business – Customer Service Mediator

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE – 5 Things Your Customers Deserve

May 12, 2021/4 Comments/in Article/by Editor

Think about this: Amazon, Uber, Zoom, and Tesla Motors, what do these brands have in common? They were each, not the first to do what they do, but they did the consumers’ job better than their competitors. And, they consistently give their customers the best service experience they deserve.

They are all disruptors. Walmart disrupted local retail businesses when they came into a community. Uber disrupted the taxi-cab industry. Amazon disrupted the entire retail world, Zoom disrupted physical meetings and office space. And, Tesla disrupted the automobile industry.

So, are you starting in a career or business and it looks like there is nothing new to do? Like everything that could be done has already been done? There is yet a way to disrupt your market. Make an exceptional customer experience your brand identity. Customer service is often overlooked in companies, and, this could be a big opportunity to differentiate your business and attract and retain loyal customers.

For The Best Customer Service Experience, Do These:

Know Your Customers – Who is your ideal customer? What does your customer need? How can you meet that need? Do your research and analyze your target audience. Beyond the service, you want to provide, know enough about them to become a part of their lives.
Design a customer-centered service experience – Your customers are at the centre of all you do, not you. Alongside the product or service you are offering, deliberately put your customers at the centre of your activities by designing a customized service experience. Therefore, if you know them as explained above, this should not be difficult to do.
Respond quickly to every customer inquiry or comment – Know when to read the script and when to use your humanity. Do not ever keep your customers waiting. Never!
Stay in Touch – Adequate use of social media will give you top-of-the-mind awareness with your customers. Be conveniently accessible to your customers and stay in touch. Social media is an extension of brand marketing for you, therefore, use it sufficiently. Something as simple as a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) program can help you keep track of your customers, what they have bought in the past and any issues they have had.
Celebrate them – Give a human touch to your brand by interacting with your customers’ experiences and achievements. Celebrate their moments with them, and, thank them for patronizing you.

In conclusion, let them know that you are not just after their money, you sincerely want to make their lives easier. 93% of customers are liekly to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service.

9 Tips on How to Be a Great Boss

May 7, 2021/0 Comments/in Article/by Editor

Bosses are the most misunderstood persons on earth! Even when they mean well, their actions and inactions affect company morale and productivity more than anything else. Now, not everyone knows how to be a great boss. But we all have stories to share of enduring a bad one. Employees go to work and want to do a good job but it is the boss that sometimes gets in the way of them performing well.

Have you recently been promoted to manager and you are worried about how to get your job
done without any heartaches?

Here’s How to Win the Boss-of-the-Year Award

1. Communicate clear vision: ensure that employees understand the why and what about the organization.
2. Connect vision to daily tasks: get the employees engaged with the company’s vision by breaking down the vision into their specific job description. This way, they’d align their daily tasks with the vision.
3. Set clear performance expectations but don’t micromanage: tell them what is expected in clear terms and leave them to get it done. Trust your employees’ ability to perform.
4. Give good feedback and develop your talent: let them know when they are doing a good job and when they are not meeting targets. Provide opportunities for career and personal development.
5. Find out what motivates your workers (make work fun)
6. Appreciate employee efforts: reward good performance. Offer praises generously in private and in public, this is a sure morale booster.

7. Stay connected and aware of updates
8. Care about the employee as a person: Show empathy, practice emotional intelligence. Employees are happy when they know that the manager cares for them on a personal level.
9. Value employee perspectives: remember that you’re all in it together, listen to their opinions and suggestions. Let them know that their perspectives matter.

Treat your employees how you want your customers to be treated. Be humane and allow yourself to enjoy being a manager. What kind of a boss are you?

ETHICS OR PROFIT (What to do when you are in the line of fire)?

April 16, 2021/5 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Editor

The race to make money is more heated than ever as a direct response to the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 lockdown last year. Corporations and SMEs seem to be more concerned with ROI than customer satisfaction, and the old argument between ethics and profits has become a daily struggle for managers.

Ethics And Profit

Ethics is a system of moral principles that guides a person or business’s behaviour or way of conducting activities. While, profit is simply the net revenue generated by a business enterprise minus the cost of production.

While profit is the main motive behind any business venture, the matter of ethics will more definitely determine the long-term profitability of that venture. If you sacrifice customers’ satisfaction, excellence, and integrity for profit, you will end up losing more. Because when people do business with you, they are indirectly signifying their trust and endorsement of your services. Satisfied customers are the best form of free promotions and referrals.

What To Do

Sometimes the lines gets so blurred that as a manager you get confused on which path to follow. In times like this, ask yourself these questions:

What are the company’s mission statement and values?
Do they align with the decision you are about to make?
What is the company culture? Or what is the company protocol concerning matters like this?
What is more important to the company, profit or image?
Is there a solution that can satisfy both the client and the company without incurring unnecessary expenses?
Do you need to consult your superior before making a decision?
Would you be satisfied with your decision and be able to defend it later?
Do you have proper documentation for all the processes and activities leading up to your decision?

Once you answer all these questions satisfactorily, then go ahead and make your decision. Doing what is right for the business all the time is not an easy task, it requires intelligence, corporate awareness, grit and experience. If you succeed in making the right decision, the rewards will be worth the stress.

Ethics may cost you more in production, but it will bring you more in long term profit.

Customer Service Skills: The face of your business relies on the tone

February 7, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized/by cusmed1

Millennial customers today are like an entirely new category in their own light. Where previous generations prefer more one-on-one connection and personal relationships, young people today lean towards self-help solutions and fast-paced interactions.

The 4 Most Important Customer Service Skills to Master

Your business’ millennial customers today will bring about the next generation of confident and well-researched purchasers. In terms of customer service skills, and in our own experience, here are the top few that agents need to truly master before that next generation comes.

1. Professionalism The face of your business relies on the tone, grammar and writing style across digital ways of communication, as well as the professionalism and conciseness of any phone interaction.

Some rules for professionalism in email or chat customer service: no abbreviations or lingo, check your information, and definitely never be pushy or leading.
Being understanding, friendly, informative and quick to respond to any customer service interaction is the best way to remain professional and help a customer resolve any issues with lightning speed. When in doubt, one of the best ways to promote better professionalism is to craft standardized decision trees and agent scripts that follow your company’s voice and brand perfectly.

2. EmpathyEvery customer wants their issue to be understood and cared for. Customer service agents need to put themselves in the customers’ shoes and broaden their perspectives (and vocabularies, in some cases) to understand where the issue came from and how it can be resolved.
Everyone involved in a customer service interaction is a person — showing compassion and empathy in genuine ways for the problems they are facing, or relating on a more positive note, shows that you care and builds loyalty with the customer.

3. AssertivenessWith professionalism and empathy comes a need to be assertive in customer service situations. Now, we don’t mean aggressive — we mean being completely clear, confident and direct with the information provided and support offered. Taking control of a customer service interaction in a calm and helpful way by asking appropriate, direct questions will help guide support agents to the right conclusion far easier and faster, and the customer is much more likely to feel that the agent they spoke with is the right person for the job.

4. ExpertiseResearch shows the phone to be the most frustrating way to engage customer service.
Without your customer service agents fully mastering the ins and outs of your business and product or service offering, they’ll never feel 100% comfortable and confident helping customers, and in return, customers will be more frustrated.

Customer-facing agents should always be trained experts on every relevant inner working, allowing them to be more empowered to answer questions accurately and directly.