When is the best time to invest in customer service?
This is the second of two blog posts drawing on a recent edition of You And Yours on Radio 4. The programme focused on customer service and featured Graham Roberts-Phelps (GRP), the lead customer service consultant at the Customer Service Training Company. The previous post – “Are customers getting ruder?” – looked at how the recent COVID pandemic and various other global factors have led to customer-facing businesses facing more and more customer hostility these days. This post will look at a possible solution: investing in customer service training.
The case for investing
When your representatives are having a harder time dealing with customers, a logical option is to ensure they’re fully equipped with the latest awareness and skills for the role.
As GRP pointed out on the radio, when a business invests in customer service training, it’s usually part of a strategy to differentiate the business from the competition, increase customer loyalty, or ensure smoother customer transactions as standard. At least, those are the ‘official’ reasons. Often, they’re really looking for a band-aid or quick fix for a problem with their customer service processes or an increase in customer complaints. In other words, it’s a response to a problem. Strategically, this is not the best time to invest. Yes, it can help, and yes, it’s probably necessary… but it’s firefighting and the best time to invest in customer service training is earlier – before you have a problem.
What’s the goal?
The goal is to provide customer service that is not only efficient but also feels personal.
Think about the last time, as a customer, you called a bank, utility company, or phone provider. Did the customer service rep ask for your name first or your account number? Was the person first or the problem?
It can take a lot to make great customer service look easy. It’s a skilled function and reps need training, coaching, reinforcement, and feedback. They also need the necessary authority to deal with the customers’ needs – what the customer wants to hear is, “Yes, I can do that for you,” so you need to ensure that your reps can.
The bottom line outcome? People will spend more money, more frequently with a business that offers them great customer service.
Chatbots are an extra not a substitute
AI evangelists may argue the benefits of streamlining your customer service operations with chatbots… and they do have their place. However, as soon as a chatbot can’t answer the customer’s query, there had better be easy access to a human representative. And many customers don’t want the chatbot experience under any circumstances.
So, by all means, use AI to efficiently deal with routine and common issues, but the radio show had numerous examples of customers frustrated with chatbots unable to help but also unable (unwilling?!) to pass the situation on to a human operative. As GRP says, customer service depends on three Ps: people, product, and process – a smiling, friendly face can make all the difference, but you also need to invest in the system behind your representatives.
When to invest?
Depending on the current state of your business or sector, now might not feel like a good time. And plenty of businesses would agree with you. During the radio show, GRP points out that pre-COVID, it was usual to deliver extensive customer service training programmes but that now, such investment is rare. Businesses are more cautious and less keen to spend.
Which is why now is exactly the time to invest in customer service training and consultancy. Not only does it offer the strategic benefits outlined earlier (more and smoother transactions, greater customer loyalty) but it’s also an opportunity to push ahead of the competition and equip your reps to offer a service that really stands out.
To finish on a story…
GRP recalls talking to Pret A Manger founder Sinclair Beecham, around the 2007-08 global recession when pretty much every business was struggling. When sales began to drop, Beecham increased the number of customer service staff and introduced a £1 coffee. Unlike the competition, Prets came out of that recession with more branches (ad business) than ever.
When the market is struggling, that’s the time to invest. When customers are seeing other businesses cut their offers and levels of service, that is exactly when you have the opportunity to stand out by doing more.
If you have any customer service queries or issues, now’s the time to dial 01582 463464. Give us a call – we’re here to help.
