Is It Time For A Customer Service Refresh?

Every now and then it’s good for every business to have a customer service refresh.  Take the opportunity to look at how to improve customer service and whether there are any unnecessary services being provided. It doesn’t have to be a huge job, although it is a good idea to do a comprehensive look at services every few years. If you’re pressed for time, why not do a quick refresh – either by focusing on one or two areas or by just tweaking existing methods based on feedback from clients.  If you like the idea but don’t know where to start, here are a few pointers to help you get started.Is It Time For A Customer Service Refresh? - Sharyn Munro Virtual Assistance

Talk to your customers

The best place to start is by asking your clients. There are a few ways you can do this, so pick the one/s that suit your customers and your business the best.

  • Create a survey and send it out (including an incentive of some sort will get more responses)
  • Ask clients for feedback when they contact you (again, an incentive is worth considering)
  • Take the opportunity to touch base with clients and give them a call or organise a coffee catch-up to have a discussion with them.

Once you’ve decided on the method, think carefully about the questions you’re looking to answer. Try to keep it to a minimum, but some things you might want to know are:

  • What do they like about your customer service?
  • Do they dislike anything?
  • Which options or services make their lives easier?
  • How would they prefer to get support from you?
  • Is there anything you do that’s not necessary?

Don’t make any huge promises at this point, but be open to hearing what your clients are saying rather than what you’re wanting or expecting to hear.

Evaluate your customer service delivery

This is something for you and your staff to work on together. Think carefully about: what you do for clients; how much each method is used by clients; and what sort of feedback is received from your clients.

  • Do you offer customer service by phone, email, fax?
  • Are you available on social media platforms?
  • What is the turnaround time for each of these methods?
  • Which methods do your customers use most?
  • Do you have staff trained to use each of the methods in use?

Combining the results of your customer feedback and your customer service evaluation will give you a solid basis that you can use to refine your service offerings and methods.