Good customer service is vital to the continued existence of every business, but what exactly constitutes good customer service? For some companies, it means addressing consumer concerns quickly and effectively. For others, it means offering consumers level of value for its products and services that is greater than its competitors. And in many cases, it means maintaining a trained and motivated staff of empathetic and observant front-line employees. But so many different customer service philosophies and techniques at play, leaders may wonder which strategy will produce the best results. A recently published Forbes article grapples with this important issue and offers a nuanced and multifaceted solution.
First, it explains that the ideal customer service experience is one wherein your process map should be aligned with your customer journey map, not the other way around. Prioritizing departmental goals over your customers experience will only lead to poor outcomes. Next, it underlines the importance of giving frontline staff objective of rather than subjective customer service goals. Using abstract language like “provide world-class customer service” or “meet the customer’s needs before their aware of them” is problematic because those concepts may not mean the same thing to you and to your staff. Instead, provide more objective of instructions like “be empathetic” and “mirror your customer’s pacing.”
Read the full article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/04/09/customers-dont-exactly-care-about-customer-service/#711d57142475