- What is customer service?
- Because it is important?
- What techniques do you use?
- Elements of customer service
We explain what customer service is and the importance of these methods. In addition, the techniques they use and their elements.
What is customer service?
Customer service or customer service is understood to be the methods that a company uses to get in touch with its customers, to guarantee, among other things, that the good or service offered reaches your consumers and is used in the right way. It is also an efficient tool for marketing.
In general, customer service services pursue the satisfaction of consumer, providing support, guidance or instructions regarding what is necessary. And in some cases, the areas of a business dedicated to this activity can also provide support to other internal divisions that require it. For such purposes, these areas are considered "internal clients".
Customer service is usually studied based on service cycles, that is, chains of actions implemented at the consumer's request or at certain times, and which include the following processes:
- Temporary service schedules. Some types of support to client they depend on seasons, specific moments or certain conjunctures to be activated, so that they present a certain regularity, as is the case of the sightseeing: it is accentuated during the holiday season and decreases without disappearing during the rest of the year.
- Renewal of customer needs. Other types of services are usually given on a renewable basis, so that from time to time they require customer service for verification, such as subscriptions to magazines or specific services.
- Feedback the client's. The feedback of the client is key to define the strategies of care that is best for you and works best for you, for which various types of surveys or evaluations may be used.
Because it is important?
Adequate customer service may well make the difference over and above the competence for any company, and it can be as much or more powerful a promotional tool than marketing, advertising or personal selling.
Considering that attracting a new customer is often much more expensive than maintaining an existing one, keeping the customer base enthusiastic is a command. Even more so when there are so many forms of competition as there are today, thanks to the global market and the appearance of 2.0 platforms.
Today, customers demand attention from their companies, in a reciprocal process called "loyalty", in which the customer consumption it is personalized and becomes part of the consumer's social identity. For this, it is essential to have an adequate customer service.
What techniques do you use?
Customer service techniques can be broadly grouped into:
- Explanation techniques. Those in which the greatest amount of relevant information is verbally communicated to the Username to help you make the decisions more informed about their consumption. They should respond to the formula: problem-solution-benefit, so that the customer is led to the recommended formula to satisfy them.
- Techniques empathy. Those that provide the client with a high degree of involvement on the part of the company, that make them feel accompanied or part of something bigger. They are usually very successful, but require more investment time per operator, since each case is given a particular and individual attention.
- Interrogation techniques. Those that are based on applying to the client a series of questions (questionnaire or not) regarding the matter of their needs, in order to provide a truly specialized attention in the matter, instead of wasting time in explanations.
Elements of customer service
Strengthening the relationship with the client is key in customer service.
The elements of customer service are:
- Face-to-face contact. That is, the possibility of interviewing the client and giving him personalized attention, not mediated through an electronic system or a telephone call. This reinforces the bond with the client and makes them feel heard.
- Client relationship. Strengthening the relationship with the client is key in the attention services, and this has been evidenced thanks to the social networks and culture 2.0, in which branding or brand loyalty becomes imperative in the relationship between the company and the consumer.
- Correspondence. Correspondence between customer and company is key to healthy customer service, as it strengthens the identification between both and the resolution of problems that arise.
- Claims and compliments. The client must have some way of exerting pressure so that their problems or dissatisfactions are fixed, or reward the good performance of some department of the company.
- Facilities. The customer must be provided with the physical address of the facilities to which they can go for face-to-face contact. In short, not everything can be virtual or digital.