Written by:
John Borillo
It is that time of the year once again when people are making plans and are trying to change lives. Some are getting ready to take on the challenges that the year would bring them. It is that time of the year when you would see a lot of people working on their New Year’s resolutions list (which hopefully, they would be able to follow until the end of the year). And it is that time when you would be able to see people doing fearless forecasts of what just may happen in the course of 12 months.The world of customer service is no different. There are always fearless forecasts everywhere. This time, let us take a look at the kind of customer service trends that would be happening in 2015. If you are a BPO company that offers customer service, then you may want to learn more about what the market could be clamoring for.Making A Plan B
According to TrendWatching.com, one of the newest trends in customer service that 2015 could bring would be products and services that come with a plan B. This usually is a freebie or some other service that comes with purchasing the main thing.
If you are purchasing a new phone that does come with the latest features and technology, that company selling the phone just may include a lower range version of it as there may be people who think they love the high-end one only to find out later on that they do not like it. The lower range unit will be the Plan B so customers can still enjoy the brand’s units.
Plan B is all about thinking ahead and providing additional items or services that would not be offered by competitors. It is all about thinking just what customers may be needing when not truly happy with the main item or product that they had purchased. Indeed, it is a good way of keeping those customers happy.
Customer Service Via Video
Taking customer service to new heights would be providing customer service via video calls. This would definitely be a good one as you would be able to directly see who you are talking with. A BPO company Philippines could easily be able to do such a thing as technology is already here. It is all about a matter of implementation. It would be like talking to a representative in real life as you would be talking with the person face-to-face.
Delivering More Than Just The Goods
For customers, it is quite a good thing for them if you would be able to deliver to them just what they had ordered. However, to be able to deliver something more than that would definitely be appreciated. It seems like Panama’s Pizza Hut has already seen this one coming and thought of what else it would be able to bring to the table. And so it has designed a way to bring customers their pizza with the pizza being literally fresh out of the oven. To do this, they have ovens on their delivery motorcycles so it gets to you really hot. Oh their customer service call center must be ringing off the hook!
This kind of customer service technique is all about thinking what else can you provide to your customers to make them extra happy. Happy customers make good customers.
Using Information To Provide Better Service
Businesses usually make use of information to be able to create new strategies and new marketing techniques that would help them get more sales.
However, this time, it is expected that more and more companies would be using information to provide better service to their customers. One great example would be the Copenhagen Airport that used Google Glass to actually scan a passenger and get the information that they need to give to the customer. It has helped them work better and do more seeing that they are not connected to computers. Customer service call centers Philippines may not be using Google Glass right now but it would highly be likely that they may soon be having such technology to provide you with better service.
Politeness And Positive Atmospheres – Extremely Important
Another great customer service trend that could be making the rounds this year would be practicing politeness and creating positive atmospheres.
A few years ago, Tokyo Tokyo had a program where customers got a free meal if the servers were not smiling. It is a great thing to have as people can be pretty bossy once in a place to eat. Plus, a place to eat can be quite busy and servers can forget to smile. However, by having people smiling, it can be quite contagious.
An outsourced call center may not really have to see the people they are talking with, but smiling in between calls can definitely lighten the mood and the atmosphere in the workplace. That should bring about a better way of handling any calls and providing any kind of customer service. A really light and positive atmosphere is good customer service in itself.
Providing More Ways To Get In Touch
With more and more avenues for communication nowadays, it is quite necessary that businesses should do the same as well. If you currently have email and a phone number that customers can use to contact you, it might be necessary to upgrade. Magellan Solutions Call Center is a BPO company in the Philippines that is providing various ways of providing customer service. It now offers inbound calls, outbound calls, email processing, and even social media management.
The more avenues you are able to provide to your customers, the happier they will be. See, the market is diverse and so are your customers. There will be those who would love to speak to you directly. Some would rather just chat with you while there are also who would rather leave a comment on your Instagram account. Being able to let them contact you easily would make them feel better because they know that you are open to what they may want to say to you.
Good Customer Service Is No Customer Service
There is nothing better than having all of the things you bought given to you in tiptop shape and delivered at the fastest time possible. This is the best trend that could ever happen to most businesses. See, not all are capable of upgrading just yet. However, this trend is not just for 2015 for all years to come. See, the best customer service is no customer service at all! This means that customers are already satisfied with what they got and so they would not be needing any further assistance from you. It is all about having no fuzz and no hassle to your customers with regards to whatever it is they purchased. The better products and services you have, the less stressed your customer service representative would be. This kind of trend is the trend for the ages!
Hello There, Social Media!
Social media is exploding right now. Everywhere, it is all about social media. It is the place to be. And thus, it is also where your customers are. So make sure that you also have a good presence there. However, a social media presence is not going to be enough. Have a good team with you who are the best when it comes to customer service skills as you would need them to go through each of the comments coming in. Provide customer service through social media and you and your business will rock! Yes, people. Customers love it when they can talk to you through social media because it assures them that you are reachable and that you are also quite “in”.
Provide Them Information With How-To Materials
Good customer service is – and will always be – good customer service. It is best to make sure that you are able to provide people with the information that they need. How many times have you opened that new mobile phone only to find out that the manual only holds information on how to use the keys? Not many mobile phone companies now have instruction materials on other “hidden” ways of using it. This is where your customer service will come in.
Instead of having those people call you, go ahead and provide them with how-to materials. People love DIY nowadays so having them learn through how-to links and articles should help them discover the “hidden” features that their new item has. That would definitely be excellent customer service. They are going to thank you for that and will be amazed by what their gadget can do.
24/7/365 Is Still The Best. Trend. Ever.
Ask customers about what kind of customer service they would want to have. You would most likely learn that they would love to have 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year kind of customer service. This is because you would not know when something could go wrong with your item or service. So to be able to call them up when it happens is a really good feeling for them. Thus, it may be a smart move to keep that customer service training going for your agents. That way, they can continuously provide the best care for your customers because they need such.
Indeed, there is a truth to this. You can ask yourself how you would feel if suddenly your internet goes bonkers at two in the morning on Christmas Day. You definitely would want to speak to someone about it as soon as possible, right? Now that is the kind of service you may also want to give your customers.
Rewarding Your Agents Can Be Rewarding
If you have forgotten to reward your agents for the longest time, then it is high time that you started rewarding them for work well done. By doing such a thing, you can be sure that they would work better and provide better customer service this year. Customer service tips you may have taught them may stick longer in their minds and you definitely want that.
There are plenty of ways that you can reward your agents. It is up to you to choose which one would work best for them and which ones they would appreciate. You can have them choose their own schedules if they reach a certain standard. You can treat them for dinner or breakfast or whatever meal works for you. Or you can provide gift cards to those agents who have displayed how well they understood your customer service strategy. By doing so, you would be getting on their good side. And just like customers, happy agents become the best agents. Make them happy.
You can go check online and find other ways of rewarding your agents. Or you can create something yourself. It always does not have to be monetary. Sometimes, the little things can work huge wonders.
Prevention Is Always Better Than The Cure
Have you ever experienced a downtime in your internet and you called up your ISP only to be told that they are doing a system upgrade? Well, you start to think that it is all bogus and that you feel like you should be informed earlier. Indeed, that is right. One of the best ways on how to improve customer service for your business would be to make sure that your customers are informed well. As they say, prevention is better than cure.
If you can constantly send them updates about your company, product, or service, then you also can definitely send them updates regarding system upgrades and the such. The better informed they are, the happier they will be. It will be additional good points to your customer service statistics board and you are going to be thankful about it.
Come to think of it, your customers will be able to plan out what they would be doing when your system goes bonkers because of the upgrade. The better informed they are, the better they would be able to make decisions. And yes, the less irate they would be at you. You would not want them to be irate or you may find yourself losing customers one by one.
What do you think are the new trends in customer service? Share your thoughts today.
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