5 missteps that actively hurt your business
No matter how amazing your product or service is, consistently poor customer service will always chip away at your profits. In general, customer service can be more effective than it used to be, with even more ways to reach out and have positive and effective interactions with clientele than ever before. However, this also means that
…maintaining exceptional standards is more important than ever to compete.
Obviously, your front-line staff should always be friendly, sincere, knowledgeable, patient, and empathetic to customer needs. If you’re missing this initial component, then your hiring practices need an overhaul. But once you feel you’ve ensured that your employees’ attitudes will benefit your business, you need to avoid these five common customer service pitfalls:
- Poor staffing
Overstaffing is costly and can overwhelm customers if they feel overcrowded or pushed; however, understaffing creates far more issues. You should have enough staff to be able to quickly assist people and also create solid first and last impressions by authentically greeting and thanking everyone who comes in. Little moments like this add up to the complete service experience. - Too little training
Of course, proper staffing can be rendered meaningless if your people don’t have proper training. Too many companies rush the training process and assume their staff will learn on their feet, but you only invite communication issues and poor customer interactions until they figure it out on their own (if they do!). But once they are trained, back off. Empower them and allow your staff to do what you hired them to do. Too much micromanaging is a killer. - Overpromising (and under delivering)
Grand promises, sweeping gestures, and idyllic-sounding services and prices may draw people in for awhile, but once your customer service doesn’t live up to the hype, they won’t be back, and they won’t be afraid to tell others to stay away. If you’re still starting out and you’re not exactly sure what you can deliver consistently, remember it’s always better to under-promise and surprise them with a better than anticipated result. - Making your customers work too hard
Not all customer service interactions are face-to-face, most businesses have email, social media, or at the very least, a phone number to enhance the customer experience. But what good are these services if no one responds in a timely manner? Be sure to give plenty of communication options – some people can’t stand digital conversations and others would rather do just about anything other than talk on the phone.Make it a part of your daily schedule to routinely check and respond to emails and social media messages. If possible, consider enabling a live chat function on your website, and make sure your website is intuitive and easy to navigate with self-service options and useful FAQs. - Not fixing your mistakes
Everyone messes up – to err is human as they say – but nearly everything is forgivable if you address the problem head-on. Actively listen, which means asking questions and often reading between the lines to find patterns and root causes, genuinely apologize, and then most importantly, take concrete steps to solve the issue. It might feel counterintuitive to openly admit your flaws or broadcast your weaknesses, but sincerity coupled with a swift response can breed incredible customer loyalty.
