your services and make customers happy seems pretty obvious, but it is far from evident on most corporate Twitter feeds and Facebook Pages. It’s a state of mind – an ethos – that the best social customer service teams live and breathe. Create a ‘next action’ deadline Once the customer has confidence you’re going to solve their problem then that promise must be delivered on. The challenge for most customer service teams is that they can’t personally fix every problem; it requires an issue to be logged, other teams to input, more information etc. Either way, you need to set a clear deadline on the next action, from which the fallback is a personal update to the customer.

Commit to getting back to them Whether the ‘next action’ is a phone-call from a specialist, a letter in the post, or additional information to be supplied by the customer, you need to commit to a personal follow-up. This enables you to check if the next action actually happened, whether the customer is satisfied and, all being well, that you can close the issue.

Respect privacy Consumers tend to be fast-and-loose with their personal data on social media. In industries with lots of sensitive data, e.g.

Finance or medical, or where people often like to be anonymous, e.g. Dating or charities, you need to be especially careful not to encourage people to divulge their data in public and to warn them if they put themselves at risk, as in this example (again from @AskCiti) below: Sounds good, we will reach out to you then! You may want to delete your last tweet as it contains your ph # publicly. ^VS — Citi (@AskCiti) Show empathy A 2013 research study in the Netherlands identified empathy (or ‘‘) as one of the primary elements of successful social customer service excellence. Just a short phrase like “That doesn’t sound good” or “I can see why you’re upset”, let’s a customer know that you understand how they’re feeling.

In many cases this is half of the reason they’ve reached out in the first place. You can’t buy much for £60m these days. That’s the amount Real Madrid paid for James Rodriguez, the sum that Michael Gove wanted to spend on a new yacht for the Queen, and the exact figure that B&Q has apparently invested in. Clearly the home and garden retailer didn’t wish to be outdone by Selfridges, which recently invested. When I interviewed Michael Durbridge, B&Q’s director of omnichannel, last September he said that the new site would be launched alongside an upgrade to the company’s backend systems. This would allow the website and in-store ordering systems to run off the same database, with the user interface customised for each channel. B&Q would then have taken a huge step towards forming a single customer view.

Utility Customer Service Best Practices

So, just how good is this new £60m responsive site? October 15th 2014 12:43. You need only look at the trending topics on any Saturday from August to May to know that football is a big deal on social media. Premier League clubs weren’t slow to take advantage of this fact, so digital and social channels are now firmly part of the marketing mix for most teams. To give some insight in this topic, I’ve rounded up a few interesting campaigns which show how Premier League teams are using digital to interact with fans. For more on this theme, read our posts looking at and.

September 23rd 2014 09:59.

Credit: Lonely/Shutterstock Good news, business owners of today: You're doing something right. In a recent survey by communications software provider CorvisaCloud, 60 percent of consumers said they believe that customer service overall has improved from 2013 to 2014. Despite the resources a company needs in order to keep up with increasing customer demands, smaller businesses actually have an advantage over larger companies when it comes to providing great service. And customers think so, too. Nearly 50 percent of 1,200 respondents said small companies provide the best service.

A smaller customer base means a greater opportunity to get to know each individual client, but it can also mean more pressure to deliver what those customers want. 'The customer has more power and choices than ever,' said Don MacLennan, CEO of customer success platform. 'With consumers' ability to amplify their complaints and praises through social media, and the lower barrier to switching providers, modern businesses can't get away with having subpar customer service.' Based on conversations with executives who have mastered the art of customer service, here are five best practices for keeping today's customers satisfied. See our report for guidance on picking the for your business Hire great people Smart business owners know that top-notch customer service comes from top-notch people. Hiring the right team and creating a people-first culture from the get-go is the best way to ensure that your employees' good attitude impresses your customers.

'Hire and train the right people to get better customer service,' said Brandon Knight,vice president of direct sales at CorvisaCloud. 'Customers think small businesses have more knowledge and are better prepared for dealing with customers because they have a more personal touch.' Robin Copland, vice president of retail for the Americas at agile development firm, agreed, noting that company culture plays a big role in the level of customer service businesses can provide. 'It's how they build their stickiness factor,' Copland said. 'A culture that attracts people to want to work for the company translates into better customer service. They project that culture on customers.'

Customer Service Best Practice Examp…

Make a great first impression In job interviews, romantic relationships and business, your first impression can make or break a deal. This is especially true when you're trying to attract and keep customers: Recent research by customer-engagement company found that 20 percent of customers stop trusting a company after one bad experience, and a quarter will instantly switch brands. The brands that understand the value of a great first impression come out on top. 'Perfecting the first impression is crucial to any business given today's competitive environment,' said Matt Rizzetta,president and CEO of public relations firm. 'Stay fully committed to making sure that customers receive a memorable, impactful and enjoyable kick-off phase with your company.' Rizzetta noted that his firm's longest-standing and most profitable customer relationships are ones that had incredibly strong starts. The difference between getting a customer off to a 'good' start versus a 'great' start can make the difference in a business's ability to scale over time, he said.

'Right out of the gate, a customer needs to understand your commitment to their needs, level of competence and ability to deliver what they're looking for,' Rizzetta said. 'They need to develop an appreciation for your culture and what makes you stand out as a service provider. There is no time to waste when it comes to making a first impression.' Be proactive Too often, customer service is reactive; that is, a brand communicates with customers only when they reach out with comments or complaints. When it comes to negative feedback, catching a disappointed customer before that person has a chance to express his or her displeasure can make all the difference.

'By the time the customer contacts the company, it's usually because of a negative experience they've had,' said Rita Tochner,head of corporate marketing at contextual marketing firm. 'The customer relationship has been compromised by this point, and in competitive markets, the customer will go elsewhere. When customer service management systems operate proactively with customer experience solutions and are able to anticipate customer needs before they occur, you'll have a more satisfied customer.' 'Utilize Big Data and marketing automation to proactively address the customer issues before they become a major problem,' MacLennan added. 'For example, if you have a software product and you know where a customer is getting stuck, you can use that knowledge to proactively reach out to other users with emails or messages that provide guides or walkthroughs.'

Offer a seamless experience In a world of constant connectivity and mobile devices, customers interact with brands through more channels and in more places than ever before. Today's top companies stand out by providing a consistent experience through every single channel, whether it's in the store, on the Web or through social media. 'We expect a lot more from the brands and companies we interact with,' Copland said. 'The omnichannel experience is where service breaks down.

Best Practice Guide For Customer Service Professionals Pdf

Customer experiences are disconnected for the most part.' Copland noted that taking a '360-degree view' of each customer is the best strategy for connecting that person's experience with your brand. 'Tie the experience together in a more comprehensive way,' he said. 'Understand customers beyond the four walls of the store, beyond the interactions with an associate or on digital channels.' Treat customers as individuals, not demographics Until recently, the standard approach to marketing was dividing customers into segments and using broad demographic assumptions to serve them.

Marketing has gotten much more sophisticated and personalized, and customer service is following suit. 'Customers see themselves as distinct individuals, and expect brands to see them this way as well,' Tochner told Business News Daily. 'Customer service tactics should be as dynamic and agile as the customers they serve. This means utilizing solutions that allow marketers to move past segmentation and to embrace personalization.' One way to ensure a personalized experience, and build loyalty, is to develop real, genuine relationships with customers beyond their initial purchases. 'We see the most positive results when customer engagement occurs throughout the entirecustomer lifecycle,' Tochner said. 'Maximize engagement continuously and in real time, according to the customers' regularly changing needs.

Radio silence for any industry should be avoided, and open lines of communication should exist and remain open.' Originally published on.