What underpins great customer service?

A streamlined customer service process

Research suggests that 42% of people who contact a brand via social media expect a response within 60 minutes. Furthermore, 89% of customers have switched to a competitor as a reaction to poor customer experience.

Not being set up to promptly resolve issues and answer queries puts your brand at risk. When people have a bad experience, not only do they cease to become a customer, they will also tell others about it.

As highlighted by Zendesk, 45% of consumers share bad customer service experiences via social media.

Positive engagements with customers

On the other hand, positive engagements with customers will create a deep and loyal relationship.

According to research from Bain and Company, customers who have had a positive experience with a brand’s customer services department will end up spending between 20% and 40% more with the company.

Proactive and reactive

It is important to implement two distinct streams of customer service. These are:

Proactive customer care

This response to signals suggests you can add value or solve a problem.

Reactive customer service

This happens in response to a customer contacting your company.

Whilst the reactive service you provide is a basic requirement in today’s social landscape, some of the smarter brands online are going one step further and seeking out opportunities to provide help, even when there has been no explicit query directed at the brand.