Why does the quality of customer service matter?
The quality of customer service matters because in high-quality customer service, the following are ensured:
- Consistent service that is not dependent on the individual.
- Achieving internal goals in a way that customers feel they are receiving excellent service.
- A satisfied staff that knows the expectations and goals and understands how to achieve them in practice.
These factors also ensure that customer service is not just an expense but a significant part of implementing the company’s strategy and increasing revenue. As noted in PwC’s research, poor customer experience can pose a significant risk to a company’s operations. Next, we’ll dive a little deeper into what improving customer service quality means in practice.
Create a clear customer interaction model based on goals and desired outcomes
First, it’s essential to create a clear customer interaction model. To develop this, it’s important to consider the goals and desired outcomes of customer service.
In practice, every goal in customer service is largely achieved through the actions of people. Whether it’s a supervisor or an employee, everyone can be given clear and concrete steps to achieve the goals.
Here is an example of one customer service team’s goals:
- We want to improve customer satisfaction
- We aim to increase cross-selling
- We guide customers more strongly towards self-service channels
- We reduce repeat contacts
Concrete steps in the customer interaction model
The above-mentioned goals can primarily be achieved through the actions and words of customer service representatives. Therefore, the goals outlined above would translate into the following actions in the customer interaction model:
- Respond to customers with a smile and thank them for reaching out.
- Ask open, probing, and clarifying questions to understand the customer’s needs.
- Show understanding and empathy when needed.
- Offer services that provide added value to the customer.
- At the end, ensure the customer has no further questions and that everything is clear for the next steps.
- Ask if the customer has explored the self-service channel and review it with them if needed.
- Thank the customer for their time with us and offer a timely farewell.
How does the customer interaction model relate to achieving goals?
With the customer interaction model, clear expectations and action goals can be set for customer interactions.
Points 1, 3, 4, and 6 influence the improvement of customer satisfaction. Research shows that customers are more likely to remember the beginning and end of an interaction. By focusing on these moments, customer experience can be significantly enhanced. Additionally, understanding the customer’s situation and showing empathy can make a substantial difference.
Points 2 and 4 strongly impact increasing cross-selling. By conducting a thorough assessment, the customer’s situation is understood much better than just addressing the reason for their contact. Offering services that add value afterward can significantly boost cross-selling.
Point 6 obviously impacts guiding customers to self-service channels. By ensuring in every interaction that self-service channels are familiar to the customer, they can be more likely to use them in the future. It’s helpful to note this in the system so that the same information isn’t repeated to the same customer multiple times.
Points 2 and 5 can help reduce the number of repeat contacts. When the customer’s situation is comprehensively assessed and mutual understanding is ensured, problems can be resolved more effectively.
Regular monitoring of the customer interaction model is key
mproving the quality of customer service also requires monitoring. This can be done by creating a monitoring form based on the customer interaction model, for example in Excel, which can be used to evaluate customer interactions by both employees and supervisors.
When everyone knows the expectations for customer interactions and understands that their implementation is regularly monitored, everyone works to meet these expectations.
When people see that by doing the right things, both personal and unit-wide goals are achieved, it further reinforces the use of correct practices.
This will increase the consistency of customer service, employee well-being, and the achievement of efficiency goals!
Download a ready-made template for Customer Interaction Model evaluation!
You can download a ready-made evaluation form template from our resource bank, customize it with your own customer interaction model, and start tracking its implementation!
