The jury is in, and it looks like 2022 will be the year of customer service-led growth. Let’s face it, in a post-pandemic, digital world, consumers expect better service than ever, and give their loyalty to the companies that provide it. In today’s consumer-driven economy, it’s quality, not quantity that ultimately matters most.
There is a real risk in delivering subpar customer experience…the pandemic didn’t make customers more forgiving – if anything, it made them more discerning. In fact, over 60 percent of customers will defect after just one bad experience – up 22 percent from the previous year. It’s clear that the consumer is unwilling to put up with anything but exemplary CX – they are in the driver’s seat. And while your customer services teams – those in the trenches and on the front lines of the customer journey – may be observing this trend, it could be that the trickle-down effect is slow to reach those in management and decision-making positions. Being able to tie customer service to business growth is a critical component of your model. So how do you bridge this “experience gap” and successfully set (or reset) customer expectations?
For starters, it’s important to clearly convey your promise of a specific level of service quality. Perhaps this looks like something as simple as a response time commitment – whatever it is, your customer will have a concrete presumption to hold onto. It will also work to a company’s benefit to clearly communicate what customers can expect. For example, telephone “hold times” can be incredibly frustrating to a customer, but if an organization builds in options such as a ”call-back”, allowing it to reconnect when convenient for the customer, it can demonstrate great respect for their time and effort. Another clear winner in setting customer expectations is simply to deliver what you promise. Customer service leaders need to have a good handle on the commitments made by their teams, with the clear understanding that 100% of the time, these need to be honored. These insights need to be identified across all departments in order to set your CX program standards as high as possible.
Customer service outsourcing companies can be an extremely pivotal resource in a highly competitive and increasingly influential field. Considering that customer retention is one of the key determinations in business success, it can be in your best interest to team up with an industry leader like Anexa. As a two-decade veteran and award-winning customer service partner, we enlist teams of empathetic agents who provide always-on support, and personalized, conversational experiences – whether as a human or a chatbot. We equip our CX specialists with the tools to have true customer intelligence – that know who the customer is, where they’re coming from, and what their issue might be – allowing them to deliver truly high-quality service. We understand the formula that increasing customer retention rates by only 5% can increase profits up to 95% – we like those numbers, and you will too.
Call Anexa today to discuss your goals for 2022, and how to make your customer service not just an afterthought, but a genuine opportunity for growth and revenue.