Why Customer Service Operations Matter More Than Ever

Customer service can make or break a business. Companies that invest in customer service operations don’t just keep customers happy; they cut costs and boost revenue while creating brand loyalty that lasts. On the flip side, bad service is costly—U.S. businesses risk losing $856 billion annually due to subpar customer service.

Customers today expect instant responses, personalized support, and seamless experiences. If your business isn’t optimized to meet these demands, your competitors will be more than happy to step in with a free route planner and better solutions. In this playbook, we’ll break down actionable ways to streamline customer service operations, reduce overhead costs, and improve customer experience (CX).

What is Customer Service Operations?

Customer service operations encompass all the processes, tools, and strategies a company uses to deliver exceptional customer support. It includes everything from customer service policies and procedures to service operation management, ensuring efficiency while maintaining a positive customer experience.

Step 1: Automate Where It Makes Sense

Time is money. And in customer service, wasting time on repetitive tasks is the fastest way to increase costs and frustrate frontline customer service representatives. The good news? You don’t need to replace your human team—you just need to support them with automation.

Implement AI-Powered Chatbots & Self-Service Solutions

• 72% of customers expect immediate service. AI-driven chatbots and self-service portals can handle FAQs, freeing up human agents for complex issues.
• Companies that prioritize self-service can reduce customer service expenses by 23%.
• 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. If automation enhances CX, customers won’t mind.

Pro Tip: Start with an AI chatbot that can answer basic questions and route conversations to the right human agent in the customer service team when needed. This keeps response times low and improves efficiency.

Step 2: Optimize Customer Service Workflows

A great customer service operation isn’t just about having a team—it’s about how that team works. If agents are bogged down with inefficient processes, costs soar, and customers suffer.

Streamline Ticketing & Escalation Procedures

• 81% of organizations cite customer experience as a competitive differentiator.
• Businesses that optimize workflows cut resolution times by up to 50%, leading to happier customers and lower costs.

Pro Tip: Use a workflow management system to prioritize tickets based on urgency and complexity. Automating ticket assignment can reduce bottlenecks and shorten resolution times.

Empower Agents with Knowledge Base Access

• Agents spend 20-30% of their time looking for information to answer customer inquiries.
• Creating a centralized knowledge base reduces handling times and improves first-contact resolution rates.

Pro Tip: Equip your team with searchable databases of FAQs, scripts, and troubleshooting guides. The less time they spend searching for answers, the faster they resolve issues.

Step 3: Leverage Data to Improve Customer Experience

Customer service isn’t just about fixing problems—it’s about anticipating and preventing them. Data analytics plays a huge role in understanding what customers need before they even ask for it.

Track Customer Pain Points & Patterns

• 77% of business leaders believe deeper personalization leads to higher customer retention.
• Businesses that invest in customer experience improvements can see a $700 million revenue boost within three years.

Pro Tip: Use analytics tools to identify recurring complaints and optimize processes to prevent them. If 30% of tickets are about billing issues, streamline billing or create better self-service options.

Improve Customer Segmentation

• Personalized experiences drive repeat business—88% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to return.
• Segmented customer service approaches ensure that high-value clients receive VIP-level support, while lower-priority inquiries are managed efficiently.

Pro Tip: Use CRM tools to categorize customers based on history, preferences, and previous issues. This helps personalize interactions and improves overall CX.

Step 4: Reduce Costs Without Compromising Quality

Cutting costs in customer service doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. In fact, many cost-saving strategies actually improve service efficiency.

Invest in Training & Employee Retention

• Retaining just 5% more customers can boost profits by up to 95%.
• Happy, well-trained agents = lower turnover and better service. Replacing an employee costs $4,000–$7,000—investing in retention saves money in the long run.

Pro Tip: Offer continuous training to improve efficiency and job satisfaction. Gamify learning and reward top performers to boost morale and reduce costly churn.

Reduce Live Support Overhead with Strategic Hiring

• Outsourcing part of your support team can cut operational costs by up to 60% without sacrificing service quality.
• Hybrid customer service teams—a mix of in-house and outsourced agents—help businesses scale without overpaying for labor.

Pro Tip: Consider outsourcing chat support for routine inquiries while keeping high-touch cases in-house. This balance optimizes cost without hurting CX.

Step 5: Future-Proof Your Customer Service Operations

Customer expectations are evolving. The brands that stay ahead of trends will dominate the market, while those that resist change will fall behind.

Adopt an Omnichannel Approach

• 86% of customers expect seamless interactions across multiple channels—phone, chat, email, and social media.
• Companies with omnichannel strategies retain 89% of customers compared to 33% for those without.

Pro Tip: Integrate chat, email, and phone support under one unified system to avoid miscommunication and ensure seamless customer interactions.

AI-Powered Sentiment Analysis

• AI-driven sentiment analysis helps predict customer frustration levels before they escalate, allowing proactive interventions.
• Companies using AI in customer service see a 20% increase in efficiency.

Pro Tip: Implement AI tools that analyze customer interactions and suggest responses to enhance personalization and issue resolution speed.

Trending Now

Generative AI is transforming customer service operations by enhancing efficiency while maintaining a human touch. Unlike traditional chatbots, Agentic AI understands intent, sentiment, and context, autonomously handling requests or seamlessly escalating complex issues to human agents. With 80% of enterprises expected to adopt GenAI by 2026 and 32% of customers leaving brands after one bad experience, businesses must embrace AI-driven solutions. The key to success lies in accurate data, strong governance, and continuous learning to improve CX without losing the personal connection customers expect.

Conclusion

Customer service isn’t just a cost center—it’s a revenue driver. Companies that optimize operations, embrace AI, and prioritize CX will see lower costs, higher customer retention, and stronger brand loyalty.

If you want to cut costs and improve CX, start with:

• Automation – AI chatbots and self-service reduce expenses.
• Process Optimization – Streamline ticketing and workflows.
• Data-Driven Decisions – Use analytics to predict and solve issues proactively.
• Strategic Hiring & Training – Balance in-house and outsourced support.
• Future-Proofing – Omnichannel support and AI-powered tools keep you ahead.

A 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by up to 95%. Focus on long-term CX strategies to reduce churn and future-proof your business.

Ready to take your customer service operations to the next level? Experience it firsthand with a 30-day Free Trial of LiveHelpNow. Explore the features, test the functionality, and see how seamlessly it integrates into your workflow. Once you do, you may wonder how you ever managed without it.

The post Customer Service Operations Playbook: How to Reduce Costs & Improve CX appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

First call resolution (FCR) is one of the most important customer-service metrics. Especially so for businesses handling a substantial number of customer-service inquiries. It’s a good indication of how efficiently a service team is providing support. It also serves as a predictor of customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and operational efficiency. It can ultimately affect a company’s bottom line. 

If you aren’t tracking your FCR, you should be. In this article, we talk about what First Call Resolution is, why it’s important, and how to improve it. 

What Is First Call Resolution?

First Call Resolution (FCR) is a measurement used by call centers and other service centers to determine what percentage of customer queries are resolved on the customer’s first interaction. This measurement is mostly applied to phone calls, but it can be calculated using any service channel or support experience. Of all call-center metrics, FCR is one of the most important, as it indicates overall call-center performance. 

As applied to other contact channels – social media, chatbots, live chat, and other service channels – the term “first contact resolution” is used. This metric is important because it directly correlates with customer satisfaction. The quicker a support agent can provide a resolution, the happier the customer tends to be. Delayed resolution affects customer satisfaction. As a quick resolution becomes a hallmark of a business, brand loyalty also increases.

How to Calculate First Call Resolution

The First Call Resolution formula starts by tracking the total call volume your customer service team receives in a given time period. Depending on the business, you can also track texts, emails, social media messages, chats, and any other method your business uses to communicate with customers.

Next, keep track of how frequently problems get solved on the first attempt, as opposed to calls that require additional assistance or repeated calls. You can then calculate your business’ FCR score by dividing the second number by the first. 

Here is an example of the FCR formula at work. Let’s assume you receive 1,000 calls from customers in any given month. If 200 of those calls are resolved without the need for any additional calls or support, then your FCR ratio is 200/1000, i.e., 20 percent. Depending on your contact center’s ability, these numbers could be higher or lower. 

Improving First Call Resolution

The first step in improving first call resolution is identifying common issues that require multiple contacts throughout the resolution journey. As you examine your contacts, you’ll probably start to notice patterns or customer issues that require multiple contacts to resolve. 

The next step is to uncover processes within your customer service that are causing these multiple contacts before a resolution can happen. For example, if multiple departments are involved in a common customer problem, consider consolidating that resolution process. When a customer is required to contact multiple people or departments, the likelihood of a quick resolution decreases.

Implementing Strategies to Improve FCR

Enhance Agent Training and Knowledge

When agents aren’t properly trained or lack product/service knowledge, FCR becomes extremely difficult. Such representatives may escalate many of their calls to superiors because they don’t know how to resolve the issue. Better customer service training and resources for support agents will increase FCR.

Streamline Contact-Handling Procedures

Try to reduce the number of steps needed to handle common repeat requests. If your current contact-handling procedures involve repetitive tasks, automate them whenever possible. Reduce the burden on your support team by creating templates they can follow for the most common customer issues. 

Empower Agents to Make Decisions

After a while, customer service agents can become very knowledgeable about how to best help their customers. Empower them to be able to make decisions that will please customers without having to constantly get approval or follow antiquated guidelines that may not be changing with the needs of your business.  

Implement Self-service Options

If possible, let customers help themselves through self-service options such as a portal, online knowledge base, FAQ page, or community discussion board. Knowledge-base articles are simple to create and post online, making them a popular option for most businesses. A customer’s first contact with a self-service option is often enough to resolve most issues. If they have more complex issues or can’t find a solution themselves, they can contact support.

Training Agents on First Call Resolution

Agent training is one of the most important factors to consider when trying to improve your First Call Resolution rates. A well-trained agent can navigate complex issues and make the customer feel valued. Train agents to have a deep knowledge and understanding of what your business offers. Only then can they share that knowledge with customers.

Don’t forget to teach your customer service agents effective communication, listening, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. These soft skills are the difference between a poor customer service representative and a great one. Some people are more naturally gifted in these areas, but everyone can develop these talents with effort and practice. 

Promote a customer-first mindset within your company. Developing an empathetic approach to customers and having a positive mindset will make your FCR rating grow. Don’t forget to offer periodic training sessions to your support agents. Everyone can benefit from a reminder to focus on FCR goals.

Tools and Technologies to Improve First Call Resolution

FCR isn’t all about customer service agents. Leveraging technology is a great way to improve First Call Resolution. 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

If you aren’t using a CRM system, consider implementing one. This type of software makes it easy to keep track of customer interactions. You’ll be able to see service history, talk time, contact reason, and a history of email support, including any follow-up emails. It is much harder for customers to fall through the cracks when using a CRM system. 

A CRM system can also track total resolved cases, agent performance, agent productivity, call colume, and average handle time. It will expose excessive wait times and provide quality monitoring. These essential metrics and insights can help raise FCR rates.

Knowledge Bases and Self-service Portals

Create a robust knowledge base and customer self-service portal so that customers can solve their problems without having to contact support. It may seem counterintuitive, but customers would rather solve their own problems than call in to support.

Call Analytics and Reporting Tools

Use contact analytics and reporting tools to get a bigger picture of what’s going on within the business from a customer service perspective. Some tools will automatically calculate FCR and other measures of customer service success to make keeping track even easier. 

Automatic Call Distributors and Intelligent Routing 

Whether it’s calls, texts, chats, or other messages, routing customers to available agents is essential. Using automatic call distributors and intelligent call routing makes this a simple process and allows agents to engage customers in the shortest time possible. Include callback options in whatever system you use to increase the options available to customers.

Almost 90% of customers expect their issue to be resolved in a single call, which is why ‘First Call Resolution’ is one of the most critical metrics within the #ContactCenter.

Learn how automatic call distribution helps organizations make that happen: https://t.co/rK0JQTaAQ5

— Nextiva (@Nextiva) May 23, 2022

Best Practices for Achieving High FCR

Whatever your current FCR is, it can always be improved. Try some of these best practices and find out which ones work best for your business.

Set Clear Goals for FCR

In order to change and improve, you first need to measure. Find out what your FCR is currently and set a goal to improve it. A realistic goal for your business will depend on how complicated your product or service is. Be careful not to set unrealistic FCR expectations. A better approach may be to set a goal for improvement. For example, whatever your current FCR is, set a goal to improve by 5 percent. Clarify any conflicting priorities and conflicting performance goals.

Monitor and Measure FCR Regularly

Don’t take your eye off the ball when it comes to FCR. Monitor it regularly to ensure that more resolutions occur during that first contact. Don’t forget what a high FCR means: happier customers, better reviews, and a lower overall customer service cost, to name a few. 

Collect Customer Feedback to Identify Areas for Improvement

Dissatisfied customers will always let you know where you fall short. Don’t shy away from asking for feedback, and don’t forget to act on it. Collect post-call surveys or conduct other methods of feedback collection. Making improvements to your customer service will contribute to an improvement in FCR. 

Recognize and Reward Agents Who Consistently Achieve High FCR

An agent that can consistently achieve a high FCR is an asset to your business. Foster this positive achievement in all your agents by recognizing their achievements. Consider offering rewards or incentives to agents that achieve a high FCR. It could be something small like an extra break or a gift card. It could also be something more significant if measured over a longer time period. 

First Call Resolution: Key to Customer Satisfaction 

First call resolution is an important metric to track and improve because it directly correlates to a customer’s satisfaction. Happy customers are the lifeblood of a business. If you haven’t been tracking FCR, now’s the perfect time to start. Train your agents, leverage technology, and implement best practices for improving FCR. This will lead to better service, happier customers, and increased revenues. 

The post First Call Resolution: What It Is and How to Improve It appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

More leads? Higher sales? Or better profits?

Irrespective of your metric, one thing that you must ensure is establishing customer loyalty – that’s if you want to survive in the long run. 

After all, it’s your customers that make or break your business. Without them, all your efforts will be in vain.

You should ensure every customer has a great experience with your company at every stage of the sales funnel. This is also where providing excellent customer service comes into play

In this article, we’ll discuss why good customer service is one of the most effective and best ways to retain customers. We’ll also shed light on ways to improve customer loyalty by making simple changes in your customer service strategy.

Sounds good? Then let’s get to it!

What is Customer Loyalty?

Customer loyalty refers to a customer’s ongoing preference for and commitment to a particular brand, product, or service over its competitors. It is characterized by repeated purchases, positive word-of-mouth referrals, and a willingness to engage with and advocate for the brand. Customer loyalty often results from consistently positive experiences, high-quality products or services, and the emotional connection customers feel with a brand.

Why Is Customer Loyalty Critical in Your Business?

To put it simply, customer service helps retain customers, helping you extract more value from them. Moreover, it recoups customer acquisition costs, creates solid testimonials and positive reviews, and nurtures a loyal customer base.

Source

Essentially, everything you’d want for your business.

By making a few basic changes in your customer service team, you’ll be able to build customer loyalty, as well as take your business to the next level. Read on as we discuss ways in which you can establish customer loyalty by working on your customer service team. 

Best Tips to Improve Your Company’s Customer Service Sector and Gain Customer Loyalty

All business owners should seriously consider investing in customer service because of its innumerable benefits. By spreading the word about the business your customers can do a lot for you.

Below, we’ll discuss a few tips to help you improve your customer service team.

Keep Your Customer Service Employees Happy

The rule is pretty simple for this one: Happy employees mean happy customers.

It’s pretty obvious that an under-appreciated employee will not put the same amount of effort into their work when compared to happy employees, who feel satisfied with their jobs. 

When your employees work hard and efficiently, your business’s customers get quality service that keeps them happy. This, in turn, allows you to reap its benefits.

Leadership creates great managers.

Great managers create engaged employees.

Engaged employees create happy customers.

Happy customers create revenue growth.

— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) February 1, 2021

Hence, you should make sure you respect and appreciate your customer service employees, recognize hard work, and even give them incentives for good performances.

Use Positive Verbs

Positive language has this magical effect that helps the customer feel more at ease.

There’s no doubt that words are powerful, and in this case, can be particularly beneficial to create a trusting relationship with your customers.

#Customer service starts with #positive language, https://t.co/QWSzcu9pqB pic.twitter.com/U9hmL7P2q1

— The Mentor Group (@the_mentorgroup) May 18, 2016

Ask your team to use verbs more positively. Instead of asking your customer to not or avoid doing a certain action, inform them why the alternative is the better option. For instance, instead of saying “don’t use your phones” say “it’s better to keep your phones switched off.”

The idea here is to prove your authenticity and positivity, and reinforce a calm and peaceful image of your company to the customer – even when they’re angry.

Prioritize Finding a Common Ground

You may already know empathy is one of the very foundations of excellent customer service. After all, it’s the ability to understand how your customer is feeling, and trying to see the problem through their eyes.

While many people are born with this trait, it’s also a skill that can be acquired – luckily. 

You must try to empathize with your customers. Not only will it help de-escalate a conflict, but also give a positive impression of your company. 89% of consumers read company responses to online reviews, so empathy is especially critical in this regard.

However, in order to empathize, you need a common ground of communication. 

This can include live chat, telephone calls, or the more practical, email. You see, customers want to connect with you in a bid to vocalize their problems, and having a common ground of communication helps meet this very need.

Invest in Your Customer Service Team’s Skillset

In addition to your mental skill set, understanding the technicality of the job is equally important.

Customers can come to you with all kinds of problems, and they want each one of the questions answered as efficiently and swiftly as possible. 

Suppose you don’t know how to implement a service ticket. Not only will you be wasting your time trying to do this when attending to a customer, but also your customer’s time. And we know the one thing that customers don’t appreciate is waiting for nothing. 

You, along with your teammates, should know how to use the ticketing system, live chat, email, or any other help desk system you use when making note of the complaint or query. If you want to have true congruence across your organization, you could use an online course platform to develop one, or many training courses for your staff as well.  And oh, typing fast and having excellent communication skills is incredibly important too.

Using Advanced Tech for Better Service

There’s no doubt that face-to-face contact is the best way of dealing with customers. But when the number in question becomes hard to handle – we’re talking hundreds or thousands – relying simply on human resources may be inefficient. 

What you need here is technology.

Try to use technology that has been specifically developed to improve and enhance customer experience. For instance, using a live chat feature that offers 24/7 service, offering free delivery after the purchase of a specific amount, and automating product returns are excellent tactics to build customer loyalty as they help ensure seamless interaction at all times.

Performing Periodical Evaluations

It’s obvious for customer support teams to have their limitations, which is precisely why your aim here should be to identify these weaknesses as well as make necessary and relevant adjustments that can help you deliver better customer service. 

Try to look for reasons behind customer complaints by performing regular evaluations. The next thing on your agenda should be finding ways to eliminate these problems to provide an even better service to your clients.

Excellent Customer Service = Customer Loyalty

Considering customer acquisition costs 5x more than satisfying and retaining current customers, it makes perfect sense to invest and work on developing customer loyalty. You need to work on your customer service if you want to stay relevant in the long run. 

Start by improving your customer support team’s mental and technical skills. Also educate team members about the importance of empathizing with your customers and performing regular evaluations to identify weak spots.

Remember, just focusing on price is only a race to the bottom – plus, companies who already have loyal customers don’t need to compete on price. It’s leveraging strong relationships with customers that will always keep them coming back, and help your business survive for longer.

The post Guest Post: How to Build Customer Loyalty With Excellent Customer Service appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Good CX has to be a priority if your business focuses on customer support and email marketing. This will set you apart from the competition.

The Meaning Of The Term Customer Experience

Basically, customer experience (CX) is a broad term that includes all interactions between a customer and a company. It actually refers to the period from the first moment of awareness until the current moment. That consists of moments prior, during, and following a purchase, provided service, or experience.

For example, consider CX as a customer journey with several touchpoints between the consumer and the company so that you can understand it better. That said, the customer journey consists of sequential phases, activities, questions, and potential barriers. These moments of direct engagement are known as touchpoints. And you can see their range from the product itself to conventional customer service.

The Advantages Of Customer Experience Research

For starters, your entire organization needs to understand the impact of positive CX to develop an efficient and successful strategy.

Customer experience influences the chances of consumers promoting your business to their friends and the likelihood of them becoming your customers. It also has an indirect impact on your employee experience.

As per Forrester’s research, brands that focus on customer experience management have a 14% edge over those that don’t focus on CX research and usability testing.

In addition, it can help you lower the cost to acquire and serve a customer by better understanding and servicing your customers. That, in return, will result in increased revenues.

Social Media and Customer Experience

Customers are constantly connecting with brands through various platforms, including websites and social media. Because of that, the importance of CX research is increasing.

According to recent statistics, customers use different channels at different times of their journey. For example, users can discover your company on social media because of your specific product or article. Then, they can go and visit your website or use Google to get more information before making a purchase.

You can also follow UI design trends for your site to look more appealing and use social media to connect with customers. In addition, try to prioritize engagement and interaction. All this can help your company recognize potential customers and help in creating an excellent experience for them.

Develop A Customer Experience Strategy

While each company’s approach to developing a customer experience strategy is different, several basic elements are universally important for every brand’s process.

“CXM = The art and science of coaxing lifetime loyalty from daily transactions.” – Steve Curtin

1. CX Research

For starters, the best approach to learn about your customers is to do detailed research. That is the first stage of your CX campaign.

From surveys to analytics, you should use both quantitative and qualitative data. In addition, pay attention to personalities and behaviors, and you’ll be able to grasp a better knowledge of your consumers’ needs. For example, Hotjar alternatives are one of the best strategies to boost your website’s total conversion rate and track customer behavior and needs.

Try to evaluate the following data when you’re doing the research:

• CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) – is determined using simple survey feedback.
• Accessibility –  how easily clients can locate what they’re looking for on your company’s website.
• Intention and goal realization – what users expect from your brand and whether they think you can meet their goals.
• Response time – how fast your firm serves consumers, replies to questions, and more.
• Referrals rate – an indicator of loyalty.
• Metrics based on numbers – visited pages, time on the website, and conversion rate, for example.

2. Create Journey Maps For Your Customers

Create a customer journey map once you’ve collected and evaluated your client data and created several profiles for your users base.

A customer journey map visualizes a customer’s interaction with a brand, its products/services, and staff. The personas you use to describe the present customer experience guide the map’s members uniquely.

You can design an example user based on your research findings. To help them come to life, give them a name as well as some identifying details.

For example, Katie Smith:

• Age and gender: 30-year-old woman
• Location: Manhattan, New York
• Role: Production manager
• Motivators: Solving problems, software
• Hobbies: Running, playing guitar, and gardening

So, the primary benefit of this map is that it visually organizes the points of contact between the client and your company. Some of the examples are emotional responses, needs, pain points, and more.

Moreover, journey maps give your company insight into possible customer decision-making situations, in addition to helping them better understand the factors that affect customers’ purchasing decisions.

To be more precise, this kind of mapping creates a perspective of the customer experience and discovers every flaw in your current strategy.

3. Your Current Staff Can Help Build Your CX

Employees concerned about the customer’s experience and happiness and those who have a customer-centric mindset are crucial.

A simple phone conversation with a real person can provide unexpected insight into how your CX strategy performs. Verify that your customer service team can share gathered data. Also, try to motivate product managers to seek key customers and schedule open-ended meetings.

Take into account your company’s culture as well. For example, are all of the company’s leaders and employees on the same page? Do they share clearly defined values that support positive customer experiences? Is there anything you can do to make your company more user-centric?

Focus on your current team as their motivation, or lack of motivation can have an impact on your users’ experience.

4. Execute Your CX Strategy

“No longer will people accept viral marketing. What consumers are expecting — and craving — is a more personalized, curated experience.” – Penny Wilson

You can now freely take action after you’ve completed your research and have your goals set.

A Customer Experience Management (CEM) program should be the core of your executive strategy. With that program, you can manage and measure customer interactions at all contact points. In addition, using such technology and coordinating tasks among your team will make the experience management process go smoothly.

Among the most important CX technologies are:

• Self-service
• Live chat
• Mobile support
• Social support
• Omnichannel support

The future of customer experience

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way around.” – Steve Jobs

Artificial intelligence (AI) will drive Customer Experience Management (CEM) in the future. The technologies can work together to automate repetitive operations and make them easier. As a result, human workers will be freer and get all the AI insight to help them quickly resolve client issues.

These improvements will effectively identify frustrated and dissatisfied users and those who could be on the verge of switching to a competitor. In addition, AI will immediately forecast who these consumers will be and step in early to prevent those issues.

CX Research as Marketing 

As we all know, customers now have higher expectations than ever, and your company should change its strategy accordingly. Moreover, as the user gains more influence, the customer experience becomes increasingly more important.

Customer experience is an area that needs constant nurturing and care. With that in mind, if your organization places a big emphasis on CX research, you will see a rise in customer loyalty, retention, and revenue growth.

The post CX Research As a Main Marketing Strategy appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

These are values Carolina Biological Supply Company holds close to its heart. It instills these principles into everything it does, from staff training to its products and services. And most of all, of course, when it comes to its customer support. 

And so, following a number of years of successful experiences with LiveHelpNow live chat service, Carolina Biological added another tool to its customer support arsenal. To help “get control of growing email volume” the company implemented the ticket management feature. 

“Email management is one of the most important pieces of software we purchased in Customer Service in my eight years with Carolina Biological,” says the Director of Customer Service, Stephen Kidder. “We implemented email management right before the Covid restrictions, and it could not have come at a better time. Customers began to use email as a major medium of communication with us. We saw our email volume grow exponentially, and it has not let up.”

With increasing digital communications across many industries, many companies can relate to the challenges Carolina Biological faced. After all, digital communication, including email, has shown a significant increase since the beginning of the pandemic. 

LiveHelpNow’s ticket management feature helped Carolina Biological organize and keep its email communications under control. Let’s see how this tool can successfully improve email communications for any company, big or small. 

Carolina Biological Supply Company: Science Education Supply Solutions

The challenges of increasing email communications might be new to Carolina Biological, but the company has seen it all during its 90-plus years – yes, 90-plus! – years of history in the business. Based in North Carolina, the company has been providing science educators and professionals with various scientific supplies for decades. 

Carolina stays in tune with the needs of science educators.  The product line is broad and deep.  The company specializes in serving the needs of science educators and students at all levels, from kindergarten to postgraduate studies.  Through it all, Carolina’s number one goal is world-class customer service.  

The company employs over 450 people, many of whom are former educators. The staff understands the unique challenges teachers face in the classroom and laboratory. The company often collaborates with teachers and institutions to create new educational products. 

With a large customer base, a large and increasing variety of products, and thousands of customers with various needs, Carolina Biological faces many challenges when it comes to customer communications. As Kidder mentioned, the pandemic increased the customer email volume, increasing the need for expanded customer support. Additionally, the pandemic changed the format of their customer support as the department now operates approximately 85% of its staff remotely.  Once again, LiveHelpNow tools came in handy during the challenging times. 

“Teachers moving to remote learning had a major change on how they chose to communicate with us. We needed email management to help us handle the increase in email communications,” Kidder says. 

Ticket Management Solution Helped Organize Email Communications

According to Kidder, the ticket management solution helped the company in one major way – organization. 

Here is how our intelligent email and ticket management inbox works. 

Intelligent Inbox

First, with the ticket management system, users have the option of creating a unified inbox.

• Customer emails turn into trackable tickets that include attached files. 
• All conversations are threaded – even those that take place through live chat, SMS, or social media messages – meaning they stay together.
• Customers can receive automated ticket status notifications that include company messaging.
• Ticket triggers can help manage support workflows manually or automatically. 
• Customizable rules and conditions pull all customer emails into one convenient dashboard.
• Email-to-ticket integration can combine web form input, ticket communications, and emails into one omnichannel stream. 
• Adding a company logo and messaging can help support branding.

“LiveHelpNow helped us organize and structure our emails, using various rules and conditions,” Kidder says. “[The solution] has allowed us to properly categorize and prioritize emails, automatically reroute emails to appropriate departments, and auto-close emails where no action is required. This has been saving us countless hours in labor costs, among other things.”

Using the solution also gave the customer support team the confidence that they were providing the best service possible.

“Since implementing email management, email processing is more efficient, resulting in reduced turnaround response times and consequently, better service for our customers,” Kidder says. “My group has done a nice job effectively utilizing the organizational features/functions and reporting capabilities LiveHelpNow has to offer.  The reporting features within LiveHelpNow give me a much more detailed look at what is coming in, when it is coming in, and how long it has been open.”  

As Kidder reports, LiveHelpNow ticket management features can help with the organization of email communication. But they offer much more than that. 

Here are some of the specific features that came in handy for Carolina Biological supply. 

Tagging Feature of Ticket Management 

With increasing email and other digital communications, companies might become overwhelmed. One solution to this common pain point is our manual and automatic tagging feature. 

While each customer interaction has its own details, many conversations relate to issues that customer service agents handle often. These could be questions about pricing, upgrades, technical, or other common inquiries.  Tagging provides valuable insights into the client base. It also categorizes communications and organizes them into manageable segments. Multiple inquiries about a specific feature customers would like to see can spark the initiative to develop such a feature or product. Chronic customer complaints about a specific issue can help come up with a solution. Tagging can help keep track of all such inquiries. 

Automatic tagging can tag interactions based on the language used within the communications. Additionally, agents can use up to five tags for cross-reference. 

“Utilizing the tagging features, we can identify the reason why customers email and chat with us,” Kidder says. “We use this data to adjust our customer service operations. For example, frequent reasons for contact led us to implement self-service options to handle several common contact reasons.”

Keyword Search Ability and Auto-Close Features

Beyond tagging, the ticket management tool provides the ability to search customer communications based on specific keywords. This feature not only helped Carolina Biological to better serve its customers but also saved the company time and money. 

Kidder explains that the company receives hundreds of automated emails from various vendors. The majority of these communications require no further actions on Carolina Biological’s part. However, in instances when the company must contact a customer about an order, these automated communications are very useful.

“Because these emails are in the same format, we look for keywords and can auto-close the majority of emails in which we do not need to contact customers,” Kidder says. “This auto-close feature we developed has saved us countless hours of meaningless work and costly labor.”

Reporting as an Important Feature of Ticket Management 

You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you have been (or where you are, for that matter.) When it comes to LiveHelpNow’s ticket management solution, the reporting feature can help discover where a company’s customer service is on the map.  

For Carolina Biological, the ticket management reporting provided some data that helped assess and improve their customer service experiences. 

“We answer all customer emails within 24 hours and most emails are answered the same day,” Kidder says.” Because of the tagging feature, we have a better understanding why customers email and chat with us. And so, we have used this data to help us identify several improvements to the customer experience.  We are also able to audit agent emails/chats for quality assurance purposes.”

As a result, the quality of Carolina Biological customer service has gone up, as customers reflect their satisfaction with NPS surveys, Kidder says. With that, the customer service team gets a boost in motivation for further improvement. 

“Our agents are willing to adapt to changes in our market and learn new technologies and software applications like LiveHelpNow to better serve our customers,” Kidder says. 

Knowledge Base and Self-Service Features

Growth inspires more growth. 

As Kidder mentioned, the ticket management solution helped Carolina Biological to discover additional customer needs. One of those is the need for self-service. 

“We are now adding the Knowledge Base function for two reasons,” he said. “First, we are utilizing the LiveHelpNow Knowledge Base to help our customer service representatives find information much easier. Second, we are looking to make the customer experience better for those customers who are looking for self-service and find answers to their questions in our knowledge base library.

Of course, we have yet to leverage all the features and functions of LiveHelp but look forward to continuing to work towards adding new features to help our agents and our customers.”

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Even one instance of poor customer experience is enough to lose a customer. In fact, an American Express customer service study found that 33 percent of consumers would consider switching companies immediately after experiencing poor customer service.

On the other hand, a very positive customer service interaction can prevent customers from doing business elsewhere, even if they have experienced an issue of some sort. According to Salesforce, 78 percent of consumers “will forgive a company for its mistake after receiving excellent service.”

Customers want to be heard. They want to feel as if the problem they’re experiencing matters to the person with whom they’re speaking. The representatives with highly developed communication and interpersonal skills and a high level of emotional intelligence make customers feel this way. These skills don’t come naturally to everyone. But they can all be learned and developed through practice. In this article, we’ve identified seven of the most important communication skills for customer service representatives. We also offer some tips for developing them. Mastering these skills will help anyone become a more effective communicator. Lasting relationships with customers and an enhanced brand reputation will naturally follow.

1. Active Listening

More than merely listening, active listening applies focus and attention to what the customer is saying. It’s easy for a customer to tell when a customer service agent isn’t really listening to them. Simply going through the motions as if reading from a script just won’t do. Active listening, or effective listening, is also key in preventing miscommunications.

Tips on Developing Active Listening

• Focus on the customer. Don’t pull up files or work on other projects when you’re listening to him or her.
• Show interest in what the customer is saying through confirmation language such as “I see” or “I understand.” If applicable, nod and maintain eye contact during the interaction.
• Repeat back to the customer the jist of what he or she has just said to you. This demonstrates that you understand and were actively listening.
• Ask open-ended questions that allow the customer to elaborate. This shows them you’re trying to completely understand their concern or problem.
• Practice active listening with coworkers, friends, or family members. Skills take practice. After a while, active listening will become natural. Active listening skills will pay dividends in your professional and personal life. 

2. Patience 

A customer service representative has the difficult job of remaining calm and collected, especially in the face of a frustrated or confused customer. This is no easy task, especially at the end of a long day. Patience can go a long way in helping the customer come away from an interaction feeling positive.

Tips on Developing Patience

• Establish realistic expectations for your interactions. Not every customer will have a problem that can be easily solved. Nor will every customer understand what you’re communicating to them. Understand that this is all part of the process.
• Avoid taking things personally. No one wants to be yelled at or criticized, but do your best to remember that customers may be frustrated or angry due to circumstances beyond your control. It’s not your fault, even if the customer is speaking to you as if it is. 
• If you feel your patience is wearing thin, take a small break. Drink some water, stretch, or speak with a coworker to reduce your stress and frustration. 

3. Empathy

Empathy, or putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, is a difficult skill to develop. However, it’s one of the most powerful skills you can use during customer interactions. Even if you can’t fully relate to a customer, there are ways to show them you care. As more companies turn to automation for customer service, the human touch will go a long way toward creating loyal customers.

Tips on Developing Empathy

• Use phrases like “That must be very frustrating” or “I can see why you’re upset.” Empathy statements let the customer know that you’re able to see things from their perspective.
• Let the customer know you’re on their side. Confirm to them that their problem or concern warrants action on your part and that you’ll work with them to reach a resolution.
• Avoid being defensive. Customers often see the customer service rep as the person responsible for their issue, despite that rarely ever being the case. Avoid sidestepping blame or addressing fault and focus on resolving the customer’s issue.

4. Problem-Solving

The ability to quickly and effectively solve customer problems is the foundation of all problem-solving skills. The customer has come to you seeking a solution, and they expect you to provide one in a timely manner. 

Tips on Developing Problem-Solving

• Acquire a deep understanding of your products and/or services. Before you can come up with the best solution for any given situation, you need to know what the options are. Be able to respond to customer inquiries about a specific product update or general product knowledge. Have relevant details and even free resources on hand to share with customers. This will eliminate a huge amount of customer frustration.
• Come up with multiple solutions. Even if the solution the customer is asking for isn’t possible, providing several other options gives the customer the power to choose. Everyone wants to choose.
• When possible, always choose the best solution for the customer. Even if what they’re requesting is possible, if there’s a better option, advocate for it. This demonstrates your deep knowledge to your current and potential customers.

5. Clarity

When communicating with customers, it’s important to make sure that what you’re saying is exactly what you mean. This is the best way to quickly resolve a customer’s concern. This can be difficult if the product or service is technical or complicated in nature, but in such cases, clarity is even more important. 

Tips on Developing Clarity

• Avoid using technical jargon. Customers may not understand what you’re trying to convey.
• Use examples when applicable. Complicated ideas can be made simple with a good example. 
• Check for understanding. When you’ve finished explaining something, ask the customer if they’ve understood what you’ve said. 
• Be concise. Don’t give the customer unnecessary information that could cloud their understanding. 
• Ask clarifying questions. If you don’t understand what the customer is saying, there’s no way you’ll be able to provide the best solution.

6. Persuasion 

As a customer service representative, you have limited control over what solutions you’re able to offer to the customer. This means you’ll often have to rely on your persuasion skills. It’s your job to help persuade the customer that your proposed solution will work for them.

Tips on Developing Persuasion

• Build rapport between yourself and the customer. The customer will be more open to accepting your solution if you’ve developed some goodwill between yourself and the customer.
• Highlight the benefits of your solution. Make it clear to the customer how your proposed solution will benefit them, even if it’s not what the customer originally wanted.
• If possible, offer incentives or rewards to the customer. If it’s in your power, a discount or reward can be very persuasive to a customer.
• Use positive language. Discussing an alternative solution with a positive tone can help the customer accept your solution, even if it’s not what they originally wanted.

7. Adaptability

Anyone who has worked in customer service knows that interactions don’t always go according to plan. Being able to come up with the best solutions, even in difficult situations, is what adaptability is all about. 

Tips on Developing Adaptability

• Stay informed. Make sure you’re aware of any and all solutions available to customers. This information makes it much easier to adapt to unexpected situations in the future.
• Be flexible. Don’t let rigid operating procedures stifle your ability to adapt to the different needs of customers.
• Collaborate with colleagues. Others might have approaches to problems that you’ve never thought of and could incorporate yourself. 
• Provide proactive customer service. Following up after an interaction is a great way to surprise a customer and show them you’re willing to go the extra mile. This may not be applicable in every situation.
• Leverage customer feedback or survey responses to confirm your clients’ satisfaction. If you’re in a customer-facing role, use feedback to verify that you’re asking effective questions and explaining complex concepts. If you find that several customer complaints share a similar theme, adapt your approach to overcome these issues.

Customer Service Communication Skills: A Way to Customers’ Hearts

With the wide range of product and service options available to customers today, positive customer interactions and customer happiness are more important than ever. For those preparing for certifications, utilizing reliable resources like Microsoft AZ-140 practice test dumps can enhance their success. Whether you’re working in a call center talking to customers or communicating via email, text messages, live chat, or social media, investing in these seven skills can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your customer service. Positive interactions, happy customers, and customer retention will prove to you the value of communication skills. Apply these tips to strengthen your customer service communication skills or implement them as part of a customer service training program or business growth initiative.

If you’re looking for a better way to engage with your customers and deliver exceptional service to your customer base, consider using the LiveHelpNow chat service. Chatbots can improve customer engagement and reach customers who aren’t as inclined to contact you via phone. Book a free demo to see what LiveHelpNow can do for your business.

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To help you differentiate between jobs in customer support and customer experience, we asked founders and business leaders this question for their best insights. From specific technical skills vs broad soft skills to one being transactional and the other relationship-building, there are several insights that may help you relate better to the distinct roles of customer support and customer experience in the workplace.

Here are 12 differences between customer support and customer experience:

Specific Technical Skills vs Broad Soft Skills

Customer experience requires specific technical skills. Representatives have to know the ins and outs of the sales funnel, from building awareness to closing the sale. They also need to know details about products and explain how they work. Meanwhile, customer support or customer care roles require broad soft skills, like active listening and adaptability. It’s a problem-solving job, with the aim of preserving customer loyalty once a sale is concluded.

Phillip Lew, C9 Staff

Customer Experience Maximizes Brand-Specific Qualities

Working a role in customer experience has much more to do with branding and marketing than working in customer service. Customer experience employees learn, research, and facilitate customers’ overarching impressions and experiences of a company through initial impression management, brand messaging, social media presence, email responsiveness, and many other factors that influence consumers’ feelings about a brand. Customer experience employees understand how consumers interact with brands across various media and platforms and develop holistic strategies to optimize these interactions for maximum brand profitability. Especially today, customers respond best to brands that personalize themselves directly to their consumers. 

By focusing on engaging positive and empathetic customer interactions across platforms, customer experience employees facilitate the best reviews, satisfaction ratings, and customer retention due to customers’ overall impressions of interacting with a business.

James Shalhoub, Finn

Experience is Collective While Support is Individual

The difference between customer experience and customer support is simple: one addresses the consumer as a group and the other addresses the consumer as an individual. In practice, both are required if you wish to maximize satisfaction and encourage brand loyalty. To give an example: jobs in customer support address individual issues faced by customers. For instance, a customer might ask about the progress of their delivery or need help making a return. These are individual needs, benefiting only the customer who asks the question. 

Customer experience, on the other hand, addresses the “collective” impression that your customers have of your company throughout every stage of the buyer’s journey. This has a broad scope; it involves everything from crafting a seamless checkout experience to having a fair returns policy, to offering discounts for long-term customers. It consists of work ‘behind the scenes to curate a congruent, high-quality experience that customers truly appreciate.

Aaron Gray, Agency 101

Solving Specific Issues vs Providing Value

While both customer experience and customer support are part of the entire customer journey, and deeply incorporate close customer interaction, they’re quite unique in themselves. Customer experience agents are all about providing value to customers and leading them down the sales funnel. Customer support roles generally focus on solving specific issues, taking customer feedback, and maintaining customer loyalty after the sale. Both types of customer service team members help ensure a positive customer experience and may receive customer satisfaction scores. Chris Abrams, Marcan Insurance

Chris Abrams, Marcan Insurance

Customer Experience is An Ongoing Process

Customer service jobs require an employee to assist and advocate for customers before, during, and after the purchase of a product or service. On the other hand, customer experience jobs involve all the ways in which a customer interacts with a company and how those interactions are perceived. Customer service jobs are directly focused on providing a fast response and empathetic interactions over the customers’ preferred channel. Meanwhile, customer experience roles have a broad range across many touchpoints. Customer experience is an ongoing process that includes everything from marketing materials, and the sales experience to the quality of the product itself. Customer experience even encompasses customer service. The key difference is in the focus of customer service on providing a positive interaction for customers when they are directly engaging with a product or service.

Liza Kirsh, DYMAPAK

Partial vs More Holistic

Customer support is very narrow, and targeted at a specific part of the customer experience. However, customer experience, as a job, is more holistic. It requires more attention and effort at the outset and asks more of the customer service representative. Customer support aims to save the relationship that those in customer experience have spent time and energy building up, so they’re on opposite ends of the entire customer journey.

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

Data-focused vs Human Interactions

Customer support focuses on actual customer care interactions, answering questions, giving advice, and offering assistance. Customer experience is about the entire journey the customer takes when interacting with a brand. From the first advertisements they see all the way through purchasing and retention, all of these things fall under the banner of customer experience. A job in customer experience doesn’t necessarily require direct customer interactions– it could be entirely data-focused. A job in customer support is entirely about talking to people and helping them through whatever phase of the customer experience they’re in.

Jaymee Messler, The Gaming Society

Automating The Process vs Humanizing The Buyer’s Journey

Customer experience paves the way for customer satisfaction, then customer support comes in to assist where their automated systems fall short. Marketing teams develop features via copywriting and web design that make the customer journey more appealing to leads. Their goal is to make the customer’s experience as easy as possible without needing live assistance. Customer experience eliminates the need for employees to hold the visitor’s hand through the purchasing process. Of course, automation can’t solve every problem. So employees enter the sales funnel to guide customers and clear their doubts. Customer support humanizes the buyer’s journey.

Nancy Mitchell, Assisted Living Center

Small Picture vs Big Picture

Customer support is only one facet of customer experience, with the latter describing the entire customer journey from start to finish. Customer experience aims to understand the bigger picture by observing the distinct phases of customer-business interactions. A job in customer experience means monitoring data on acquisition, onboarding, retention, and advocacy through the various touchpoints along the way. Customer support is a part of that journey, but it focuses on providing assistance and advice. Rather than looking at data and overall trends, customer support interacts directly with customers with the goal of helping them with their immediate needs and concerns.

Soumya Mohan, Poised

Customer Experience is a Culture

Customer experience is more than simply asking, “How can we help?”. It’s the step-by-step process of acclimating a consumer to your brand and giving them what they need to solve their needs. This ranges from pre-purchase, where the customer lacks awareness of what you do, all the way to post-purchase, where the customer has evaluated you against competitors and decided to move forward with your services. As such, it involves a culmination of different factors, shifting in priority from one stage to the next. For example, seamless navigation takes precedence during the earliest stages of a customer’s journey. In the end, however, customer support and post-purchase communication become increasingly relevant and valuable when the customer is well-acquainted. Identifying these distinctions is essential for carving out a supportive company culture, streamlining the customer experience, and driving all forms of repeat business.

Max Wesman, GoodHire

Support is Reactive and Experience is Proactive

One difference between jobs in customer support and customer experience is that the customer support role is often more reactive, while the customer experience role is more proactive. In a support role, you may be responding to customer complaints or addressing issues that have arisen. In a customer experience role, you are working to create a positive experience for customers even before they encounter any problems. Another difference is that a customer support role may require more technical knowledge. Meanwhile, a customer experience role may require more interpersonal skills

Adam Gaskill, CRC Industries

Transactional vs Relationship-building

Customer support focuses on relationship-building, maintenance, and loyalty to the consumer. On the other hand, customer experience is primarily transactional since it includes everything from initial awareness to aftercare. The role of a customer support agent is to help maintain a customer’s positive experience by solving the issue at hand. Alternatively, customer experience agents are doing their best to provide a good experience, but the ultimate goal is to make a sale.

Retta Kekic, Qwick

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

The post What is the difference between customer support and customer experience? appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

After a long day in Phoenix, AZ, I needed a quick pick-me-up. I found a place called Dutch-Bros, a popular west-coast coffee drive-through chain. 

The pick-me-up happened before I even got my coffee. A girl with bright blue hair came out and greeted me at the curb of the drive-through; there was no standard drive-through intercom in place.

She commented on the custom t-shirt I was wearing, asked me how my night was going and informed me that since it was my first time at the establishment my order would be free. Both she and the girl at the window, who handed me my coffee, were extremely pleasant, vibrantly personal, and cheerfully amazing.

As I drove away I knew that not only would be coming back for more coffee the next day, I would have to share my story. (Hence this little shout-out to Dutch-Bros Coffee Company).

How is it that two years after my visit I still love telling this story? 

The reason the experience was so memorable was because it made me feel really good. That is what great customer experiences do – they reach deeply into our emotions. The experiences we remember most have little to do with what others actually do, and everything to do with how it makes us feel.

Customer service that employs universal psychological principles will stand out because they positively touch customers on an emotional level. Exceptional customer experience makes customers feel good because it satisfies their deep emotional needs. 

In the world of stiff completion, positively standing out in customers’ memories is crucial. In this article, we’ll explore five psychological principles that’ll help your customer support staff do just that.

Principle #1: Self-actualization and Goal Support

Before the year 1976, few people even thought about having a personal computer. And before the early 2000s most people did not consider walking around with 1000 songs in their pockets. The first Apple computer and the introduction of the first iPod changed that. How did the Apple company’s products gain popularity so quickly? By using self-actualization, one of the most powerful psychological principles. 

Source

Dr. Linda Henman of Henman Performance group explains. 

“Steve Jobs didn’t wait for [people] to tell him what they needed in computers. He told us what we needed and then developed one of a kind approaches to technology. Most retailers don’t have to be that inventive. They just have to know their customers and then give them what they want, not what they want them to have. Companies with solid approaches to marketing help us realize our ideal selves, the people we wish we were. Help people get closer to their ideal selves and their ideal lives.”

How can a customer support agent use the self-actualization principle to everyday interactions with customers? By asking questions like, “What are my customers’ goals?” “What does our ideal customer want and expect of us?”  “What is our unique contribution?” and  “Who would miss us if we went away?”. 

Self-actualization makes customers feel good by bringing them closer to their goals.

Principle #2: R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 

Respect is one of the deeper, more basic psychological principles. The need for respect is universal. 

Psychologist Dr. Guy Winch believes that feeling disrespected is the primary cause of customer attrition. Disrespect stalls customer service’s main goal of ensuring satisfaction and enhancing customer loyalty, he says. 

“Respect should be the cornerstone of customer service. It should be the one concept that is emphasized throughout corporate ranks from C level management all the way down to frontline employees. In fact, frontline employees who are treated with respect by their companies are far more likely to treat their customers with respect as well.” (Dr. Guy Winch, Psychology Today)

Winch cites three most common needs customers have when it comes to respect in customer service.

Respect for customer’s time. 

When it comes to time, we all do not have enough of it. 

Source: Shep Hyken

Customer experience expert Shep Hyken stresses the importance of not only being on time, but showing up early to prepare for customer interactions. He refers to the concept as “Lombardi time” in honor of Vince Lombarti. Lombardi’s demand for excellence from his teams included the requirement of showing up not just on time, but early. It scored him not only great games on the field, but a spot in history.

Related: Always Be Amazing: A Lesson in Lombardi Time with Shep Hyken

Long holds, lengthy processes, and late or delayed service are all examples of disrespect towards customers. We don’t need to go far to see real-life illustrations of this. 

@etrade I was told to call customer service to transact in my account, and now I’m on hold going on 45 minutes. The last three times I’ve called it’s the same deal. Your chat says there’s a 2 hour wait as well. The disrespect for your customers time is BEYOND infuriating.

— Kate Marcus (@kgm1050) January 4, 2021

To show more respect for customers’ time it’s important to implement infrastructure that supports quick, simple, and efficient customer service. Create a balance between automation and live chat support. Utilize tools that can help improve First Contact Resolution rates. Take measures to prevent customer service agent burnout. Invest in means to improve the speed of service without losing quality. Companies that build their customer service on one of the most important psychological principles – respect – win every time. 

Respect for customer’s dignity. 

Speaking to a customer in an impatient, rude, haughty, bored, or sarcastic manner will do the trick of showing disrespect. “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” The golden rule supports respect as one of the psychological principles essential in customer service. 

Related: 10 Golden Rules for Providing Successful Customer Service

Doug C. Brown, the CEO of Business Success Factors, believes that successful customer interactions entail trust between the customers and the brand. 

“Stop treating your customers like customers and treat them like people. People have wants, needs, fears, and desires; behind every business or corporate objective is a personal objective. All of your communications must be oriented to create high rapport and continuous “yes” states of mind. [T]he psychology of most buyers is that they want trust, respect, like, and confidence in and from the person and the company they are buying from.” (Doug Brown, Business Success Factors). 

Respect for customer’s intelligence

Customers are not dummies. If there is something fishy going on in their interactions with a brand they will know it. And they will get triggered. Because, again, respect is a basic psychological principle and a basic need. 

The 7 Service Triggers are the most common #custserv hot buttons we have found! https://t.co/Lwhyg4DiMt pic.twitter.com/jWibCgI28w

— Adam Toporek (@adamtoporek) August 12, 2019

Customer experience expert, Adam Toporek introduced the 7 Service Triggers to the world when he published his book, “Be Your Customer’s Hero.” Being ignored, abandoned, and stereotyped are among these triggers that result in customer dissatisfaction because they insult customers’ intelligence. 

“Obviously, customers are human beings. Everybody has their own personal hot buttons. So, there’s a difference between personal triggers and common triggers. In the end, after working on it over time and thinking about it, I distilled it down to 7 that I found were really prominent…that really were common across industries, across B2B vs. B2C…you saw them pretty much everywhere.” (Adam Toporek)

Related: Triggered by the 7 Service Triggers: Know What Sets Your Customers Off

Recognizing common triggers that communicate disrespect to customers and working to avoid them in all interactions is key. 

Principle #3: Cocktail Party Effect and Personalization 

Have you ever been in a meeting where you tuned out of a conversation as soon as you heard something that was not directly relevant to you? Or have you been in a loud gathering, yet was able to focus on a conversation, disregarding all the noise? Or, perhaps, got excited when you heard your name on a loudspeaker. These are examples of the cocktail party effect. 

Cocktail party effect is one of the psychological principles that explores human need for personal relevance in their interactions. 

In customer support, personalizing experience is the way to fulfil customers’ need of focusing on what’s important to them. 

Behavior change strategist, Jen Clinehens, believes getting to know the customer journey is key in creating true personalized experiences. Understanding customer wants and needs and then tailoring content, brand message, and marketing visuals are some good steps to take. Knowing and using customers’ names, their purchase history, and providing recommendations also positively contribute. (Jen Clinehens, Havas CX helia) 

“93% of companies with an “advanced personalization strategy” saw revenue growth. Only 45.4% of companies without a personalization strategy saw equivalent growth.” – Jen Clinehens @Medium #personalizedmarketing https://t.co/ivHjfR1lYt pic.twitter.com/8mAf9Dj4OK

— Polaris Direct (@PolarisDirect) June 11, 2019

Using tools to personalize everything, from the emails you send to up-sells to marketing materials is a winning strategy. Adding artificial intelligence to aid customer experience is a good tactic as well. Amazon serves as a great example of efficient personalization. The online conglomerate uses AI to offer recommendations and to up-sell to customers.  

On a smaller scale, small mom-and-pop shops practices showcase personal interactions owners have with customers. The small town business model shows that the general customer-first culture embedded in the employee experience really works. It creates a feel of personalization and plays on that cocktail party effect of personal relevance. 

Principle #4: Reciprocity

If someone sends you a holiday card or a gift, your natural reaction is probably to reciprocate. 

Humans are social animals. One of our natural psychological principles is the law of reciprocity. This law describes the universal tendency in human beings to reciprocate to an act of generosity or kindness. If someone is nice to us, we want to be nice back.

The law of reciprocity works wonders in the customer service world. In fact, according to Hubspot, it can dramatically increase customer loyalty. If you ever find yourself losing customers at any point, try this method and measure customer loyalty to see its effect.There are two types of reciprocity and both of them contribute to customer satisfaction. 

• 
  

  Surprise reciprocity is a surprise gift or gesture. An example of this would be when you send your customer free swag or tickets to a company event without warning. 

  
  
• 
  

  Trumpeted reciprocity is when the person giving or doing something beneficial does so in a way that reveals that they are going above and beyond. It doesn’t mean you document and put all the great things you do in a monthly report, but it is obvious to the customer that what you are doing is outside the normal scope of the working relationship. An example of this would be giving your customer early access to a new product or feature.

  
  

The concept of going above and beyond for each and every customer is on the top of the list when it comes to advice from customer experience experts. Chip Bell, for example, urges businesses to get as creative as possible and provide value-unique customer service that is unexpected, simple, and brand-fitting. 

Principle #5: Peak and End

Angie was a no-nonsense kind of personal trainer at my gym. She pushed everyone in her classes to the limit and she never, ever let you slack. But in addition to being a tough instructor she was also a smart business woman. She placed the toughest exercises at the end of the class. She explained that fitness enthusiasts, already exhausted in the last minutes of the work out, would push themselves even further. (With Angie’s firm encouragement, of course.) Then, when they completed the workout and went home they had the euphoric feeling of major accomplishment on their minds. So they remembered that and came back the next time. This is a great example of peak-and-end rule in action. 

The rule states that people judge events based on only two parts of their experience – the peak and the end, and not the entire experience as a whole. The peak refers to the moment when the experience had its strongest emotion (it can be positive or negative) and the end is simply how the experience ended. 

Source

To use this rule to ensure customer satisfaction, Kelechi Okeke of Customer Think recommends a three-step process. 

Step 1. Identify peaks by examining customer journey and discovering the emotional highs and lows of the experience. 

Step 2. Make emotional peaks positive. The easiest way to do that is by design, highlighting the peak’s positivity, ease, or other ways of delight. Applying essential customer service skills can help with this step. 

Step 3. Create a grand finale. Incorporate something extra at the end of the experience – a discount, a surprise message, or something as simple as a joke. Anything that could make the ending memorable. (I still feel those abs. Thanks, Angie)

Psychological Principles Make CX Better

Some things are universal to all humans. Like the need to feel respected, the desire to fulfil our goals, the tendency to be nice to people who are nice to us. We also remember things in the same ways, same negative actions trigger us, and we all want to tune in when we hear our name called. 

Every customer interaction is unique. Yet some things are common enough that when brands create customer experience they can build them in a way that engages the customers, delights them, and makes them feel good. These experiences will stay with the customers, will ensure customer loyalty, and perhaps even inspire some customer-led storytelling. Such experiences are built on universal psychological principles. 

Remember my pick-me-up at Dutch Bros.? The experience left me feeling good. It fulfilled my goal of having a delicious cup of coffee I was craving. The staff showed me respect by engaging with me, yet serving me quickly and efficiently. The servers personalized my experience by talking to me, asking me questions, and coming to my car to take the order. After waiting in line I didn’t really care how long it was. because the peak and the end of my experience were positive. And because everyone was so nice, I will never forget the experience and will never get tired of telling this story and spreading the good word.

So get in your customers heads and touch their hearts. Make their experience with you the one they will remember and your business the one they won’t forget. 

The post 5 Principles That Drive the Psychology of Customer Service appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

To help you earn a previous customer’s business, we asked business professionals and leaders this question for their insights. From checking in and re-engaging to addressing and realizing any issues, there are several ways to attract an old customer back to your company. 

Here are 15 ways to win back past customers:

• Check-in and Re-engage
• Act on Feedback and Take Action
• Be Sincere With a Prompt Response
• Personalize the Client Experience
• Address and Recognize the Issues
• Manage Your Online Reputation
• Follow the Data
• Find Out Why They Left First
• End the Relationship on a Positive Note
• Offer Exclusive Discounts and Sales Promotions
• Mention New Offerings
• Fix What Went Wrong
• Show Improvement
• Use Email Marketing Strategies
• Keep the Relationship Going

1. Check-In and Re-engage 

Henry Babichenko, European Denture Center

“Get on the phone or send a nice email to check-in and take the opportunity to reassess your customers’ needs. In your email or conversation, offer special discounts for customers who complete a quick reassessment survey. One of the best times to check-in is on special occasions like birthdays and holidays. This approach is sure to win back a past customer.”

2. Act on Feedback and Take Action

Randall Smalley, Cruise America

“Customer feedback is, without a doubt, an important element of your company’s website. If a customer’s recommendation is not taken into account, no matter how much you simplify a feature or an aspect, it will not suffice. 

You never know if you’re losing out on a wealth of useful information and suggestions that could improve the overall user experience. Recognize that just receiving their feedback is insufficient. 

You’ll need to turn that into a beneficial action that shows consumers you’re serious about taking feedback and acting on it.”

3. Be Sincere With a Prompt Response

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

“I’ve regained the trust of numerous customers by responding promptly and truly apologizing. The majority of problems are caused by a simple misunderstanding. 

Many clients simply want to be heard. If you ask them honestly what’s on their mind, they’ll most likely tell you. It’s difficult not to take it personally when you’re trying to do the right thing and they don’t see it.

I make sure to give the customer the benefit of the doubt when this happens. You never know who is going through a difficult personal circumstance and taking it out on you simply because you are in their path.”

4. Personalize the Client Experience

Nick Santora, Curricula

“Clients want to be heard and to know that their opinion is valued. If you once served the customer, reach out to them. 

See what their current needs may be and build a service proposal based on that. You may have different services or products since ending their contract that can really help them achieve their current goals.

Once you’re in contact again, make sure to be responsive to their emails or calls to highlight the value you see in having a continued business relationship. Ensuring a personalized experience will be key to welcoming back previous clients.”

5. Address and Recognize the Issues

Brandon Berglund, Berglund Insurance

“Begin by accepting full responsibility for any unaddressed issues. The first approach should be to practice active listening and give them your full attention. Allow customers to air their unspoken concerns or reservations. When customers see that you are willing to acknowledge and address the problem, it inspires them to come back and try again.”

6. Manage Your Online Reputation

Spiros Skolarikis, Comidor

“Pay attention to customer reviews and comments online. First, thank the customer for bringing their concern to your attention and offer to address it directly. 

What we have noticed at Comidor, is that positive reviews from customers help others to feel confident about choosing our process automation solutions. This is one of the best ways to turn a negative experience into a positive one and win back a customer or two in the process.”

7. Follow the Data

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

“Running after each and every churned consumer is not a winning strategy, believe me. Recognize that not every lapsed client is worth pursuing in the future. 

So, to go about choosing your target, analyze the data in your customer success platform straight away. Let the data guide your approach to re-engage with the right customers at the right time.”

8. Find Out Why They Left First

Ryan Shallenberger, SEKISUI

“If you don’t know why you lost those customers, you’re going to have a hard time winning them back. 

Did they find a cheaper product elsewhere? Did they have a bad customer service experience that soured your business with them? Do they no longer need your services? 

When it’s apparent that a customer has moved on, email them an exit survey and ask why they’ve left. Their answers can help prepare you for any moves to try to win them back.”

9. End the Relationship on a Positive Note

McKenzie Nelson, Markitors

“This may be overlooked in a lot of customer service strategies, but ending the relationship on a positive note can play a huge part in winning customers back in the future. For example, if someone gives you notice to cancel, understand WHY, provide excellent communication, over deliver in areas that are possible. My favorite is to always over-deliver information, resources, or reporting since that doesn’t necessarily cost anything, but it can go a long way. Wherever you can turn it into a positive, this experience will help when you ask them to come back in the future.”

10. Offer Exclusive Discounts and Sales Promotions

Desiree Medellin, Peels

“One way to attract former customers is by offering exclusive discounts and sales promotions to incentivize them, much like how Microsoft AZ-204 practice tests dumps provide exclusive insights for Azure exam candidates looking to improve their chances of success. Target campaigns towards old or inactive customers through email or text messages. 

Use personalized messages with phrases such as “We miss you” or “Please come back” and include the special limited offer they’ll receive for their first return sale. If the deal is good, they’re more likely to make a purchase and start buying from you again.”

11. Mention New Offerings

Mike Clare, Mood Health

“When you’re engaging with old customers, mention anything new that your company has to offer. Otherwise, these old customers can only go off of their own particular experiences with the company, which evidently were not positive or useful enough for them to continue being customers. 

If you give them a new impression of how your business can better their lives, they may consider becoming customers again.”

12. Fix What Went Wrong to Win Back Old Customers

Kate Lipman, embrace Scar Therapy

“How do you win these clients back? There is no perfect answer, but there are some tactics that are more successful than others. I’ve found that taking responsibility and having the ability to change your offer is the most helpful. 

While these strategies don’t always win the customer back, they ensure that the client’s final experience with you is a pleasant one, and there is a chance that they will refer your business to friends and family. When taking responsibility, you need to fix what went wrong, regardless of whether or not the customer stays, leaving the customer with a feeling of authenticity from you.”

13. Show Improvement

Michael Conley, Michael Conley Laywers

“The first step to winning back old customers is to find out why and how you lost them in the first place. Take responsibility for their dissatisfaction and show them how you have since improved your offering to meet their standards. Show them that their concerns are seen, heard, and immediately acted upon.”

14. Use Email Marketing Strategies to Win back Old Customers

John Wu, Gryphon Connect

“One strategy to win back old customers is to craft an effective email marketing campaign targeted towards these old customers. It is eight times more difficult to acquire a new customer than to retain a current one, and you should do everything you can to retain these old customers and get them to purchase again. 

Crafting an effective email marketing campaign can often convince an old customer to return to your company again when done the right way. Invest in a team that can help you create an effective campaign and work towards getting these old customers back on the platform again.”

15. Keep the Relationship Going

Dawid Wiacek, The Career Fixer

“The trick is that there is no trick. To win back old customers, keep the relationship warm, keep the lines of communication active. Don’t just reach out when you’re trying to sell something. 

Make sure to offer valuable content, tips, and possibly even freebies and giveaways. Then, when you’re ready to promote a new product or service, those old clients will be that much more likely to bite.”

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

The post How to get Old Customers back: 15 Winback Strategies appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

What is your favorite customer loyalty program? What makes it so great? 

To help you compare and draw inspiration from popular customer loyalty programs, we asked marketing experts and CEO’s this question for their best recommendations. From tiered loyalty programs to paid subscriptions, there are several suggested programs that may help you gain insight into what comprises a successful customer loyalty program.

What is a loyalty program?

A loyalty program rewards customers for repeatedly engaging with a brand. It offers perks like discounts, rewards, or privileges to encourage continued support. Customers typically earn points or statuses based on spending, which they can redeem for rewards.

These programs enhance customer experience and provide businesses with insights into consumer behavior. For managing customer interactions efficiently, businesses can also use tools like Excel invoices receipt templates to streamline their invoicing process and improve overall transaction management. From punch cards to apps, loyalty programs build lasting brand-customer connections.

Here are 13 examples of customer loyalty programs:

• Tiered Loyalty Programs 
• E.L.F’s Beauty Squad
• Mission-Driven Customer Loyalty Programs
• Personalized Rewards
• Dropbox’s Referral Program
• Marriott Bonvoy Benefits
• REI’s Co-Op Program
• Starbucks
• Free Point-Based Programs
• Punch Cards
• The North Face’s XPLR Pass
• Doterra Loyalty Rewards Program
• Paid Subscriptions

Tiered Loyalty Programs

The best loyalty programs have three qualities: great value for their members, additional revenue streams for the business, and potential for growth. That’s why a tiered program is my favorite. Many loyalty programs are one size fits all, meaning they have one level of reward to the customers, providing limited value, and eliminating the exclusive nature of being part of a business’s VIPs.

A customer loyalty rewards for reaching benchmarks based on dollars spent or membership years. As these various metrics grow, the customer moves up in status, providing them greater access to deals, while generating more revenue for the business. In addition, membership numbers in each tier can be publicized, creating a gamification aspect in order to achieve greater status. By implementing a tiered loyalty program, you can create a better customer experience while growing revenue on a continual basis.

Omid Semino, Diamond Mansion

E.L.F.’s Beauty Squad

Because e.l.f. Beauty Squad allows you to earn and unlock e.l.f. reward points on purchases, I believe this is my all-time favorite customer loyalty program. Members of the program can earn points by recommending friends and engaging with their brand on social media. Customers are more likely to join the program if they receive an enrollment reward. They are also given early access to sales and new products, redeemable products, complimentary beauty kits, and various discounts as part of the program. There are three tiers, each with its own set of benefits: EXTRA, EPIC, and ICON.

Veronica Miller, VPNOverview

Mission-Driven Customer Loyalty Programs

Mission-driven customer loyalty programs are my favorite. It helps develop social consciousness as businesses encourage customers to spend for a cause. Some inform customers that a portion of their sales will go to organizations that carry out programs for environmental sustainability, health-compromised individuals, or disaster-stricken areas.

Mission-driven customer loyalty programs communicate how a company intends to go beyond earning profit to helping people or social movements. This way, they can contribute to creating a better place to live in. Note that aligning your loyalty program with a cause can build a stronger relationship with customers. Along the way, it boosts customer engagement and encourages repeat sales.

Michael Haas, Angry BBQ

Personalized Rewards

When it comes to setting up a loyalty program or a marketing strategy, understanding the needs of your customers will be crucial. When you have an eCommerce store, pay close attention to the data, and see how and when your customers are currently spending. Then, take that information and devise a campaign that rewards your customers in the way that is most beneficial to them. That may be a percentage of a particular type of item, a “points” program, or drawing their attention to new products or services that they may appreciate.

Lauren Kleinman, The Quality Edit

Dropbox’s Referral Programs

As an entrepreneur and CEO, I am also a very active consumer and always find that the best customer loyalty programs are referral programs. Look at Dropbox for example. Their customer referral program actually provides rewards related to the overall product as opposed to simple monetary benefits. When referring a friend to Dropbox, you receive 500MB of extra storage space. This keeps the referring customers engaged in the actual service Dropbox is providing, while still building audience and loyalty. The key to a good customer loyalty program is to reward customer loyalty with further engagement or perks related to the products. A simple monetary prize may be nice in the short term, but won’t build that lasting brand loyalty.

Peter Robert, Expert Computer Solutions

Marriott Bonvoy Benefits

Points Programs are very successful and popular. They not only keep customers loyal, they’re also attractive enough to draw new customers in. In modern points programs, customers can track their points online with a mobile app to always know where they stand. Marriott has an immensely popular customer loyalty program called Marriott Bonvoy Benefits. Patrons can redeem their points for free hotel nights, dining, or other experiences. They can also earn points through car rentals and flights and can even share their points with friends and family. The flexibility of this program makes it so easy to use, and the fact that they can share points will attract many more customers to the program. Marriott has become an expert in knowing their customer’s preferences, and they can offer travelers even more personalized rewards.

Paul Moody, ProMoverReviews

REI’s Co-Op Program 

One of my favorite customer loyalty programs is REI’s Co-Op program. These days, we’re seeing more and more consumers, especially environmentally conscious consumers, rethink how they approach bigger companies. They’re worried about everything from how companies source products to how they treat their employees. REI’s Co-Op program seems to really see that trending customer behavior and has used it as the cornerstone of its Co-Op program. With a one-time membership fee, Co-Op members get access to discounts on products, expedited shipping, rental programs, and trade-in programs through the company. By providing these in-demand services, REI keeps its customers happy and builds trust by ensuring that they’re always providing services and products that don’t trivialize or ignore what’s important to their customer base. It’s a loyalty program built on core values, which makes it special in the industry.

Kyle Risley, Lift Vault

Starbucks

Starbucks is a great reward program for many reasons. Many companies now use their mobile app to manage their rewards program, but Starbucks was one of the first, and they have led the way in making it easy for customers to gain and spend rewards. You don’t need a punch card; it’s on your phone, so you won’t forget it, and you don’t have to sign in every time you use it. 

The simplicity of it makes customers go out of their way to find a Starbucks near them so they can gain and spend rewards. It’s genius; in order to gain points, customers must pay with the app, so the whole process increases customer engagement exponentially. It centralizes customer transactions in a way that creates a mountain of valuable customer data on preferences and behavior. And on top of it, the rewards have actual value. You can trade in stars for actual products, so collecting stars is really worth something. It’s a win-win for both the company and the consumer.

Ouriel Lemmel, WinIt

Free Point-Based Loyalty Programs

Point-based, free customer loyalty programs have two things: perks customers get for free. And the ability to earn more free products from purchasing your products. That’s what makes it so great for companies because customers are more likely to sign-up for free things. Who doesn’t love a free service? But customers will be more excited to continue purchasing from you when they can eventually earn free products after earning so many points. You’ll gain more regular customers and your relationship with customers can grow.

Scott Lieberman, Touchdown Money

Punch Cards

Sometimes, the best ideas are old-school ideas. One of the most long-lasting and effective loyalty program models is the age-old punch card. This works at barbershops, sub shops, and other walk-in businesses. This incentivizes people to return and build up visits and purchases – in the hopes, that they will get some kind of reward at the end. It’s incumbent upon the customer to maintain the “paperwork.” All the restaurant has to do is punch the card and provide the reward. It’s a popular type of tactic that still keeps customers coming back.

Alan Ahdoot, Adamson Ahdoot Law

The North Face’s XPLR Pass 

One of the best customer loyalty programs I have come across is provided by the North Face. What makes their loyalty program so amazing is that they offer rewards that are specific to their customers’ wants. Known as the XPLR Pass program, the North Face allows customers to earn points through making purchases, downloading their mobile app, or attending certain events. The rewards offered are also incredibly unique and include experiences like a trip to other countries, early entrance into their stores and the chance to test products before they are available to the public. This program is so great because it allows customers to choose from a multitude of rewards that are specific to their wants which, therefore, strengthens their bond to the brand.

Colin Palfrey, JollySEO

Doterra Loyalty Rewards Program

Essential oils company doTERRA has a Loyalty Rewards Program (LRP) that provides credits for every purchase. The credits can be then used as cash to spend on your next order. The longer you participate in the program, the more credits you get for the same amount you spend. For example, after a year on the program, you can turn up to 30% of your spending in cash for another purchase. In addition, doTERRA launches a special sale of selected products every month. The sale is only available to members of the program and the discounts they offer range from 50-80%. The doTERRA loyalty program is effective because it offers significant discounts on products and thus stimulates regular purchases.

Georgi Todorov, thrivemyway

Paid Subscriptions

My favorite customer loyalty program is the paid loyalty model, which offers free shipping and bonus deals through an annual subscription. This program is especially effective for retail businesses, encouraging customers to spend more to enjoy specific perks upfront. This model also helps businesses gain higher customer value from subscribers. When the benefits outweigh fees, it helps compel customers to sign-up and make purchase decisions more readily to maximize the value of what they paid for. It also improves customer retention initiatives when members experience personalized and exclusive perks.

Nunzio Ross, Majesty Coffee

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

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