Five Customer Expectation Management Strategies
With companies fighting each other in brand positioning, pricing, and other criteria, customer service has become one of the key factors for customers to choose a brand over its competition. A company’s ability to provide good customer support has to reach its customer’s expectations. It may not come off as a surprise, but every entrepreneur knows how necessary customer satisfaction is for the business.
There is a baseline expectation for high-quality customer service in today’s marketplace. For instance, research suggests that 60% of customers prefer a balance of price and service. They would not accept poor customer service in exchange for lower prices. The secret of retaining loyal customers and keeping them happy is an effective Customer support management team. Here are some proven helpful strategies for customer service executives to manage their client’s expectations.
Bring all solutions to the table and discuss them openly.
An effective customer solutions team must be highly knowledgeable in terms of the needs of their customers and should be equipped to solve potential problems. This can only be done by speaking openly to the customer and discussing all possible solutions to a problem with them. In this manner, support teams allow the customers to take some time and understand the complexity of a particular issue, enabling them to weigh in on the solutions offered. By giving them the big picture of the many results, the service teams ensure customers don’t dream of expectations of how easy or difficult the resolution will be.
Provide clear timelines and adhere to them
It is difficult for customers to understand that software glitches are too common in businesses. It can be irritating and not to mention costly. Customers can also get angry if a customer executive tells them their solution will arrive in a week, but it takes more time. To manage expectations better, the customer service team has to clearly state how long it might take to solve a particular issue. From the moment the customer gets on the support call until the solution is provided, the customer service team has to find ways to stay connected to their customers. Teams should inform the customer at intervals and tell them if there will be a further delay.
Transparency and honesty are the best policy.
It is crucial to be transparent and honest while managing customer service expectations. It might affect the trust a loyal customer may have in the business, and in the long run, you might lose them. By remaining honest in every solution, businesses can reassure the trust of their customers. It is essential to consult with your team before offering any solutions if you lack the right answer. Do not keep secrets from your customers at all costs.
Be realistic with your solutions.
Sometimes being too optimistic might raise the customer’s expectations, and the inability to provide a solution can be a significant letdown. Be realistic about solutions, the time it might take to fix them, and other related solutions. Adhere to the company policies and the challenges posed by many problems, and understand the workload of your team members. By doing this, the support executive can gauge how a particular ticket will be solved, and the time it may require to solve it. It can be hell when you have to tell a client the problem will take longer than expected to solve, but it is better than giving them false expectations and not meeting them.
Follow up and seek feedback from customers.
This is the most essential aspect of customer relationship management. Feedback allows your team not to make the same mistakes again. It can also motivate the group if they do a good job. Support teams must follow up after each stage of the process as it exceeds what your customers expect. They feel important and heard. Research shows that customers don’t mind if companies check on them to see if everything is fine. Clients expect the team to follow up with them to round out their experience.
After a solution has been provided, it can be nice if the customer service team follows up with an email. A call after closing a ticket does not hurt. You might even get an insight as well.
When you own a business, the brand is really important. Your customer service team might be a factor that lets your customers choose you over the competition. There are many ways in which businesses can make their customer service experience a lot better. From tools to chatbots, there are many tools that you can use to ensure a good customer service experience. However, the first step to delivering an excellent customer service experience is to manage expectations from the moment the ticket has been raised.
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