Victor Owodunni Omotola

10 Ways to Improve Customer Service The emergence of Web 2.0 and social networks has radically transformed the business customer relationship. Recently, consumers started abandoning the brand advertising as a reference when forming their opinion and have started to strongly consider the experiences of other consumers on priority criterion when making purchasing decisions. This circumstance allows those companies to identify customers’ demands early enough so that these changes take position with a sustainable competitive advantage. The aim, therefore, is to reorient management to models that have the customer experience as the main focus of their efforts. Here are 10 simple improvements that can help you get started. 1. Define Clearly What You Want to Improve Imagine a company that decides to compete in the market via pricing models in order to provide its customers with a unique and memorable experience. Surely, this would be a strategic change of such importance that requires careful planning. Naturally, these strategic changes affect, in most cases, much of the know-how, culture and customs of the company and therefore are not recommended in any way without a clear overall objective, strategy and scope that a company should have. 2. Make Sure You Understand What Your Potential Customers Need or Prefer Once you clearly define objective and scope of changes in our organization towards a model based on the management of the customer experience, the next step is to understand clearly what our target customers need, prefer or what they are requesting. To reach this knowledge in a manner as precise as possible we recommend using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Without any doubt, it will be very useful to better understand the point of view of our customers. This will help us establish appropriate policy categorization, segmentation of the customer base, and consequently help us design accurately the services we want to render to our customers. Some of the most important aspects that we need to investigate are: Who are our potential customers, how and when they buy. Needs and expectations of our target customers. How we like your customers to be served once the purchase process is completed. Value perceived by our customers at a level of specific price and market trends. 3. Define The Behavior Patterns of Your Customers and Then Make The Changes International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that there is about 5 gigabytes of information for each person on the planet. Regardless of the veracity of the data, the reality is that there is much information available. Now the challenge is to turn that information into business decision criteria. Unfortunately this is not easy. The problem is that the buying behavior of consumers contains complex variables that do not respond to linear prediction models and, therefore, quantitative modeling tools of conduct in the case of purchasing activities are not entirely reliable. This does not mean we should resign ourselves to mere intuition, for it can be taken as an alternative analysis of customers’ behaviour from a qualitative perspective. The advantage of making an effort to study the behavior patterns of our customers will allow us to respond quickly or even anticipate changes in the preferences of our market by increasing sales, rates retention, cross-selling and monetization of our website. 4. The First Change is Always Improving What Already Exists At this point, we have identified our objective and scope, we know our customers, we know their demands and we have some information on their behaviour pattern. The next task is to start implementing changes, but where do we start? We need to first develop a comprehensive plan. However, we recommend that the first changes we make are prior to having any overall plan and are directed to "fix" those aspects of our relation with the customer. The aim is to optimize the model of customer relationship. As a result, we need to know exactly where we started. 5. Define The Kind of Experience You'd Want Your Customers To Have We need to have a strategy that guides your entire organization in the development of the kind of experience that we seek to provide to your customers. The implementation strategies must be unique, unrepeatable and should comply with the level of customer expectations. 6. Redesign Your Services From The Point of View of Experience Model Previously Defined Once we are clear on the model of experience we want for our customers and how to implement it, then we can redesign our services in some way to be consistent with the strategy. This idea is consistent with the definition of "ideal experience" which encourages us to develop different strategies for different segments of customers. Some of the most common mistakes to avoid when redesigning your services within the management’s strategy of customer experience are: Failure to identify interdependencies Trying to provide the "ideal experience" to all customers 7. Create the Map User Experience to Identify and Optimize The Contact Points With the Customer One of the most useful tools when undertaking a customer service management program is the map user experience. The aim is to clearly identify those areas within the company which are not putting the best resources available to clients. It allows us to see our own business with the customer's eyes and thus understand better what improvement is needed to enhance the customer experience. When we focus on what customers really need and expect from us, we are launching a powerful reference system "word of mouth" that will, as a natural consequence, increase our customer base. 8. Choose The CRM That Best Fits The Needs of Your Organization Most companies have gone through difficult processes of technological renewal. For various reasons, the organization has had to adapt to the limitations or requirements of technology and not vice versa. Technology should be an enabler for the implementation of the change. If this premise is met by internal resistance to these changes, it can jeopardize the smooth running of the organization. In some cases, the market offers a number of different alternatives, and we must choose with care what tends to meet our needs. At this point, the criteria have specified that professionals can save a lot of resources in terms of cost, time and effort. 9. Give a Voice to Your Online Customers to Share Their Experiences When the mentality of the company changes and we are start seeing the first benefit of being consistent with our new vision of customers’ relationship, it's time to give them a voice. The fact that our customers share their experience on social networks shows that the process of making a purchase decision can be influenced. At this point, the plan of "Social Media" should be properly designed to allow us to maximize the impact of electronic word-of-mouth accompanied by amplifying viral effect. 10. Enter a Cycle of Continuous Improvement: Listen, Measure, Monitor and Improve There is an adage that says "What is not defined cannot be measured. What is not measured cannot be improved. What is not improved always degenerates”. Starting with a good strategy and a well planned implementation process is not enough. We must be aware that the market is not static and that our competitors also struggle not to fall behind in the competitive market. Therefore, the aim is to produce a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement. To do this, we will need to: Listen to our customers and act accordingly. Set internal and external benchmark. Have a perception of our clients, customers and employees. Conclusion The change of perspective from which the activity of the company is managed is a strategic change which often entails consequences for the business model. The redesign of services is usually a natural consequence of the process of managing customer experience. Therefore, these challenges must be thought out and planned in detail and should be accompanied at all times with the enabling technology. For this, one of the most useful tools is the development of a map of customer experience. This will help us identify very precisely the points where the company interacts with its customers and this will be the door to the implementation of the improvements. Finally, create an avenue for your customers to share their experience on social networks in addition to listening and actively participating in discussions affecting your company. This will help you establish a virtuous circle of continuous improvement that will allow us to offer quality customer service continuously.