Customer service is a simple concept yet so many companies are alone, it’s all about getting individuals to love your brand. This is according to Smoke Customer Care Solutions (CCS) managing director Andrew Cook.
He believes at the heart of customer service lies two charming qualities, the ability to anticipate customers’ wants and needs as well as to satisfy those needs.
“Achieve this and one has a match made in heaven. Or will you? Like any relationship, needs and wants change over time, respond to new ways of thinking and grow with the individual. So, how can you anticipate what your customers want if you don’t know what they really think of you?”
He urges companies to become tech-enabled and customer-centric. “This means being able to apply the right technology with the right methodology to make it easy for the voice of your customer to be heard.”
He points to the four steps that companies can take to get into the heart of their customers – and stay there.
Make it easy to get in touch, nobody knows the customer requirements better than the customer themselves. By enabling customers through technology, they should be able to fulfil their own needs quickly. It allows them to find answers to their questions without hassle, and process any transaction, all with a couple of clicks, swipes or keys. The solution is to remove any possible points of friction or frustration for a potential customer.
Companies must show customers that they understand. By listening to the voice of the customer, one will not only having a happier customer, but one will also be able to develop a history of traceable transactions and behaviours and gather real intelligence around customer preferences. This is invaluable information that can be translated into tailoring one’s product or service offering.
Cook says companies must take customer care to the next level. “So, you may not be able to get inside the head of your customer, but by using programmable survey software to record the voice of the customer and collate data into trends, you will be able to better predict gaps and needs before clients even know that they’re missing something.”
“Now we are talking about good customer service. Sure, this could be done in the boardroom, and you might guess right, but by using real stats based on real customer feedback, your business will be equipped to drastically reduce the risk of missing the mark as you make your next move.”
He says companies must make the commitment. “Your customer knows who you are. After all, you’ve created a brand experience and spent millions on marketing to get your brand out there.”
With voice-of-the customer solutions, companies are able to know their customers and enable customer loyalty in ways that they have never achieved before. The advent of social media and smart phones allows businesses to interact and grow the relationship with customers at every touch point. This means they can gain insights into their customer’s perceptions in real time.
Smoke CCS has developed award winning technology through its principal product, Eyerys, that surpasses existing international technology and allows for interaction with customers through social media and technology platforms.
