4 Customer Service Mistakes That May Be Hurting Your Business (and How to Fix Them)

Operating a business is more competitive than ever. In the United States, there are over thirty three million businesses across a variety of industries. With all these options, customers can easily find a product or service that meets their needs. That’s why providing good customer service can help your company achieve long-term success. It shows customers that your company cares about more than merely generating revenue and becoming an industry leader. High-quality customer service can

• Build a positive reputation for your company.
• Lead to referrals from satisfied customers.
• Strengthen your company culture.
• Reduce your customer acquisition costs.
• Increase your company’s value in the marketplace.

If you don’t make customer service a priority, your business won’t grow to its full potential. Unfortunately, many companies operate in ways that drive customers away. With that said, let’s explore four customer service mistakes that may be hurting your business (and how to fix them):

Customer Service Mistakes – Poor Communication with Customers

Regardless of your industry, increasing customer satisfaction needs to be a top priority for your company. After customers invest in a product or service, they expect company representatives to keep them informed every step of the way.

Poor communication with your customers can lead to unnecessary conflict, bad reviews of your company, and mistrust. In this digital economy, it can be difficult to repair a tarnished reputation because people share their experiences on social media sites.

Examples of Poor Customer Communication

• Not responding to customer phone calls and emails in a timely manner.
• Failure to let customers know when they will receive the product or service.
• Not communicating with customers when there is a problem.

One of the most important things that you can do to streamline the customer service process is to invest in a help desk tool. You can set this up so it features prominently on your website and is therefore easily accessible. Any messages or tickets your customers submit to you should be delivered directly to your business email or the email of your customer support team so we can be informed and responded very quickly.

It’s also vitally important to take responsibility for good and bad outcomes with your business. With this in mind, immediately inform customers when there is a problem that affects them, and make clear to them what actions you are taking to remedy the situation. Even if your customers become frustrated with the problem, they will trust you more if you are transparent about what’s happening.

Furthermore сustomers feel much more comfortable to be able to solve the problem in a language familiar to them. It establishes trust, which is essential at all stages of the purchasing cycle, including customer support. Learn more how intercultural communication impacts on bussiness in this guide.

Customer Service Mistakes – Indifferent Company Representatives

The results from a recent study show that over 80% of customers will stop doing business with a company after just one bad experience. Rude and indifferent representatives can have a negative impact on your customer retention rate. You should set expectations for how you want customers to be treated at all times, and listen to them even when they are providing negative feedback. But contrary to popular belief, customers aren’t always right. Some customers can be difficult and demanding. However, company representatives shouldn’t argue with them or treat them in a disrespectful manner.

With that said, other examples of things customer service representatives should never do include:

• Interrupt customers when they are speaking
• Hang up on customers
• Dismiss customer concerns
• Find ways to retaliate against rude customers

You should also provide ongoing training for all team members. Start using tools such as project management service to make it easier for your individual team members to collaborate with one another. This can be most easily accomplished with essential features such as direct messaging, automatic notifications, real-time updates, and the ability to link the information of certain customer profiles to specific projects. This way, you can quickly manage your customers based on different projects or categories. As a result, your employees can more easily keep one another updated on any customer-related issues and work together on resolving them.

Customer Service Mistakes – Not Exceeding Customer Expectations

It isn’t enough to meet customer expectations. Your company must exceed them. This means that you must offer your customers an experience that other companies don’t provide. Before you can exceed their expectations, you must find out what customers in your industry want. Send feedback requests to your previous customers that ask strategic questions. The results from these surveys will help your company develop a plan to improve customer service.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Questions and statements that your customer satisfaction surveys should include are:

• How did our product or service help you reach your goals?
• What can we do to improve your experience with our company?
• Tell us what you like and didn’t like about our customer service.
• Would you recommend our products or services to a friend or family member?
• How likely are you to buy a product or service from our company again? Why or why not?
• Please provide suggestions about how we can better serve you.

You can engage with customers to ask them these questions on mobile devices, social media, and by phone.

Ineffective Website Design

Your company’s website is a vitally important part of your customer service strategy. A user-friendly website can provide answers to inquiries and let people know more about your company. Today, 81% of consumers research products and services on the internet before making a purchase. If you have an ineffective website, your company is missing out on a prime customer service opportunity.

When customers land on your site, they should be able to navigate it with ease. Your website should contain content that is relevant to your visitors. That way, they will come back to your website because they view your company as an industry authority.

Customer Service Mistakes – Ineffective Website Design

Examples of an ineffective website design include:

• Pages load slowly
• Too many pictures, videos, and pop-ups
• Content doesn’t support your company’s purpose
• Customers can’t find the information that they need
• The website doesn’t have multiple ways for customers to contact your company

It’s also possible to build a quality website for as low as $2,000 in total. In other words, you may not even need to hire a professional web designer to create your website for you. You can instead create your website on a platform that can support your company’s growth. Include plenty of white space between paragraphs. Offer mobile-friendly versions of your website, and include call-to-action statements that let customers know what steps to take next.

Customer Service Mistakes – Conclusion

Now that you know about the common customer service mistakes, it’s time to take action. Assess your customer service strategy to determine the improvements that you need to make. By implementing these tips, your company can delight customers and boost revenue.