Customer service is a crucial aspect of any business, and it's important to get it right. When done effectively, it could potentially improve customer satisfaction and loyalty resulting in increased customer lifetime value.
Unfortunately, it's easy for companies to make mistakes when it comes to customer service. This is true for small businesses who have yet to piece together their customer acquisition and retention strategies. In this article, we'll explore some common mistakes in customer service and discuss how to solve them.
By identifying and addressing these challenges, you can improve your customer service and stay on top of your customers’ mind. Whether you're a small business owner or a customer service manager, this article will provide valuable insights and practical solutions for improving your company's customer service.
What are the biggest common mistakes in customer service?
Businesses that don’t go beyond and above their customer expectations tend to commit some of the biggest common mistakes in customer service. As a result, it impacts their customer loyalty and results in a higher churn rate. Correcting customer service mistakes is essential to keeping happy customers. Here are some common mistakes in customer service you must be aware of:
Not listening to the customer
Customers often just want to be heard and understood. Failing to listen to their concerns or feedback can lead to frustration and a negative customer experience. To generate customer insights, businesses often outsource customer surveys to a reliable service provider. It helps them understand what to improve in their service quality and improves customer satisfaction.
Not being empathetic
Customers want to feel that the business cares about their needs and is willing to go the extra mile to help them. Failing to show empathy can make the customer feel like the business is not invested in their satisfaction. That said, it’s important for your business to have customer support agents that use positive language in every customer interaction.
Failing to follow up
Customers appreciate when businesses follow up to ensure that their concerns have been addressed or to check in after a purchase. Failing to follow up can make the customer feel like their business is not valued. One way of making sure all customer inquiries receive prompt responses is to offer after-hours customer support. This ensures that even outside of your business hours, you are available 24/7 to respond to customers.
Not apologizing
When something goes wrong, it is important to apologize and take responsibility for the mistake. Failing to apologize can make the customer feel like the business does not care about their experience. Customers often appreciate businesses that take accountability for their actions. This encourages them to have repeat purchases and refer your business to their friends and family.
Not being responsive
Putting customers on hold is among common mistakes in customer service. Customers expect prompt and efficient service. Failing to respond in a timely manner or taking too long to resolve a problem can lead to frustration and a negative customer experience. That’s why it’s important that you’re accessible in all leading customer service channels so you won’t miss out on your customer inquiries.
Not being knowledgeable
Customers expect businesses to have a good understanding of their products or services. Failing to have knowledge about what you are selling can lead to mistrust and a negative customer experience. That’s why it’s important that you have regular training for your customer service team to understand gaps in your product and service offerings.
Not being consistent
Customers like consistency in the way they connect with businesses. Conflicting information or failing to deliver a consistent level of service can cause confusion and a bad customer experience. For this reason, businesses employ live chat customer support. Live chat platforms often have the option to set up automated responses to common questions. This can help ensure that all customers receive the same information and helps to streamline the chat process.
What is the biggest challenge in customer service?
There are tons of customer service challenges that businesses face nowadays. But certainly, the biggest challenge in customer service that businesses will agree on is how to deal with difficult customers. Below are some of the reasons why:
- Emotions can run high: Customers may be furious for a variety of reasons, including dissatisfaction, disappointment, or even terror. These feelings may hinder their ability to communicate clearly and may make it more difficult for the customer service agent to handle the problem.
- It can be difficult to find a resolution: Customers who are upset may not be receptive to suggestions or may not be prepared to make compromises. Because of this, it could be challenging for the customer support agent to come to a resolution that pleases both parties.
- It can be stressful for the representative: Customer service representatives may experience emotional and mental exhaustion while dealing with irate or difficult customers. In these circumstances, it can be challenging to remain composed and professional, and the representative's health may suffer as a result.
Here are some examples of situations where a customer may become angry:
- A customer receives a defective product and is unhappy with the resolution offered by the business.
- A customer has a negative experience with a service and feels that their concerns were not addressed properly.
- A customer is dissatisfied with long wait times or unhelpful service.
- A customer is unhappy with a policy such as product refunds and returns made by the business.
What is the most difficult thing about customer service?
How to retain customers after their first purchase is the most difficult thing about customer service. In fact, customer retention is listed as the biggest challenge by 61% of retail businesses. Below are the top five reasons why:
Changing customer needs and preferences
It can be challenging for a business to adapt to their customers’ expectations and continue to serve them as their needs and preferences change over time.
Competition
In the current market, there is frequently fierce competition for customers, making it challenging for a business to stand out and retain its loyal customers.
Poor customer service
It can be challenging to keep customers if a business offers poor customer service. If customers feel their demands are not being addressed or if they have a bad experience with a company, they may be more likely to switch to a competitor.
Lack of personalization
Customers frequently value personalized experiences and may be more likely to stick with a business that makes an attempt to understand their unique requirements and preferences.
Inconvenience
Customers may be more likely to move to a new brand if a company's product or services no longer satisfy their needs.
What are 3 causes of customer service failure?
Reasons why customer service fails may vary across various industries. But here are some of the common causes of customer service failure that you have to watch out for. We also provided here some customer service failure examples to improve your understanding of excellent customer service:
Lack of training or resources
Customer service representatives risk failing if they lack the essential training or tools to handle customer concerns or queries in an efficient manner. A representative might not be able to satisfactorily fix a customer's issue, for instance, if they lack the necessary information or resources.
Inadequate systems or processes
Customer service failure can result from insufficient or ineffective procedures or processes used by a company to address customer concerns or queries. For example, it might cause frustration and dissatisfaction if customers find it difficult to reach the business or if the process for addressing concerns is slow or burdensome.
Poor communication
Poor communication between customers and customer service representatives can also lead to failure. This can include misunderstandings, conflicting information, or a lack of clear and concise information.
Why is customer service so difficult?
For big corporations with large budgets, investing in customer service is just a walk in the park. But for small businesses with little to no resource flexibility, it’s a difficult undertaking. Here are the major reasons why:
Limited resources
For small businesses, the most difficult aspect of customer service is allocating resources to acquire and retain customers. Small businesses often have limited resources, including financial, human, and technological resources. This can make it difficult to provide the same level of customer service as larger businesses.
Time constraints
Small business owners often have to wear many hats and may not have the time to dedicate to customer service. This also makes them lose focus on their business core functions and other high-ROI activities.
Lack of expertise
Small business owners may not have the same level of expertise or experience as larger businesses, which can make it more difficult to resolve customer issues or provide high-quality customer service.
Limited customer base
It might be more challenging to absorb the cost of providing customer service for small firms because they generally have a smaller customer base than larger companies.
Limited visibility
Small businesses may not have the same level of visibility or brand recognition as larger businesses, which can make it more difficult to attract and retain customers.
Given these challenges in customer service, small businesses often outsource their customer service functions to a trusted outsourcing vendor. By leveraging customer service outsourcing, they are able to cut on staffing costs, scale their operations, and improve their customer satisfaction.
Outsource Your Customer Service Needs to ManilaPros
You can get rid of common mistakes in customer service by partnering with the right experts. By outsourcing your customer service needs to a service provider, you get more value from your money and drive positive results to your business all while focusing on your critical functions.
Consider ManilaPros, a leading full-service outsourcing company in the Philippines that offers five-star customer care for retailers. Our customer service Pros are vetted, trained, and certified for your brand, making them more than capable to provide you with high-quality customer care.
Contact us today and learn more about our retail customer care services.
