"What’s Good Customer Service?” A Guide

If you're wondering “What’s good customer service?”, you're in the right place. Learn how effectively supporting customers can level-up your business and give you a competitive edge in today’s marketplace.

In this article, we’ll explore how customer-centric companies are better poised to attract and retain customers by answering their questions and having the right information accessible.

First, let’s start by defining what exactly good customer service is.

Good customer service has three main components: respectful treatment, clear communication and meeting expectations.

When you strive to achieve all three, you know you are on the right track to serving your customers well and creating brand loyalty.

To give you a clear picture of what each of these customer service-related activities means, let’s take a look at them in detail below:

One of the most important parts of customer service is respectful treatment.

It can be easy to get frustrated when a customer writes a scathing review or calls you in a frenzy. But, remaining respectful, even if the customer is not, is a core component of providing excellent customer service.

This means using a positive tone, keeping a level head, and respecting their time.

You can’t have good customer support without clear communication. It could be as simple as providing an average response time, providing a callback option, or sending a follow-up email with all the details of a call.

This sets you apart and can make all the difference when it comes to making customers happy.

Meeting expectations is a vital component of providing excellent customer service.

Put simply: be available (within reason!), do what you say you’re going to do, and solve the problem. When you meet a customer’s expectations — or even go above and beyond — you are not only taking care of your customers; you’re building a loyal customer base.

In fact, according to a recent study, 89% of customers are likely to talk about bad customer support they received, which means you could be losing customers if you aren’t on top of your game.

On the flip side, 93% of customers are likely to make another purchase from a company if they receive excellent customer service. So, it’s essential to meet expectations and serve customers well for both reputation and returns.
Now that we’ve evaluated these three core components of good customer service, let’s turn our attention to the how of high-quality customer service.

As we mentioned above, happy customers often mean a happy bottom line and image in the public eye as well. You want your brand awareness to be positive and be known for how well you respond to questions and concerns.

As you’re training your support team and customer service reps, emphasise the customer care aspect of what you’re doing and have them master the following:

To solve a problem, you first have to really listen to what is being said. It can help to repeat back what you think the problem is so that the customer not only feels heard but can also correct anything you misheard.

This is important because, according to Hubspot research, 33% of customers are most frustrated by having to repeat themselves to many customer service reps. That’s why it’s important to track and understand the call journey that the customer has taken.

Above all, listen closely, take notes and have internal systems that allow you to streamline resolutions should you need to escalate a problem to a higher department.

While customer support call lines need someone to be on the other end, there are other ways for companies to provide excellent support and problem-solving capabilities to their customers nowadays.

For example, live chat and email correspondence are increasingly popular, as well as social media messaging. All have their own benefits, but no matter which platform your customers contact you on, have a plan in place for a swift response.

You may want to implement metric tracking so you can understand how well your team is doing. This gives you clear insight into your day-to-day communications and gives you a better idea of where you can all improve.

As you’re working on response times, be sure not to leave a customer on read. Point them in the direction they need to go if you don’t or can’t handle customer support over something like Instagram messages. You can even set up automated responses with links to get them where they need to go.

If this is done efficiently, you don’t need to have a large team to provide good customer service.

No matter what energy a customer brings to a customer support conversation, always be courteous and friendly. A kind demeanour can help defuse a stressful situation and allow your support team to quickly solve their problem.

Keep this in mind as you’re helping your customer service reps improve as well. Kindness goes a long way toward improving employee morale, keeping everyone happy and on the same page, and implementing strong business practices you can all agree on.

When both customers and employees are happy, conversations flow better, and you don’t have to worry about attitudes getting in the way of a solution.

The basis of everything your support team is doing is solving problems. Whether it’s issuing a refund, sending a replacement product, reiterating a policy, or determining that you need better policies, focus on finding the answer your customer needs.

Resolving an issue swiftly and efficiently is more likely to help you keep a customer and support your bottom line.

Let’s take a look at some actionable examples of how you can provide good customer service:

A follow-up email can go a long way toward a customer feeling seen, heard, and appreciated.
You can send follow-up emails for a variety of reasons, including:

• Shipping information for a replacement
• Checking in to make sure the product or service is working
• Asking for feedback

The important thing is to make it pertinent to the conversation you had and to share any next steps.

Solving a problem is great! A happy customer is what you’re going for. But going above and beyond can turn a frustrating situation into a magical one.

Here are some examples to get your wheels turning:

• Don’t just post out a replacement product. Choose to expedite the shipment and cover all the fees. Include a tracking number and any other information they may need.
• Send more than a replacement. Send them another product free of charge or offer them a discount code or free item or service from your company.

Essentially, it comes down to solving their problem and doing something else to make them feel special and appreciated.

Not every customer support problem is the same. Personalise the experience by using the customer’s name, asking specific questions about their unique situation, and checking if there’s anything else you can do for them.

You may even offer suggestions for free products or upgrades if you are offering digital services.

By making the support conversation about them, you help them feel like a person you care about and not just a case number. And it really comes down to how you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.

Good customer service is a differentiator in today’s competitive marketplace. And as you’re talking your customer support team through, “What’s good customer service?” you can expand their knowledge base with the right kind of training.

• Emphasise how providing great customer service means listening to the customer, going above and beyond when it comes to problem-solving, and following up.
• Personalise the experience so that customers feel appreciated and understood as you’re working through the problem at hand.
• Provide clear communication and set expectations about the customer service experience. Let them know what number they are in the queue and then send a written message or email recapping the call.
• To help your team achieve long-term customer support success, having the right software in place makes all the difference.

If you’re looking to introduce phone support to your customer support function, looking for a platform that will give you more control or just want to learn more about customer support, give us a call on +44 1749 608 549 or email us at hello@cordless.io We’re always happy to help companies on a mission to improve their customer support!