Good Customer Service: Empowering the customer

'The Customer is always Right.'

This?much-repeated saying is the one that most businesses live by.

The reason so many organisations adhere to?this motto is because they are determined to give their customers the best possible experience and deliver the best possible levels of customer service.

No organisation ever wants to deliver anything less then the best when it comes to their customers; the best products and the best levels of customer care.

How then, are so many getting?it wrong?

Bad Customer Service

In the past year, 78% of consumers have either bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase?because of poor customer service.

For a consumer, it takes 12 positive service experiences to make up for one negative experience. Meaning that if you don't get your customer service right, your business will suffer.

As we've recently discussed, it is the big boys that can often get it so wrong when it comes to making the customer feel valued. How many automated company emails from have you been told not to reply to? How many times have you been kept on hold for ridiculous lengths of time, only to have to repeat your claim to call centre workers?

When attracting a new customer costs 5 times as much as keeping an existing one, this makes no sense from a business perspective.

No-one intends to give bad customer service. But as businesses grow, it can seem impossible to maintain the high standards that were set in?their initial development. This can be due to time constraints (due to excessive demand for business), a lack of man-power or a lack of time to train new staff.

Whatever the reason, the standards of customer service falls. And business is lost.

Empowering the Customer

Ultimately, the goal is to somehow tailor to the needs of?each and every one of your customers.

We discussed previously how valuable email marketing can be when the content is tailored to the individual. And, as the importance of social media continues to ascend and the line between marketing and customer service is blurring, similar principles now apply whatever medium you are using to speak to your customers, leads?and prospects.

Microsoft CRM is?one tool that enables you to ensure that?your customers?are treated as individuals.?With such an extensive, easily-updated database, it ensures that you are?sending them messages as much -?or as little ? as they wish. And via the medium of their choice.

It enables you to pre-set your emails to ensure that the customer is feeling valued, receiving tailored information that is useful to them.

While you can use Microsoft CRM's Auto-responders as part of a Lead Nurturing campaign, it is once again?neccessary to stress the importance of keeping your existing customers happy (remember the one in 5 stat above).

These lists are easily managed and, while they are automated, when done well they should not obviously be so. By?sending these messages along certain 'stages' of their customer journey (e.g. a month after purchase, 3 months, 6 months etc), you are maintaining high standards of customer care even after the initial purchase.

Everything to hand

While the major corporates of this world are unable to ensure that every element of their customer service is always spot-on, as growing businesses it is vital to ensure that our own levels of customer care always are the best they can be.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you will instantly have all the information you need to hand. You will see what they want sort of information from you ? how they want it, and how much they want it.

By utilising a database that not only allows you to track every interaction a customer has had with your business ? right down to how many times they have visited your website, and on which pages?- you start to get an idea of who your customers really are. And what it is they want to take from your business.

Then, there simply can be no excuse for not getting things right.

Sound interesting??Check-out this?breakdown illustrating?how Microsoft CRM can?help you to give Good Customer Service.

At Contact Edge CRM, we specialise in Microsoft CRM, which helps businesses find creative ways to engage with customers.? And by accurately tracking how the first engagement was initiated, it's easy to determine which elements of your marketing strategy are working.

Source: http://www.contactedgecrm.com/2012/09/07/good-customer-service-empowering-the-customer/

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