With the increasing competitiveness of the market and with the demands of the consumer increasingly accelerated and demanding, there is a need for companies to invest more and more in a personalized service, which makes it essential to know why it is important to standardize customer service.
With regard to customer loyalty, it is no longer enough to just offer a good product or service – it is true that this is essential and basic, but the truth is that what we can consider as a differential is much further.
Indeed, we can say that standardized service, whether in person, by phone or online, represents an innovative mechanism capable of providing quality and value to teamwork, in addition to many other advantages for the company, especially with regard to agility, autonomy, fluidity and objectivity in the processes inherent to the business.
That's why we've prepared this exclusive article in which we present the main tips on how to apply this in your company. Come with us!
What is standard customer service these days?
Standardization in customer service is important because it brings a strategy whose workflow has information and activities that guide companies and have a higher quality relationship with customers..
We can see that, over the years, a lot has changed with regard to the role of customer service within a company - which is to be expected, considering that society, culture and trends in general have changed. keeps in constant transformation.
But the main difference lies in the nature of the service, which is no longer based only on providing support to the difficulties brought by consumers, but on a complete service model, based on guiding the customer throughout the entire consumption process.
Today, the company is expected to accompany the customer from the moment he considers using its service, obviously going through the solution of doubts or difficulties throughout the process and reaching a post-sales stage.
This continuous service is in line with customer expectations and is of paramount importance for ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Why is it important to standardize customer service?
As you are already beginning to realize, the benefits of implementing standardized customer service in your business are numerous. Check out the main ones:
Brand consolidation
The standardization of customer service is a major factor in customer satisfaction and loyalty in relation to the brand. When the consumer's perception of the company is positively reinforced, its value and level of competitiveness in the market also increase.
Speed, efficiency and fluidity in processes
By standardizing the service to the public, the optimization of procedures provides greater agility and fluidity in the processes, avoiding waste of time with unnecessary activities and providing the speed and efficiency that the customer wants and deserves.
better problem solving
Service standards, when elaborated in a systematic way, consider the most diverse possible setbacks, in order to avoid them or solve them in an objective and effective way.
Profitability
When each professional performs the service in a different way, there is no unity in the way the company works, and everything can easily fall into a state of total disarray.
This invariably undermines the performance of the organization as a whole and sooner or later causes a lot of money to be lost.
On the other hand, the joint and cohesive action of a team that respects the established standards carries the key to obtain favorable results, increasing profits and avoiding unnecessary expenses.
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Tips for you to standardize customer service in your business
Certainly, good customer service starts with promptness and good manners, but we need to be realistic and understand that offering a cordial treatment is just a basic obligation, and the basics do not represent any differential.
To capture and retain new customers on an ongoing basis, more is needed. That's why we've separated some tips on how you can standardize customer service for your business.
1. Start with a checklist
First of all, to standardize your company's service, you need to prepare something like a guide that will define what these standards will be, and then present it to your team.
Details such as, for example, what the customer will be greeted with or what attitudes will be taken in the face of specific complaints - remembering that standardizing does not necessarily mean putting together a plastered script, only defining how the set of practices that will make up the service policy of the company will be. organization.
2. Value your customer as an individual
Regardless of the product or service they are looking for, it is generally agreed that the customer today seeks to be understood and recognized as someone special, with all their particularities.
It doesn't matter if we're talking about a big or small customer, new or old – once they feel welcomed, they'll come back. When he feels devalued, he will not be ceremonious about looking for what you have not been able to offer in the competitor.
3. Be honest with the customer
If a particular customer makes contact with a question or complaint and the mistake really was the company's, it's better to take responsibility humbly and do what you can to fix the mistake than try to disguise your own faults. Don't underestimate customer intelligence.
4. Technology is your ally
Technology can be a powerful tool, especially in companies whose customer service teams are few in number. Relationship management and self-service software can enhance the quality of your service.
5. Promote humanized care
Although automated attendances are very useful tools, do not underestimate the human factor – handing everything over to a robot can end up alienating the customer if he feels he is not being understood.
Hence the importance of adopting a humanized service: conveying empathy and clarity in language connects the customer to the brand, establishing the familiarity and security of interacting with someone real.
6. Transparency is key
Never leave margins to create doubts about what the company can or cannot offer to solve a problem. Letting a customer create wrong expectations about the brand can cause not only disappointment, but even resentment, and put a rock on the relationship between them.
7. Offer the customer a comfortable environment
The feeling of security and reliability begins to be transmitted by your own space, and anyone who thinks that this refers only to physical environments, such as a store, is wrong – the premise is also valid for digital environments, such as sites and social networks.
When establishing contact with the environment of your company, the customer cannot feel lost, intimidated or uncomfortable, or this will harm the following stages of service.
8. Always be available
Nobody likes to wait – least of all the customer. Provide plenty of options for communication channels such as Zoom, chat, Whatsapp, and others. Make the brand present on social media and respond quickly when the customer gets in touch. Don't give him a chance to give up and leave.
9. Attention to feedback
Satisfaction surveys and after-sales service are valuable measures to assess customer satisfaction and detect points where the brand eventually needs to improve.
Thus, the company is able to continuously promote improvements, anticipating and not waiting until possible complaints occur.
10. The customer is not always right
It is necessary to be honest with the customer when he makes a claim to which he is not entitled.
Satisfying certain exaggerated whims can not only be costly for the company, but also set precedents for embarrassing and/or unpleasant situations to be repeated.
Of course, it is necessary not to lose tact, so that this communication takes place in a respectful manner.
11. Record the entire flow of information in an organized manner
A quality and continuous service calls for a detailed and always up-to-date record of information and interactions with the customer. Thus, the entire service process is optimized, which is good for both the consumer and the attendant.
12. Ensure your team's preparedness
If you want service to occur in a standardized way, your team will need to be aligned with the established models. To define service standards, promoting training and capacity building, as well as establishing solid communication between team members are essential tactics in this regard.
13. Standardize opening hours
Regardless of how many and which relationship channels you offer to the customer, it is important to clearly establish and disclose the opening hours of these channels. This way, you avoid frustration on the part of your audience, for example, when a message was not answered quickly because it was sent outside opening hours.
Likewise, it is also important that all of its service channels adopt the same language, with no difference in the form of treatment given to the customer by each one.
Following these tips, you will see how your relationship with your audience will become closer and more fruitful.
Now that you understand why it's important to standardize customer service, we invite you to delve deeper into the subject with a full article we've prepared on the biggest mistakes in customer service, and that you can check by clicking here!
