Running a small business isn’t easy. Between keeping customers happy, managing employees, and staying on top of finances. You don’t have time for IT headaches or customer service bottlenecks. That’s where service desk software tools come in. The right customer service desk software can transform your business by automating support, organizing customer interactions, and making your life a whole lot easier.

But with so many options out there, how do you choose the best help desk software for small business needs? Let’s break down what makes a great small business help desk software and how it can improve customer service operations management for companies just like yours.

What Is Service Desk Software?

At its core, service desk help desk software is a tool that helps businesses manage customer inquiries, IT issues, and internal support requests. It acts as a hub where tickets, emails, chat messages, and calls are organized in one place, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Unlike basic email or phone support, a helpdesk ticketing system for small business tracks conversations, assigns issues to the right team members, and automates responses. This is a game-changer for small businesses looking to scale their support without hiring a massive team.

Why Small Businesses Need Service Desk Software

If you’re running a small business, you might be thinking, “Do I really need a service desk software? Can’t I just use email and phone calls?”

The reality is that 53% of customer service teams now rely on help desk software to manage interactions, and for good reason. Small business IT helpdesk software improves response times, organizes communication, and creates a seamless support experience for customers and employees.

The Biggest Benefits:

• Faster issue resolution – No more lost emails or forgotten requests.
• Improved efficiency – Automation saves time and reduces repetitive tasks.
• Happier customers – Quick, consistent responses mean better service.
• Better organization – Track all customer and IT issues in one place.

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According to Info-Tech Research Group, a customer-centric service desk is essential for small business growth, as highlighted in their latest industry blueprint, Right-Size the Service Desk for Small Enterprise. The report emphasizes that small businesses, despite limited resources, must adopt structured service desk roles to balance efficiency and customer service. Info-Tech outlines five key roles—ranging from first contact support to specialized analysts and managed service providers—to ensure seamless issue resolution while preventing employee burnout. The research also underscores the importance of centralizing all service desk functions into a single solution to streamline workload management and improve productivity. By shifting from a reactive help desk to a proactive, customer-focused service desk, small businesses can enhance service quality and scalability.

Key Features of the Best Service Desk Software

Not all ticketing software for small business is created equal. Here are the must-have features to look for when choosing the best service desk software for your company.

1. Omnichannel Support

Your customers are everywhere—email, phone, live chat, and social media. A great online service desk software lets you manage all interactions in one dashboard, so no request gets overlooked.

2. Automated Ticketing & Workflows

A good helpdesk ticketing system for small business automates tasks like assigning tickets to the right team member, sending follow-up emails, and escalating urgent issues. This keeps your team efficient and customers happy.

3. Self-Service Portals

Did you know that 81% of customers prefer to solve problems themselves before reaching out to support? A small business contact management software with a self-service portal (FAQs, knowledge bases) can drastically reduce support volume.

4. Cloud-Based Contact Management

A cloud based contact management software ensures your team can access customer data and support tickets from anywhere. Incorporating customer communication management software further enhances efficiency by centralizing interactions across multiple channels. This is perfect for remote teams or businesses with multiple locations, ensuring seamless collaboration and improved customer service.

5. Affordable Pricing for Small Businesses

A help desk for small business shouldn’t cost a fortune. The best solutions offer scalable pricing based on your needs, so you’re not overpaying for features you don’t use.

How Service Desk Software Saves Time & Money

If you’re still on the fence about investing in SaaS service desk software, here’s a stat to consider: 50% of companies using an MSP (Managed Service Provider) saved 1-24% in annual IT costs, while 13% saved over 50%.

That means small business IT helpdesk software isn’t just about improving support—it’s about cutting down on unnecessary expenses and increasing profitability. Similarly, biotech software development is revolutionizing industries by streamlining complex processes and driving innovation.

Service Desk vs. Help Desk: What’s the Difference?

A common question businesses ask is whether they need a service desk help desk software or just a simple internal help desk software. While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are some differences:

• Help Desk: Primarily focuses on IT support and troubleshooting for employees and customers.
• Service Desk: Provides broader customer service solutions, including ticket management, customer engagement, and operational workflows.

For small businesses, choosing a best help desk software for small business that includes both features can streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Real-World Use Cases for Small Businesses

1. Bridal Retail Business

A small bridal store integrated LiveHelpNow’s live chat and SMS features, allowing brides and grooms to text their business directly. This improved response times, resolved last-minute emergencies (like a groom’s missing bow tie), and enhanced customer satisfaction, leading to glowing reviews and increased sales.

2. Educational Supply Company

A leading supplier of science education materials faced a surge in customer emails. Implementing LiveHelpNow’s ticket management system helped them categorize and prioritize inquiries, reducing response times and improving workflow efficiency. The ability to tag and automate responses saved countless hours in labor costs.

3. Medical Equipment Provider

A healthcare supplier specializing in sleep apnea equipment saw a 15% increase in customer satisfaction after adding LiveHelpNow’s live chat solution. Customers appreciated real-time assistance, and the chatbot feature reduced chat volume by 60%, ensuring that human agents could focus on more complex inquiries.

Choosing the Right Service Desk Software for Your Business

With so many options out there, how do you pick the best help desk software for small business?

Ask Yourself:

• Do I need IT support or just customer service support? Some IT help desk software for small business is tailored for tech support, while others focus on customer service.
• Do I want AI-powered automation? Smart automation can reduce manual work and speed up resolutions.
• Do I need integrations? Look for software that connects with your CRM, email, and communication tools.

Why LiveHelpNow Is a Great Choice for Small Businesses

If you’re looking for a service desk help desk software that’s easy to use, affordable, and packed with features, LiveHelpNow is a solid option. Here’s why:

• Omnichannel support – Manage live chat, email, phone, and social media in one place.
• AI-powered automation – Let AI handle common questions and route tickets efficiently.
• Self-service solutions – Reduce support volume with a built-in knowledge base.
• Scalability – Works for startups and growing businesses alike.

Final Thoughts: Invest in the Right Service Desk Software

Customer expectations are higher than ever, and small businesses can’t afford to fall behind. Investing in the best service desk software ensures your support team runs smoothly, customer satisfaction stays high, and your business continues to grow.

Still skeptical? Try it for yourself. Start your 30-Day Free Trial with LiveHelpNow. Play around, see how it fits, and watch the magic happen. You might just wonder how you ever managed without it.

The post The Best Service Desk Software for Small Businesses: Features You Need appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

When employees love their jobs, their work performance and engagement is better. With more effort comes higher efficiency, better results, and with that more satisfactory customer experience. 

It is, therefore, essential for leaders to ensure employee engagement in order to create a satisfactory customer experience. 

The way employees are treated has a direct impact on how customers are treated. If the internal culture of a company fosters empathy and emotional engagement, it will have a similar positive impact on the customer’s experience.

— Shep Hyken (@Hyken) June 6, 2019

Happy employees are important for any business to succeed. 

Unhappy employees are bad for business. 

Customer service representatives deal with customers directly. The happiness of these agents will determine the degree of satisfaction for the customers. 

This is a cry for help posted on Reddit by a very unhappy customer service representative. 

Unfortunately, while many unhappy employees do not always openly voice their dissatisfaction, this can be a common attitude among customer service representatives.

Currently, less than two-thirds of customer agents are happy in their roles and more than a third don’t intend to stay in their jobs, according to a national study done in March 2017. The study polled 500 active service reps and was conducted by Aspect Software in partnership with Conversion Research.

How would an employer know how happy the customer service agents are?

There are two ways of finding out:

• Conducting an agent satisfaction survey, asking the employees how they feel about their jobs. 
• Evaluating agent performances – after all, happy agents will have better work results

Once the management learns how happy (or unhappy) the agents are, it can employ various strategies to improve the scores.

So here are six ways to make customer service agents happier.

1. Establishing Strong Company Culture

   
   

Companies with strong culture have less staff turnover than those who don’t. Weaker culture companies have a turnover rate of 48.4%. Companies with strong culture have a turnover rate of 13.9%. 

Company management must play an active role in culture building to ensure a consistent, healthy, and positive company culture.

There are six steps to developing company culture; implementing and reinforcing them can really improve the morale, bring more unity and positivity, and increase efficiency in an organization.

• Define purpose
• Define common language and values
• Establish effective leadership
• Implement engaging team building
• Communicate
• Treat agents with respect

Successful companies use these culture-building strategies throughout their operations. Examples of companies who really focus on company culture include Disney, Pepsi, and Google. 

Employees of these companies and others that actively work on building a strong culture report higher satisfaction rates and, therefore, better business practices.

2. Encouraging growth

Humans need to grow. Growth is life.

Growth in the workplace is essential. Without it employees will lose their motivation, becoming stagnant and dissatisfied. Employers can encourage growth by implementing growth opportunities for customer service agents.

Agents will be more inspired, driven, and motivated if they have a chance to grow in four ways:

• Financially – the possibility of higher income motivates other growth 
• Professionally – mutually beneficial, gaining new skills increases motivation
• Career-wise – moving up the organizational ladder is both prestigious and inspiring
• Personally – personal goals as important as professional

There are various ways in which employers can promote growth in all four areas. Doing so will be beneficial for the entire company. 

In the TED talk below Tamekia MizLadi Smith addresses the truly human aspects of professional development – compassion, empathy, and personal connections. She talks about the importance of training and how encouraging and helping agents to understand the “why” of their actions makes them better at their jobs.

3. Communication: Feedback and Recognition

Imagine working at a job day in and day out and wondering if your work even matters. 

Well, most of us do not need to imagine. Unfortunately, this is often a reality of our workplaces.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t change. 

Communicating, recognizing, and giving constructive feedback can build bridges between the agents and the management. These practices can also serve as staircases to employee job satisfaction. 

Knowing our work matters and is meaningful is important for motivation. And when recognized for what we do we will strive to do even better. 

One way of recognizing success is setting goals for agents. Measurable goals can improve company culture and decrease agent turnover in a customer service call center. 

Some metrics for goal-setting are:

In the video below Glenn Rolfsen discusses a simple strategy to improve communication in an unhealthy work environment.

4. Provide Necessary Tools

No matter how talented your customer service team is, you must give your agents the right tools.

While your software arsenal can vary depending on the type of business you run, some tools are universally helpful.

Live chat apps can help provide better customer service by improving response times and even help build trust. Providing customers the option to text your business further improves customer service.

75% of consumers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is available when they need them. This is where live chat apps can offer an online presence for consumers, even 24 hours a day if needed.

With more consumers shopping online than ever before, companies must keep pace by providing a mobile-friendly option for customer service.

The best live chat apps provide a streamlined mobile customer service solution that can correspond with customers in a simple text message.

Other useful customer service tools include ticket management systems, FAQ knowledge base, and good old fashioned agent training through handbooks and other materials. 

As we discussed above, professional development is important and with the continuous technological advances agents will need learning support throughout their career.  

While technology is extremely helpful when it comes to customer service, one thing is even more crucial – human customer relations.

As a live chat development company, we deal with a large volume of digital communication. The one question we get a lot is “are you a real human?” 

Whether customer communications take place over the phone or via chat or email, humans want to talk to other humans. 

It is, therefore, essential to personalize your customer service communications, add humanity, empathy, and that special human touch every customer craves. 

In the video below Blake Morgan, a customer experience futurist, talks about the importance of personal communication in a call center and how it is still relevant in the digital era. 

5. Provide Positive Physical Environment

According to a 2011 research study on how workplace design contributes to mental health and well-being, the average person spends 33 percent of their waking time in their workplace on a weekly basis. 

Physical workplace environment has a major impact on everything from happiness and mood to productivity and focus. The study concludes that “good working conditions enable employees to work effectively” and that “investments in the physical workplace that create those conditions pay back quickly.”

 According to designer and author Ingrid Fetell Lee there are four ways to create positive physical work environment:

• Adding color
• Bringing in the light
• Embracing nature
• Adding transcendence

Fetell goes into detail about the importance of the above elements in the workplace in the video below:

6. Add Value to Work

We talked about the importance of meaningful work above, but it’s important to note that adding value to every task is crucial.

Modern generation of employees wants valuable tasks at work more than ever. In fact, 74% of millennials want a job where their work feels meaningful.

Agents want to know why they are doing what they are doing, what the purpose of each task is, and what difference it makes for the customer and the company as a whole. 

Here are some ways to add value to a customer service agent’s work:

• Show how work makes a difference: stories of happy customers, resulting in additional business, positive reviews
• Pay personalized attention to an agent’s work. Offer specific feedback and recognition. 
• Trust in an agent’s abilities by allowing personal troubleshooting and project initiative. Let the customer support agents come up with their own strategies for customer service growth and improvement. Do not micromanage. 
• Create new opportunities. Doing the same work the same way might become mundane. Allow room for advancement and improvement. Growth is essential for happiness. 

Daniel Rodic discusses adding value to work and business in the below:

Conclusion

Creating a positive environment for customer service representatives makes their work-life better. It makes the overall company environment better and, in turn, improves customer experience.

The post Six Ways to Make Your Customer Service Agents Love Their Jobs appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

I don’t always use social media, but when I do I prefer…Pinterest? Lots of media has circulated around Pinterest as a great social media marketing tool, but for some industries the picture-sharing site might be more wasteful than wonderful.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest doesn’t spark conversation. Interaction with customers won’t reach far beyond “repinning” images, which doesn’t do much to deepen relationships.  Even if someone does find your site through Pinterest, chances are they won’t stay there.

So why are people clamoring over it? Advocates of the site say it allows companies to share images that “speak to their core,” expressing key values and ideals. Customers piqued by the pics can follow source links back to the company site.

If you decide to spend the time and manpower maintaining your boards, make sure your company is Pinnable, or image-friendly. Here’s how:

1. Be Original

• Post original pictures that you’ve taken or created yourself and that also appear on your website. You can link your pin back to the page where it appears on your site, so users who like the image can see where it came from and how it relates directly to your business.
• Include pictures of your products as well as your logo. Create infographics or a flashy print of your company’s manifesto. Both are visually appealing and speak strongly to what your business is about.

2. Build Your Boards

• Be smart with categories. People aren’t browsing the site to do research. They want simple information delivered quickly, so break down your content into basic, broad boards that convey the general focus of your business. Too many precise categories can be overwhelming.

3. Button Up

• Add the “pin it” and “follow” button to your website so visitors can re-pin your images and see your boards. But ONLY do it when your boards are organized and have a good number of pins on them. A sparse account will just make users think you’re lazy. They don’t want to be led somewhere when there’s nothing to see.

4. Get Creative

• Some of the most successful Pinterest campaigns use the platform in out-of-the-box ways. Increasingly, companies have created contests in which contestants create a board of pins related to that company’s product. For example, BCBG asked users plan a $5,000 wedding and pin their venues and products (including three from BCBG) to a special board. The creator of the best board won the $5K and a BCBG bridal gown. Leverage AI image creation tools to get attractive images for your campaigns.

These rules only apply, though, if your business caters to the Pinning crowd. Did you know that 80% of Pinners are women, 50% have kids, and the top categories of interest include crafts, interior design, and fashion?  If you’re looking to sell an electric razor or a home-beer-brewing or car detailing kit, it’s probably not worth your resources to start up an account. Ditto for companies selling a service with no tangible result. Showing users how well you do financial consulting, for example, can be difficult to translate in images. Use analytical tools to track referrals from Pinterest, and then decide if the account is working for you.

How to build a smart Pinterest marketing strategy

Building a smart Pinterest marketing strategy requires thoughtful planning, creativity, and an understanding of your target audience. For businesses in the home décor industry like Blind Style, sharing visually stunning content such as cheap canvas pictures prints for wall art can boost engagement and attract potential customers. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a successful Pinterest marketing strategy:

1. Define Your Goals

• Increase Website Traffic: Focus on creating visually appealing pins that link to your website.
• Boost Brand Awareness: Share consistent, branded content that aligns with your niche.
• Drive Sales: Highlight products or services with compelling imagery and descriptions.

2. Understand Your Target Audience

• Demographics: Identify your ideal audience’s age, gender, interests, and location.
• Search Behavior: Research what your audience searches for on Pinterest (e.g., seasonal trends, tutorials, product inspiration).

3. Optimize Your Profile

• Use a Business Account: Access analytics, ads, and other business features.
• Choose a Relevant Username: Keep it short, memorable, and reflective of your brand.
• Add Keywords to Your Bio: Use terms that describe your business and expertise.
• Claim Your Website: Verify your site for access to analytics and increased trust.

4. Conduct Keyword Research

• Use Pinterest’s search bar to find popular keywords related to your niche.
• Incorporate keywords into your:
  • Pin titles
  • Descriptions
  • Board names and descriptions

5. Create Engaging Boards

• Organize content into boards that reflect your brand’s key topics or categories.
• Use compelling titles with relevant keywords (e.g., “DIY Home Decor Ideas” instead of “Home”).

6. Design High-Quality Pins

• Use Vertical Formats: Ideal size is 1000 x 1500 pixels (2:3 aspect ratio).
• Add Text Overlays: Include clear, concise text to explain the value of the pin.
• Stay On-Brand: Use consistent fonts, colors, and logos to reinforce brand identity. In today’s digital world, you can leverage an AI logo generator to create a unique for your brand.
• Use Eye-Catching Imagery: High-quality, lifestyle-focused photos perform best.

7. Focus on Content That Works on Pinterest

• How-To Guides: Tutorials and step-by-step instructions are highly shareable.
• Inspirational Ideas: Share unique ideas for events, projects, or styling.
• List Posts: Create pins like “Top 10…” or “5 Ways to…” that provide value quickly.
• Seasonal Content: Tailor content to holidays, seasons, and current trends.

8. Schedule and Post Consistently

• Optimal Times: Post during peak times (evenings and weekends).
• Frequency: Aim for at least 5-10 pins per day to keep your profile active.
• Use tools like Tailwind for scheduling and managing posts.

9. Leverage Rich Pins

• Enable Rich Pins to include additional information automatically, such as:
  • Product details for e-commerce.
  • Recipe ingredients for food bloggers.
  • Article headlines and summaries for blogs.

10. Engage with the Community

• Re-Pin Others’ Content: Share relevant content from others to diversify your boards.
• Comment and Like: Interact with other users to build connections and increase visibility.
• Follow Relevant Boards: Network with creators and brands in your niche.

11. Use Pinterest Analytics

• Track performance metrics such as:
  • Impressions
  • Clicks
  • Saves
• Identify top-performing pins and optimize future content based on insights.

12. Run Pinterest Ads

• Promoted Pins: Boost your best-performing pins to reach more users.
• Target Specific Audiences: Use Pinterest’s targeting tools to reach people by demographics, interests, or keywords.
• Track ROI: Monitor ad performance to adjust campaigns for better results.

13. Encourage Sharing

• Add Pin It Buttons to your website and blog posts.
• Encourage users to save your content by making it highly visual and engaging.

14. Stay Updated on Trends

• Regularly explore Pinterest’s Trends tool to identify what’s popular in your niche.
• Align your content with trending searches to increase visibility.

15. Cross-Promote Your Pinterest

• Share pins on other social platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).
• Include links to your Pinterest profile in emails and newsletters.

By combining visually stunning content with strategic planning, consistent posting, and audience engagement, you can create a smart Pinterest marketing strategy that drives results for your business.

Would Pinterest work for you? How can you incorporate it on your website?

The post How to use Pinterest for business appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

What do you do when you are short on trained agents to man your helpdesk, but neglecting calls can lead to customers and prospects jumping ship and giving you a bad rep?

What do you do when you don’t want to give the appearance that there is no one behind the counter?

Who needs a call back system

Think of a typical customer service scenario. A customer calls your helpdesk to ask about something. The waiting times are long because it’s peak hour and your helpdesk is swamped, with agents overwhelmed by the volume of calls they are handling.

On the other end of the line, the caller is slowly getting more and more annoyed as she hears the same “Your call is important for us” message played back over and over again to the tune of elevator music.

Eventually, something will snap and it will get ugly. How do you solve a situation like this?

Enter the call back system.

This system works by collecting callers’ phone numbers and designating a specific time when they will be called back. Depending on the complexity of the query, it can usually be solved during that call back, without additional conversations or transfers.

This will bump up the FCR rate and increase customer satisfaction.

Benefits of a call back system

Actually, if you can improve in those two areas you will be doing yourself an immense favor. According to the 2012 US Contact Center Decision Makers Guide which surveyed 210 contact center managers and directors, customer satisfaction rating was the most important metric with 59% respondents saying this was more important than two years ago. FCR rate was the second most, with 47% respondents considering it to be more important.

But apart from these metrics consider a few scenarios where call back system can benefit you in the short to medium term.

Using a call back solution can give you another way to reach your customers. People will almost always read their texts, and SMS marketing has been demonstrated to yield the kind of returns that other forms of marketing can only dream about. Play this right, take the necessary permissions, don’t spam or act greedy and you can take advantage of this very direct channel to your customers’ attention, advertising right to their cell phone.

Call backs, while costly in the short term in terms of telephone bills, are actually cheaper in the long run. Here’s why: a frustrated customer waiting on the line for 15 minus will likely answer with a sentiment of “WHAT the %&^$ is wrong with you people and why can’t you pick up the goddamned phone ?” Taking contact information instead and calling back at a convenient time, however, is more likely to elicit this response: “Wow, thanks for calling back so soon!”

This response means business can be conducted in a much more congenial environment. Agents would be less stressed, and over the long run that leads to lower attrition rates, lower training and other associated costs and higher profits.

Best practices for implementing and managing a callback system

A callback system is a valuable tool for businesses to enhance customer service by addressing queries and resolving issues efficiently. Here are the best practices for implementing and managing a callback system:

1. Offer Callbacks at the Right Time

• Peak Times: Use callback systems to manage high call volumes during peak hours, reducing wait times for customers.
• Customer Option: Always allow the customer to choose whether they want to wait on hold or receive a callback.

2. Provide Accurate Wait-Time Estimates

• Use advanced algorithms to calculate expected wait times and communicate this clearly to customers.
• Ensure the estimates are realistic to build trust.

3. Make It Easy to Request Callbacks

• One-Click Options: Implement simple prompts in IVR systems or web-based tools for callback requests.
• Multi-Channel Accessibility: Allow customers to request callbacks via phone, mobile apps, websites, or even chat platforms.

4. Prioritize Callback Requests

• Fair Queuing: Serve callbacks in the order they were received, unless there’s an emergency or VIP queue system in place.
• Integration with CRM: Use customer data to prioritize callbacks for high-value or repeat customers.

5. Train Agents for Callback Scenarios

• Preparedness: Provide agents with customer information before the callback to personalize the interaction.
• Empathy Training: Teach agents to acknowledge the customer’s time and reduce any frustration caused by delays.

6. Confirm Callbacks

• Notifications: Send a confirmation via SMS or email to the customer, specifying the scheduled time.
• Reminder Alerts: Notify the customer shortly before the callback to ensure availability.

7. Use Intelligent Scheduling

• Offer specific time slots for callbacks, allowing customers to choose a convenient time.
• Account for agent availability and customer preferences.

8. Monitor and Optimize System Performance

• Track Metrics: Measure callback success rates, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), and abandoned callback rates.
• Feedback Loop: Regularly collect customer feedback to improve the system.

9. Ensure Technical Reliability

• Invest in robust software and backup systems to prevent outages or delays.
• Regularly test the system for scalability during high demand.

10. Communicate Clearly

• Inform customers about callback policies and timelines during their initial interaction.
• If there’s a delay, proactively update customers about the new callback time.

11. Personalize the Experience

• Use CRM data to tailor the interaction based on previous conversations, purchases, or inquiries.
• Greet customers by name and reference their specific issue for a seamless experience.

12. Integrate with Omnichannel Support

• Ensure the callback system is integrated with your omnichannel customer service strategy so that customers can continue the conversation across multiple touchpoints.

Trending Now

Handling missed calls professionally is key to creating good impressions in business. Understand the caller’s intent, especially if they leave a voicemail. Use tools like VoIP apps for cost-effective call-backs, and set up voicemail or custom auto-responses to maintain communication. Autoresponders let callers leave messages, ensuring you don’t miss important information. Visual voicemail adds convenience by letting you view and prioritize messages, with some services even transcribing voicemails into text for easier management. These steps help manage missed calls effectively and maintain professionalism.

Conclusion

You can’t extensively depend on a call back system for your customer service, but you can mix and match it with other systems like live chat and inbound phone lines to provide an optimum level of service without investing massively in human resources.

The post How a call back system improves call center effectiveness 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. 

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  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.

My friend Maryana read this part of a negative online review someone left for her Taphouse out loud as we sat at the breakfast table in a vacation bungalow this summer. “Always too loud”? Well, that’s pretty funny, I thought. 

Let me back up for a second. Maryana and her husband Steve started a new business adventure earlier this year. Owners and operators of a micro-brewery, they were looking to expand their business. But they wanted to create more than a place to serve their delicious farm-to-tap beers. (Yes, I’m biased, but the beer is still delicious.) Going for a true community vibe, they constructed a large stage in their new Taphouse. Once they opened, they invited local musicians to perform live music at the new venue. And boy, did they succeed! At least twice a week local artists bring in crowds to pack the dance floor. Great Barn Taphouse is really is a fun place to be. 

Our reviewer disagreed (yet, continued to patronize the place as indicated by her use of the word “always.” ????) But her review got me thinking. Today, negative online reviews can really hurt a business. After all, consumers rely heavily on reviews when making their purchasing decisions. 

Sources: Harvard Business School, Qualtrix XM

Negative Online Reviews Are Part of The Deal

Businesses’ livelihoods depend on reviews. Yet, so many factors play into the specifics of each review. They range from legitimate issues with a product or service to things completely out of the business owner’s control. Negative online reviews are inevitable. 

So what if business owners used these glimpses into their customer experiences to their advantage? What if they took this customer feedback – negative, yet valuable – and used it? 

So we put out a question into the business world. We asked business professionals how businesses can use negative online reviews. We got an overwhelming number of responses, each more creative than the next. Turns out, business owners should not only stop being afraid of negative reviews but should fully embrace them. Because with the right mindset and a tad of creativity, businesses can turn online negative reviews into pure marketing gold. Here are 16 various ways to do that.

1. Don’t Hide Negative Online Reviews Like a Dirty Little Secret

A business owner’s first instinct might be to hide the negative reviews. Dispute them, bury them under an avalanche of positive ones, or ask the unhappy customers to take them down. All these options sound tempting, right? 

Do. Not. Do. That. 

If you do, you will enter the field of questionable business practices. You will also miss a truly golden opportunity. 

Devin Schumacher, Founder SERP, says that lack of negative reviews seems suspicious at the least and can even be seen as full-on shady. 

“Do not censor your negative reviews! Nasty comments are a slap in the face. However, negative reviews from real-life customers are not as detrimental as you probably think. These comments make your business page seem legitimate.

Trust me—anyone can filter bad comments. Dozens of shady online businesses bombard their profiles with fake reviews. Some brands even operate full-scale review farms. If you don’t believe me go to Amazon. You’ll see that the shadiest shops don’t have a single review below three stars. On the contrary, reputable sellers have a diverse testimonials page.”

Devin Schumacher, Founder SERP

Negative reviews show audiences that real flesh and blood humans run the company. Humans make mistakes and that’s ok. The important part is to respond to reviews empathetically. That shows that the company is dedicated to solving problems and assisting customers.

Legal Expert Michael Conley at Michael Conley Lawyers recommends leaving professional and sincere responses to negative online reviews and doing so publicly. 

“Turn your bad reviews into marketing wins by leveraging the use of social media. Address these reviews by expounding on the concern and showing solutions,” he says. 

2. Calm Your Ego, Lower Your Sheilds

Another natural reaction to negative online reviews is to get defensive. Oh, we humans are so good at that. Criticism just stirs up that ego, doesn’t it? Well, repeat after me, people: defensiveness feeds the accusation. Read that again. 

As any good relationship psychologist will tell you, defensiveness is the enemy of conflict resolution, success, and growth. When we get defensive we open our mouths (or utilize our furiously fast-typing fingers in the case of negative online reviews) and close our ears. The result might be satisfying for the moment (I told him!). But in the long-term, it is still damaging and counter-productive to problem-solving. To avoid this culprit, taking a step back and coming up with a more constructive solution is a good strategy. 

Gail S. Bower President of Bower and Co. Consulting LLC offers some specific tactics to fight defensiveness. 

1. Step back from the review and resist getting defensive.
2. Evaluate whether any truth exists in the review. It’s possible the customer raised an issue about which the business owner is unaware, and the review provides insight and an opportunity to improve.
3. Make the improvement and then talk about the improvements, including in the reply to the original reviewer.
4. If there is no truth to the review, it may be an outlier or a weak point in an operation.

3. Don’t Take it Personally, But Make it Personal

Once you take a step back and breathe, it is time to get to work. But how you respond to the reviewer is very important. You don’t have to take criticism personally to respond to it in a personable manner. Those golden opportunities we’ve been talking about start with showing your human and empathetic side. No one wants to hear generic apologies that look like they came from a robot. Instead, it’s time to apply the magic of customer experience personalization. 

Emily Homrok of Shout About Us advocates for personalization in review responses. It’s worth noting that every customer review – negative, positive, or neutral – deserves a response. After all, a customer has taken the time out of his or her day to write the review. Show that the company takes all its customers’ interactions seriously by responding to reviews in a personalized manner. 

4. Act Fast. Lightning Fast!

In a world where business hours do not matter much and customers are online around the clock, businesses cannot afford to wait. If you postpone a response until tomorrow, there is a chance that potential customers will see the negative review before then and take their business elsewhere. 

Ruben Gamez, CEO of SignWell recommends monitoring online reviews, identifying details and solutions, and responding right away. 

“The message spreads like wildfire in this era,” he says. “So act immediately once you have identified actionable insights. This indicates that you are genuinely willing to take ownership. Own up to your mistake and make sure you apologize sincerely. It goes beyond mentioning ‘sincere apologies. ‘Show, don’t tell.’ Show your sincerity by choosing to give a custom response. It makes a world of difference.”

Image source: Gather Up

5. Do Magical Things – Listen, Change, Grow

Yes, some reviews are plain crazy. But even the nuttiest ones have a grain of…gasp! ????…truth to them! 

Listen, we get it. Negative online reviews are a pain to deal with, but they are also an invaluable asset. Here you have real customers telling you exactly what they want. Sure, they might not be saying it very nicely because they are still upset about the overcooked burger they had to endure. But at least they are telling you about it instead of quietly disappearing into the abyss and talking about you behind your back to their friends and families. (Because they totally will! Statistics show that a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. On the other hand, happy customers who get their issue resolved, tell about 4-6 people about their experience.)

So listen. Listen carefully and learn.

Jake Smith, Owner of Absolute Reg LTD sets the goal to learn from reviews and take real action. This shows customers that the company is working hard to provide the best service possible, he says.  

“Our company takes negative reviews as opportunities to make changes that help us serve our customers better. We take any negative feedback we get and raise it to the relevant people or departments. From there, we work to find a solution so that we can minimize or eliminate the problem. If the issue is not an isolated case, we incorporate what we learn into our workflows.”

Jake Smith, Owner of Absolute Reg.

Make Changes and Try Again

Jared Stern, CEO of Uplift Legal Funding, brings up a great example of this strategy at work. 

“Domino’s received innumerable complaints regarding the quality of sauce, cheese, and crust in 2009. In an attempt to address them, it gave the world ‘The Pizza Turnaround.’ This was a documentary video involving actual employees of the Ann Arbor, Michigan branch. The video shows that the branch experimented with ten crust types, 15 sauces, and dozens of cheeses to change the product altogether. Domino’s walked an extra mile, and door delivered these new pizzas to one of their harshest critics, Adrianne. This campaign worked because they were not afraid to tell their side of the story. They also shared reviews with their employees, making the entire process transparent.”

Well, you know what they say. When life gives you Adrianne-the-critic, turn around and serve her new and improved pizza!

6. Improve, Update, and Show Growth

Remember newspapers? When a publication published something that was not accurate or made a factual or grammatical mistake, it would publish a correction in the following issues. Doing this in response to negative online reviews can show your audiences that your company can take responsibility, make changes, and grow from the experience. 

Ian Sells, CEO of RebateKey believe that review updates are powerful tools. 

“Properly handling the situation is usually enough for most to change or update their review. Keeping the exchanges and the initial poor review shows people your company’s customer service and ability to handle difficult situations which can build trust and respect towards your company.”

Ian Sells CEO of RebateKey.

This is also a great opportunity to show customer service efforts at work. 

“You can completely turn things around by not just responding to the customer, but by reaching out, getting more feedback on the instance and fixing it,” says Jerry Han, Chief Marketing Officer at PrizeRebel “When you take the time to send a consumer a new product, a gift voucher for their net purchase or replace the faulty product, you make it clear to other potential consumers that no matter what problems they might face, you will fix it. 

In the example below, the flower shop owner responds with specific steps the retailer took to improve the situation. The reviewer might not respond or retract the review. However, the note shows potential customers that the shop takes customer experiences seriously. It demonstrates that the company will take responsibility and will try to make things right.

7. Accept Negative Online Reviews As A Cleansing Ritual

Like dating a person that is not a good fit for you, trying to do business with the wrong customer can be a gigantic waste of time. Not to go all philosophical on you here, but when one door closes you can always open a window.

Losing a customer that is not a good fit is a blessing and it’s not even in disguise. When we spend a lot of our time and resources trying to please a customer that cannot be pleased we take away from making experiences better for our loyal customer base. 

Michelle Clarke, CEO of Empowerment Empires recommends taking a pause to recognize what made a negative reviewer not a good fit for your business. 

“New more aligned clients will come out of the woodwork and ask to work with you. This is an energetic phenomenon. As you release the clients who were never truly a fit for you, you create space in your life for better-aligned clients to come in.

To actively trigger this benefit from a poor review consider what specific traits and beliefs made this client a poor fit for your offer or product. Then, add the exact opposite of that trait to your ideal client avatar. The clearer you can be on the clients that you do want, the easier they are to find.”

Michelle Clarke, Empowerment Empires. 

One excellent use for competitors: send your horrible prospective customers to them.

When people ask me again and again (rudely) for a discount, after establishing we are not a good fit, I list out a bunch of Bannerbear competitors and tell them to take a look.

— Jon Yongfook (@yongfook) August 19, 2021

8. Add a Little Comedy to the Mix

Everyone enjoys a good laugh. Making a joke out of a bad review is an art form and companies should embrace it. If nothing else, your response will stand out and make someone chuckle.

Popular fast-food chain Wendy’s famously made a point of responding to customers with snappy comebacks on Twitter. 

the taste, the ingredients, the fact you don’t have to say “Mc” in front of every word like you think you’re fast food batman

— Wendy’s (@Wendys) November 17, 2021

Jim Pendergast, SVP of altLINE advocates for humor as a publicity tool.

“Make a joke out of the bad review. For example, signs in front of an establishment claiming “here lies the place (customer) claimed he had the worst sandwich” have developed far more social media attention than simply replying to the bad review.’ Jim Pendergast, SVP of altLINE

(Personally, I think “Always Too Loud” should become the new tag line for my friend’s Taphouse. I hope she goes for it!)

Whichever way you choose to display your response to a negative review, if you implement some good humor in it, it is sure to attract some attention. 

9. Glorify the Negative Reviewer

“Rename Your Product in Honor of the Reviewer.” 

Dave Herman, President of EZ Surety Bonds came up with this unusual and quite unique response to negative online reviews. 

“There’s no better way to get back at a bad reviewer than to specifically call them out using your products and services. You’re also more likely to get attention from others in the market with your unusual names. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, put their reviewer picture up on your wall.”

Dave Herman, President of EZ Surety Bonds

Now, we talked about being snappy in the previous section. This is a whole another level of savage. And it will surely attract some attention in addition to some giggles from your customers. “Grumpy Karen Margarita”, anyone?

10. Add Review Details to Product Descriptions

Like we mentioned above, negative reviews can provide insightful information to business owners from their customer base. Sometimes it might be a good idea to include some of this information in the product descriptions or other product information the company might have. That is especially valuable if the information has helped a company to improve a product and address the complaining customer’s pain point. 

For example, let’s say a business owner complains that a software product does not properly integrate with her own Customer Management System. Then, let’s say, the software company addresses the issue and takes steps to make sure the integration works in the future. The next step is to now create an article or mention the positive change in the software description. 

By the way, LiveHelpNow recently implemented some new CRM integration features that help companies get real-time customer feedback from their customer service communications. We did that in response to customer demands. Make sure to check them out! (See what we did there? ????)

[fullcontrol title=”Got negative reviews?” subtitle=”We can help you get them customers back on your side!” linkurl=”https://livehelpnow.net/schedule-demo/” linktext=”Schedule a demo to learn how!”]

Coty Perry, Chief Marketing Officer at Your Bass Guy, a fishing guide company that also provides third-party product reviews. He gives an example of this strategy at work within product reviews themselves. 

“The world of fishing is a tough one with a lot of scrutiny. So we often receive negative feedback on our reviews and people pick apart each detail we provide,” he says. “One thing we always do is take the potential customers opinion and highlight it in our review. If we said something positive about a product but the reader highlighted something negative, we add it to our review. It makes them happy and helps provide a more unbiased review.”

11. Up your game with higher-level products 

Another way to embrace negative online reviews is to use them as an opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell products. 

Michelle Clarke, CEO of Empowerment Empires has another piece of great advice.

“You can showcase your other products and make new sales. Suggest a way that the complainer could work with you at a higher level (and pay more money) to get their desired outcome. You won’t always convince the complainer, but you will show everyone else who reads your comments that you care about your customers, that you are solutions-focused, and that you have what it takes to help people get what they want.”

Michelle Clarke, CEO of Empowerment Empires.

Sam Price, Founder of Heatable explains that sometimes customers do not use the product correctly, resulting in the undesired result. In this case, it’s important to kindly explain to the complainer – and other review readers – that there is a better way. 

“Don’t panic when a customer goes online to say how your product kick-started her adult acne again. Apologize, and gently remind your customer that the product in question isn’t meant for all skin types, as is advertised on the site. You could then suggest another product that may soothe the problem or be better suited for her skin.

You could also take things a little further by asking your customer to reach you by email with pictures of her problem so that you can send her something that may help with the problem for free to apologize for the situation. Again, a gesture that shows you’re in this business to help your customers and not just to close sales. To a new customer, this displays a stellar after-sales experience!”

Sam Price, Founder of Heatable.

12. Bring in the Reinforcements – Your Loyal Customers Army

Whatever negative Nancy’s of the internet use to attack you, you do have a secret weapon – your loyal customers. 

“Nothing beats counterarguments and comments from your own loyal customers,” says Ian Sells of RebateKey. “Bad reviews give your supporters the opportunity to back you up. Lurking visitors will likely read your loyal customers’ comments defending your company, attracting more customers to your business.”

So take that negative review and post it on your social media. You might be surprised to learn how many cheerleaders you have in your corner. 

Aaron Weiche of Gather Up brings up the following example of customers defending a business. Through Facebook reviews, customers complained about the service they received at a restaurant under previous ownership. Once new owners took over and improved the restaurant, happy customers took it upon themselves to defend the business. 

13. Turn Negative Online Reviews Into Case Studies

Case studies and customer success stories are worth their weight in gold when it comes to content marketing. So it only makes sense to take on the negative customer experience of a reviewer, turn it into a positive one, and then report the results to the internet world. 

“Brands should address negative online reviews so the commenter can retract their comment and give positive feedback on your excellent customer service,” says Johannes Larsson CEO of Financer.com. “When prospects and potential customers see that your brand offers superb post-purchase service, they are more likely to purchase from you than your competition.”

Once the once unhappy customers are satisfied with the follow-up service their receive, work with them to create a full-blown case study. Include numbers, images, quotes, available types of marketing reports, charts to visualize and present your case study betterPeople love a good turn-around success story and there is no better place to find it than among your clitics. 

14. Add Negative Online Review Details to Your FAQs or Help Pages

It’s well known that FAQ and help desk pages can help with SEO. If enough customers have similar issues with a product or service it might make sense to include information that helps on your website. 

Brad Touesnard, CEO of SpinupWP advocates for powering up your help pages with information from negative reviews. 

“When we first launched our company, we received occasional negative feedback because our customers lacked information about certain aspects of our product,” he says. “We responded by creating help pages on our website to address our customers’ needs. Here we take our customers through the steps of getting started with our product and address the common issues raised in the feedback we received. Our help pages are now one of the most trafficked pages on our website and our recent reviews often mention how useful they are.”

Zachary Hoffman, CEO of DigitalPR.com explains further. 

“You can turn customer complaints into material for your FAQ section. Many times customer complaints are due to them not fully understanding how to use your product or not fully reading the description. These complaints can be used to create or update your FAQ section or even add more details to your product descriptions. While it won’t erase existing negative reviews, it can prevent more from being written in the future.”

Zachary Hoffman, CEO of DigitalPR.com

15. Make a Tutorial

As an extension of the help page content, you can also make a step-by-step or video tutorial. 

Jessica Zhao, Chief Marketing Director at Spacewhite expands on the benefits of this practice. 

“Sometimes a customer doesn’t read the instructions and accidentally misuses a product – then leaves a bad review!” she says. “They might say something like “I put the tablet in the top rack of the dishwasher, and it failed to clean my dishes adequately!” If they illuminate their mistake in their review, feel free to grab a copy of that review and create a helpful, and non-judgemental tutorial which details how to properly use the product. Not only will the tutorial aid future customers, but the brand comes across as humble and helpful.”

16. Create An Ad Campaign Around The IssueMentioned in The Negative Online Review

Creating a whole campaign around an issue and advertising it can help turn negative reviewers into happy customers.  

Marina Vaamonde, Founder of PropertyCashin recommends creating a digital coupon and adding some creativity to it. (Perhaps, combining this strategy with the naming one we mentioned earlier can make the negative reviewer smile.)

“Create a coupon or sale around your solution to the bad review and give it a clever name. On your social platforms, post the bad review and a link to your solution article. Advertise it and your coupon or sale, celebrating your solution. Go back to the review and thank the person publicly, reiterating your solution and offering them to take advantage of your new campaign.”

Marina Vaamonde, Founder of Property Cashin. 

Negative Online Reviews Are a Gold Mine. 

Negative reviews are scary. But if there is one thing I’m trying to convey in this article it is that these reviews are valuable. Each one can bring a different value to the business owner – from legitimate concerns customers may have to opportunities for humorous – and attention-getting – comebacks. 

Sociologist Brene Brown once said, “When you own your story, you get to write the ending.” Customer reviews are like stories. And if companies embrace them fully, they do, quite literally, get to write the ending. 

So, go ahead. Listen to your customers. Improve your products and services if you need to. Make a joke, or create helpful content for your audiences. And thank your reviewers. Because if it weren’t for them, you might never have known that you were “Always too loud.” 

The post How to turn your negative online reviews into marketing gold appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

As a real estate agent, you’re regularly at the beck and call of homebuyers who need your assistance at every stage of the buying process. Live chat apps for real estahttps://livehelpnow.net/live-chat-software/te agents can help keep communication flowing—which may ultimately result in more home sales down the line.

If you’re a real estate agent looking for more ways to engage with your web visitors, these are the benefits of choosing live chat apps:

Benefit #1: Be Easily Accessible

Accessibility is important for nearly any real estate agent. Potential clients shop for homes throughout all hours of the day, and they might want to inquire about a home with the click of a button. Real estate mobile app development can provide a seamless platform for agents to connect with clients, allowing for instant property searches, notifications, and direct communication on the go.

Instead of directing visitors to a web form, a live chat app will make it easy to connect with you almost instantly.

Benefit #2: Get Text Notifications to Your Mobile Device

Every real estate agent has a mobile device on hand. When you step away from your computer, you might be concerned about missed messages from your live chat box.

The good news is that the best live chat apps can notify real estate agents of live chat inquiries. SMS text to chat is one of the most desirable features of live chat apps for real estate agents, and it’s also one of the most powerful for keeping the door open for communication.

Benefit #3: Create Better Relationships

Relationship building is key to any real estate agent. Live chat apps for real estate agents ensure that you connect with clients without missing it beat. This builds trust between you and the customer while strengthening the relationship.

Benefit #4: Save Time

Many of us wish for more hours in a day, especially when we’re trying to make a dollar. In the world of real estate, homes are listed and sold at the turn of a dime. Wasting time with missed calls and unread emails only prolongs the process. With a live chat app, clients can quickly inquire about homes before they are gone from the market.

Benefit #5: Provide an Alternative Communicate Method

According to PEW, nearly 70% of adults have smartphones. Interestingly enough, not everyone prefers to use a phone call as their primary communication method. Email is another popular way to keep in contact, but this method doesn’t always cut it for potential clients who are in a hurry.

A live chat apps provide yet another communication option for clients. Not to mention, it can help you stand out from other real estate agents in the area. Live chat makes it incredibly simple to communicate with clients without the need of a traditional phone call, e-mail, or even a face-to-face meetup.

Benefit #6: Increase Leads
Real estate is just like any other business—you depend on leads and sales to stay afloat. Live chat apps can help increase the amount of leads sent through your website or even via text message. An increase in leads may translate to an increase in sales, which can ultimately help your business grow.

Why is live chat so important to the real estate industry today?

Live chat is crucial for real estate today because it offers instant communication. Clients expect quick responses, and live chat helps agents meet that demand. It improves customer service, schedules showings efficiently, and builds trust. By being available in real-time, agents can capture leads, answer questions, and provide tailored solutions, increasing conversions and client satisfaction.

LiveHelpNow Offers Live Chat Apps for Real Estate Agents

LiveHelpNow is the top source for real estate agents needing live chat apps. We can help streamline communication with clients while you’re on the go. Be sure to chat with us with questions or inquiries by clicking the blue box on the bottom right corner.

LiveHelpNow Mobile App was developed by InsaneLab Mobile Development Team

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Regardless of the products it sells or the work it performs, no business can be successful for long if its customers aren’t happy. To learn where they stand in this regard, many companies issue satisfaction surveys in the hope that analyzing a collection of aggregated results will eventually lead to a positive return on investment.

While these surveys can provide some customer insights, any company that fails to use them intelligently could regret having used them at all. The client who has taken the trouble to provide his input might easily feel slighted if he fails to receive a personalized follow-up. When his carefully worded feedback seems to have disappeared into a black void, a previously satisfied customer may not remain pleased for long.

It doesn’t have to be that way. By the simple act of responding to a customer’s concerns, a company can make a happy camper out of the most disgruntled client. First-contact resolution is the key to customer satisfaction, and a closed-loop feedback system will provide a business with the processes it needs to perform speedy, effective service. The ideal arrangement will lead to increased customer insight while empowering front-line employees to escalate issues to their managers. The two-way experience that results will end with satisfaction all around.

Tools for Collecting Customer Feedback

When it comes to gathering quality data, six specific methods of obtaining customer feedback stand out above the others. Happily, all have received careful study and coverage, and they don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. There are many economical ways to track customer service issues that will scarcely make an impact on your bottom line.

Many successful businesses have come to rely on these simple means of obtaining meaningful customer insight:

• Feedback forms.
• Surveys.
• Support tickets and customer emails.
• Live chat conversations.
• Tools for monitoring social media.
• Online discussion forums.

Steps for Success

The first step, collecting the data, should pose no serious problems. However, once you have it, you’ve got to use customer feedback to your advantage, and the way you deal with it depends on the type of input that you have received.

When receiving praise for a job well done, you’ll know who to thank. If, for example, your feedback has arrived in the form of a support ticket, you will want to put an expert on the case to see it to a beneficial resolution.

A successful closed-loop system consists of four simple steps:

1. Collect customer input.
2. Make the necessary changes.
3. Communicate feedback to customers and employees.
4. Refine the changes.

Benefits of Closing the Loop

Face it: You’re in business to make money. If your customers aren’t pleased, your profits could soon be sinking like a stone. Fortunately, the simple process of closing the loop will open your eyes to the many ways in which satisfied customers provide a competitive edge. Once your business is on the road to success, the closed-loop approach will get you there in a hurry.

When used in an intelligent manner, the closed-loop approach will:

• Increase customer and employee engagement.
• Help identify opportunities quickly, and make them more obvious.
• Set priorities based on customer needs.
• Promote company integrity in the eyes of its customers.
• Generate a positive return on investment based on research.

The information that you gather through closed-loop procedures will help you monitor employee effectiveness and evaluate best practices. It will also assist in analyzing the root cause of faulty procedures and failures on the service side.

Most importantly, proper use of closed-loop methods will allow you to gather feedback on a daily basis. As you track transactions deal by deal and resolve issues as they arise, the customer experience will continue to improve, and the outcome will be nothing but good.

LiveHelpNow offers an award-winning suite of tools that allow you to provide 360° of customer support on your company website. Visit our home page to learn more about how live chat, inquiry tracking, call management, and a knowledge base can help you engage visitors, turn them into customers, and keep them coming back for more.

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Meet Mario Che and Jeanette Fiallo, Latin dancers from Florida.

What this talented couple teaches about the relationship between a leader and a follower can apply not only on the dance floor but to everyday relationships, including those at the office.

Mario and Jeanette came up with a unique way to teach connection, trust, and the art of leading and following. In their dance classes, they explain five basic rules of leadership and followership, teach their students a few basic moves…then blindfold the follower.

The concept seems scary and impossible at first. But the truth is if we stick to the rules and put our trust in each other, we can lead and follow flawlessly and productively. Turns out we can even do it blindfolded, as long as we develop a relationship where the roles of a leader and a follower are clear.

Here are the five rules of leadership and followership that can transform business and personal relationships. From Jeanette and Mario’s dance floor to your workplace.

Rule #1. The leader creates the connection, the follower maintains it.

In business relationships, as in partner dance, teamwork is everything. In order for the partnership to work, having clear roles is important. There has to be a leader and there has to be a follower. And while sharing ideas, allowing creativity, and welcoming input from everyone is essential, there can’t be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Someone has to lead with a vision for whatever task is at hand and someone has to follow that vision. The leader is responsible for establishing the dynamics and the connection between him or herself and the follower. The follower is responsible to maintain that connection. That means that while the leader is contemplating a new move, thinking over an idea, or coming up with a plan, it’s up to the follower to keep the leader on track and offer support by maintaining the connection. That connection is essential to the support system that ensures the productivity of the whole team.

“Good, skilled followers are able to nurture good leadership, by invisibly helping keep a novice leader upright and on track,” writes business insider and consultant Rob Asghar in his Forbes article “Why Followership Is Now More Important Than Leadership.”

Asghar goes on to explain that the roles of leader and follower do not mean one is in a dominant one and one is submissive.

“A skilled follower helps an inexperienced leader to shine,” he says. “As the leader grows in skill, he or she is then able to help the followers to shine. And as they all grow in experience and skill, the interplay grows more productive and life-affirming.”

Rule #2. The follower is the extension of the leader’s intention.

Being a leader does not mean being responsible for everything that goes on in the office or company. On the contrary, the solid supportive relationships between the leaders and the followers ensure that ideas, tasks, and actions will develop, advance, and flourish.

In dance, once a leader initiates a movement, he or she does not need to execute and follow it all the way through. That is a follower’s job. The follower is the supporter, the developer, the executor of the initial movement.

The same rule applies in business. Once a leader initiates an action the followers extend it. The followers can add their own spin on the action, develop it, grow it, and expand it. The followers are the ones who essentially complete the action.

In effective partnerships, leaders set forward their intentions and the followers act as an extension of those intentions.

One way to ensure that such initiation-extension relationship works effectively is for leaders to adopt an intent-based leadership style.

“Intent-based leadership creates an environment for people to contribute so they feel valued and encouraged to reach their potential,” says Rhett Power, head coach at Power Coaching and Consulting and the author of The Entrepreneur’s Book of Actions. “Intent-based leadership is about designing an environment where people give intent to each other and they feel valued and proud of their work. [This type of] leadership is about giving control and the decision-making power to people who maintain the information.”

In other words, when a leader initiates an action she needs to release control and trust her partners to execute and complete the action without constant supervision. Giving the followers freedom, trusting them, and empowering them with the process is what makes the dance of execution work.

Rule #3. The follower is responsible for her weight unless it is taken away from her.

Sometimes in dance, it seems as if the leader is carrying all of the follower’s weight. It only looks that way to an untrained eye. In reality, a skillful follower will always carry his own weight. This rule is an extension of Rule #3, where the leader initiates the movement and the follower carries his own weight in the execution process.

This is where the followers really shine. Some of the most beautiful dance figures involve followers looking as if they’re releasing all control and are letting their partners do the work. That’s an illusion. I reality it is the follower who is taking control of her own actions and is carrying the weight.

This rule goes a long way off the dance floor, too. The follower must carry her own weight without relying on the leader for constant support and guidance.

Gwen Moran, a business writer and a small business influencer, defines critical thinking and courage, among other things, as essential qualities of a great follower.

“In order to be a good follower, you need to be able to think for yourself,” she says. “It means being engaged. It means paying attention.”

Moran identifies awareness, diplomacy, and collaboration as other important aspects of a follower’s role. All of the five skills play an important role in the follower’s responsibility to carry her own weight.  

Rule #4. The leader creates the frame, the follower stays within the frame.

Staying within the frame does not mean thinking and acting inside the box as a follower.

In dance the leader creates the overall boundaries of the dance action, guiding and directing the follower within that frame. The follower is free to style her movement to exercise creativity and add a personal touch to the movements.

However, should the follower step outside the frame the leader created it might take the whole flow of the dance out of balance.

Same goes for the business world. While expanding and growing ideas within the specs of the initial intention of a manager are important, losing sight of the original goals can take a project off its rails. The leader’s vision and intention should serve as the framework, within which further development of ideas and task can occur.

Again, working within a frame should never mean limiting creativity. In fact, when a framework feels like an obstacle, creativity can flourish. One scientific study proved that when people face obstacles or limitations their brains seem to become more engaged in the problem-solving process and therefore come up with more creative solutions. Working within the constraints set by the leader, followers can build on the initial concepts and goals and produce innovative results.

Rule #5. Leader leads.

This rule seems simple and obvious, but it is probably the most complicated.

The leader is responsible for the whole tone of the dance, keeping time, following the rhythm of the music, and signaling his partner about the next movements. A good leader takes care of the follower, ensures her safety and comfort, motivates and challenges her. A good leader makes the dance happen. As in business, a bad leader makes for a bad dance.

In business, the same rules apply. Knowing the next move, following the trends of the industry, and communicating the goals and expectations to the followers are all responsibilities of a good leader. Others include ensuring safety and comfort, creating a safe place for expression, introducing challenges, and motivating employees.

On the dance floor, each lead has his own leading style. The style can also change from one dance to the next and also from partner to partner. Same goes for leadership in other spheres. In this TED talk orchestra conductor, Itay Talgam examines the leading styles of six different conductors to demonstrate what makes a leader great and how the goal of great leadership can be reached in various ways.

The “leader leads” rule is also an important one for the follower to remember.  The follower cannot suddenly decide she’s going to change direction or pick a different move or try to steer the leader. That is up to the leader. The follower’s job is to follow. Only the leader leads.

Among other things, dance can teach us a lot about leadership and followership. The rules above can help ensure better relationships between people in those roles regardless of their professions. And we could always use a little dance in our lives, so here is a video of some awesome bachata dancing. It illustrates the rules of leadership and followership and, as a bonus, spices up your day.

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One has to know his audience.

It’s important in making small talk. It’s essential in marketing and customer acquisition. 

In order to successfully acquire, keep, and satisfy clients a company must have a clear idea of who the clients are.

That is where the process of customer profiling comes in. 

Customer profiling is like sketching the portrait of your customers who are typical users of your services or products.
To read more: https://t.co/VZsnEzjaNh#Marketers #accountbasedmarketing #surethinks #marketingtips #marketingtool #customerprofiling #marketingstrategies pic.twitter.com/WjfwjHNUkO

— Surethinks (@surethinks) July 8, 2019

What is customer profiling?

Customer profiling is a process during which a company creates a depiction of its customers. The profiles then grouped together based on similar characteristics. The company then uses these profile groups to make key decisions in terms of its products, services, designs etc.

While a clear picture of existing customers is a must, a company also needs to know who its ideal customer is as well. 

Understanding what your existing customer types are and why they are buying from you allows you to see their individual needs. 

Knowing your ideal customer types gives you an opportunity to target specific groups that might not be in your customer base right now. 

Your customer data is not simply a guide for constructing marketing messages. Most companies find that incorporating this vital information into their decision-making provides outsize returns. They can now craft products or introduce services which they know will serve a need. 

Not knowing to whom your products and services must appeal is like crossing the street with your eyes closed.

How Customer Profiling Works

Customer profiling proceeds differently for each client and industry. 

Here are five steps to successful customer profiling that will help you come up with a portrait of your client base and help you shape services and products based on those clients’ needs.

Related Post: Six Steps to Successful Customer Journey Mapping

Steps to Customer Profiling

1. Identify the goal of your product or service.

What is the problem your company’s faces that you want to solve? Do you want to attract more visitors to your site? Increase conversions on your landing page? Get more people to sign up for your free trial? Provide better customer service to your existing clients?

Keeping the goal of the final solution in mind, your customer profiling process will be more focused and efficient. 

2. Create the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Creating the ICP provides a clear picture of what you are seeking in a client. By setting forth your ideal client expectation you are setting in motion a process of getting these clients on board.

There are several templates and guides available to accomplish this step.

Also, sking the right questions is important, so make sure you set out with a list that supports the goals you set for yourself in Step 1. 

The questions involved will vary, though ultimately the goals are usually the same: collect their demographic interviews, and then determine from their perspective how well your business is serving their needs and where there are untapped opportunities.

3. Collect Information on Existing Customers

This is a crucial step in customer profiling because you can’t really decide where you’re going without seeing where you’ve been. Perhaps you’re already hitting your ideal market and just need a niche focus. Perhaps you want to expand on the existing base. Again, always keep your initial goal in mind.

In this step, it’s easy to get a bit creepy and overstep the boundaries of privacy. 

Banks around the world have now begun using mobile data in order to improve customer profiling and get access to a credit score. Some feel this borders on invasion of privacy, let us know what you think in the comments below!#POSLABS #banks #mobiledata https://t.co/nlTdQpyFnE

— POSLabs (@myPoslabs) July 15, 2019

The key to staying within the boundaries of appropriateness is to use information that your clients shared directly with you or as part of your onboarding process. 

Using ticketing management software can give you a lot of information on each client and his history with your brand. 

Other tools like surveys and email questionnaires are also great ways to get direct feedback from your clients. 

Social listening is a useful technique used by many marketing to learn about current trends and clients’ needs. 

Related Post: A Tool That Makes a Difference: Ticket Management Systems

4. Implement customer Profile into CX Journey Map/Create Journey Map

Now that you have all the information about the customers – potential, ideal, and current – you may use to enhance another great tool you should be using – customer journey map. 

The map, which is a visual representation of everything your clients are doing, seeing, and feeling as they interact with your brand. 

5. Use the Map and the Profile to Target Marketing

From here, it’s up to the business. 

These customer profile data let firms find what differentiates them from the competition in the eyes of the customers, and dozens of other useful points. 

Equipped with profiles a company can figure out an appropriate communications strategy which will deliver the best possible marketing message to the right type of consumer, at the best possible time. 

Similarly, companies often find new opportunities for selling their products, creating new ones, or increasing sales in existing channels.

Here is an example. Having identified customer types, the business can now ask — what kind of TV shows and magazines will the customers read? What kind of marketing material would appeal to the most? What other brands do they consume?

Based on the answers to all of these questions, often new – and much more powerful – advertising strategies become obvious, and opportunities for joint venture deals reveal themselves.

Why is customer profiling important?

Customer profiling is important because it helps businesses understand their customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors. By building detailed profiles, companies can tailor their marketing, products, and services to match customer expectations, which increases satisfaction and loyalty. Profiling also enables businesses to segment their audience effectively, targeting specific groups with relevant offers and messaging. This targeted approach improves conversion rates, reduces marketing costs, and enhances customer engagement.

Additionally, customer profiling helps predict future behaviors, allowing companies to anticipate needs and personalize experiences. It creates a foundation for stronger customer relationships and helps businesses stay competitive by addressing their customers more strategically. For instance, businesses selling natural products can analyze customer preferences to recommend the right scents. If you’re looking for personalized recommendations, check the collection of essential oil to find the perfect match.

Customer Profiling Benefits

1. Enhanced Personalization
   Profiling allows businesses to tailor products, services, and communications to individual preferences, improving customer experience.
2. Increased Customer Loyalty
   By meeting specific needs, profiling helps build trust and loyalty, making customers more likely to return.
3. Better Targeting
   Profiling helps segment audiences, allowing for more precise marketing that reaches the right customers with the right message.
4. Higher Conversion Rates
   Targeted campaigns lead to higher engagement and conversions by focusing on customers most likely to buy.
5. Efficient Marketing Spend
   Businesses save money by targeting only relevant audiences, reducing waste in marketing budgets.
6. Improved Customer Retention
   Profiling helps identify and address customer pain points, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates.
7. Insightful Future Planning
   Profiling provides valuable data on customer trends, helping businesses plan better products and services.
8. Competitive Advantage
   Understanding customer needs and behaviors gives companies an edge over competitors by aligning offerings closely with demand.
9. Product Development Guidance
   Profiling insights can guide product improvements or new product ideas that resonate with target customers.
10. Predictive Capabilities
    Profiling helps forecast customer behavior, enabling proactive measures to enhance customer experience and meet evolving needs.

These benefits create a more customer-centric business, driving growth, satisfaction, and long-term success.

Conclusion 

Customer profiling creates a picture of a company’s clientele. This picture, especially when used together with other techniques such as customer journey mapping, can allow a company to direct its marketing and development efforts in new and efficient ways.

How does customer profiling help your company succeed?

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