Author: XACT

When it comes to customer support, what do your clients want?

Customer Experience Concept, Happy Business Woman holding Card wCustomer service is a department that shouldn’t be undervalued or overlooked. The way you care for your customers can have a direct impact on your business. An unanswered question could result in a customer going elsewhere for business. An unaddressed concern could result in an angry customer who gives you a bad review online. However, a happy customer could lead to more consumer loyalty and greater customer growth. Those satisfied customers will be more likely to write positive reviews and spread their happy news with others. But what exactly are consumers looking for in a customer service department?

When customers have questions or concerns, they want answers quickly. They don’t want to waste time looking for contact information or waiting on hold. Things tend to move fast, attention spans tend to run short, and decisions can be made in an instant, so it’s important the customer service team delivers solutions fast. That means you need to have an omnichannel approach and offer 24/7 support.

Keep in mind that your audience will be made of people with different schedules and communication preferences. To target all of them, you need to deliver more than one option for customer support. Consider adding more support options other than just a phone number for them to reach out to. For example, chat and email support can go a long way. Also, consider the availability of your customer service representatives. Do you have off-hours or can customers reach out to you 24/7? The quicker you can deliver responses the better the customer-business relationship. Plus, many consumers have come to expect this type of availability.

Beyond just convenience and availability, you can’t underestimate the importance of being friendly and offering a listening ear. When customers reach out to a service department they expect to be greeted by someone who is friendly and willing to help, whether that’s over the phone or behind a computer screen. They want to know that they’re being heard and that their issue is being addressed by someone knowledgeable. Essentially, they want to know that the business cares about its consumers. This means the customer service rep needs to be patient with the consumer, listen to what they say without interruption, and help them the best they can. If the customer service rep is unable to assist, they need to transfer the call to the right person.

Overall, customers expect excellent service from a business they support. If they don’t receive that service they are likely to move on to another business. If you’d like help improving your customer service offerings, please reach out to us at XACT. We act as an organic extension of your customer support team.

Simple tips for keeping your remote team happy (and on task)

Casual smiling office worker in headphones looking at laptop scrPeople everywhere are working in remote locations. Some are working at home, others in co-working spaces, and some from local wifi hotspots. But, just because many people are working remotely these days, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t feel like they’re part of a team.

Near or far, teamwork is all about feeling like you’re a part of a collaboration. So, how do you continue to boost this collaborative feeling among your remote workers? There are plenty of ways to keep your remote workers satisfied and a part of the team.

One thing is for sure, workers (remote or not) want to feel like their work is acknowledged. They want to know they aren’t taken for granted. People are more inclined to be productive when they feel like they are appreciated by their employer.

The good news is, it’s easy to show appreciation for your employees. It can be something as simple as sending an email that says “thank you” or “job well-done.” You could even take it up a notch and present them with a gift for their good work.

Another way to show you appreciate your employees is to highlight their work. Periodically, you could send out a group email featuring some of your employees’ achievements that month. You can ask your team to participate, requesting that people highlight something they or their coworkers did to help accomplish your goals.

Beyond appreciation, you want to make sure your employees feel like they’re part of a greater team. In other words, you want them to stay connected. You can host periodic video meetings to keep the team collaborating, or you can set-up an on-going group chat through Slack or another similar service. You can even host virtual events like game days, workshops, or exercise classes.

Continue to show your employees that they are seen. Remember days that are special to them. For example, consider sending a happy birthday email, card, or gift when their special day arrives. Give them a shoutout when their work anniversary approaches. Remembering the “little” things can go a long way toward keeping remote workers a part of the team.

One more thing to keep in mind is that your remote employees need the right gadgets to get the job done. If there are tools your employees need to work more efficiently, consider supplying them to help boost productivity.

These are just a few ways you can help your remote workers excel in their job and stay connected with your overall team. We hope you’re able to put a few of these tips to good use.

Surveying customers offers a wealth of knowledge

45840479_MThere are so many reasons to survey your customers. It can provide you with a lot of relevant, impactful information that can help your business succeed.

Surveying your customers allows you to gain knowledge about how you’re doing as a company. You can find out if customers are happy with what you have to offer. You can ask questions about the services you offer or the products you sell. You can survey them about how functional your website is.

You can gain perspective about how well your customer service department represents your brand. You can gain knowledge about your customer base, including your target audience and what they’re interested in. And, you can ask your customers for feedback on products they’d like to see in the future. Plus, if you ask for feedback on a regular basis, you can see the improvements you make result in increased customer satisfaction.

Implementing surveys doesn’t have to fall on the shoulders of your in-house employees either. AT XACT, we offer survey and response. Using platforms like email and social media, we can contact your customer lists and engineer campaigns to market, survey, respond and interact. We can use multiple touchpoints such as phone and SMS to follow-up with your customers. This allows you to engage in a deeper, more meaningful way that can improve satisfaction and give your brand a competitive edge.

If you’d like to learn more about what we can do for you and how we can help your business succeed, give us a call at (800) 670-XACT. We’re here to meet your needs with customized solutions.

Why it’s important to invest in excellent customer service

36965805 - happy female customer service representative wearing headsetThe customer service department is like the face of your company. The way that your business handles customer service says a lot about your brand values and speaks volumes to your customers. If you fail to provide quality customer service, your customers may decide to rely on your competition instead.

Therefore, it’s incredibly important that you invest in excellent customer service. Today, customers are looking to work with companies they can easily reach out to, whether that’s via online chat, over the phone or through other outreach.

They want to know they can get a hold of someone in case there is a question or concern that needs to be addressed. People want immediacy and they want to feel valued by the companies they purchase products and services from. Customer service is so important to shoppers that 50% of customers increase their purchases with a brand after a positive customer service experience. In fact, 86% of customers would pay up to 25% more to get a better customer service experience.

When you have excellent customer service you leave your customers satisfied. And happy customers can equate to more sales. This is because customers are likely to be loyal to you, returning to make additional purchases in the future. They’ll also be more likely to give you good reviews online and share their great experience with friends or family members.

In addition, keep in mind that finding new customers is more expensive than retaining the customers you have. So, making an investment in your customer service is a great way to improve profits and reduce costs over time.

An excellent customer service department can also help your business stay competitive. It’s hard to compete with a company that keeps customers happy and coming back.

Resource management, what is it and how can it benefit your business?

Customer ServiceAt XACT, we offer resource management, also known internally as coordinated services. This is an independent team that watches and monitors contact transactions and provides a level of triage to support call center agents.

With resource management, you never have to wonder if your customer service department is handling things correctly. This team is available 24×7, which means they’re always on call.

The team provides instant oversight to the on-goings in the contact center. They make sure that questions are answered in a timely fashion. They ensure that agents are sticking to the schedule (on-shift, off-shift, breaks and lunches). They also provide a top level of support for front-line agents, answering questions and directing them to any additional teams if added assistance is required.

The team is always watching the dashboards of our systems. This allows them to check on contact handling and workforce management. The dashboards allow them to see contacts being handled, holding or routing through the system in real-time. They have live monitoring available which allows them to listen to agents handling calls on the system and they’re able to provide assistance when needed.

They also have access to viewing a desktop in real-time, this provides them the ability to offer valuable insight. In addition, the team can use a workforce management tool to see if agents are adhering to schedules. If necessary, they can make adjustments to better match what’s happening.

The resource management team better equips the contact center agents and also provides customers with the help they need. This ensures more timely assistance and more effective answers for customers. Brands can feel good about this because it helps keep clients satisfied and we know that satisfied clients are more likely to return. There’s no guessing whether your customer service department is meeting your clients’ needs, the team monitors this and makes sure your brand is represented well.