Customer Service is More Than a Post-it Note
I am often in prospects offices and get to see first hand how their sales and service departments operate. Why do we have the best technology in the world available to us and we still record inquiries and service calls on Post-it notes and pink telephone “Someone Called” slips. By hand.. with missing information, misspellings and coffee stains.
I realize that we all can’t have a world class Customer Service department and the best software on the market but there is a lot we can do to improve operations without breaking the bank.
Adopting one or more of the following tips will help improve daily operations.
Log All Calls
Each call should be logged as it is received indicating. This way you can begin tracking the “what, why and when” attributes of your inquiries.
Your CRM system may already have a “Cases” or Customer Service module that you can use. If nothing else you can use a shared Google spreadsheet. Just start capturing information on who is calling, why they are calling and the resolution.
Build a Customer Portal
Expanding your “Contact Us” page on your web site to double as a “New Case” entry form is an easy way to provide an additional way for customers to contact you.
Many CRM / Customer Service systems already provide this feature along with the capability of adding the new “Case” directly into your system. If not, there may be a service app or customization available for your system.
Create a Knowledge Base
Building a common repository of questions and answers will help spread information throughout your organization as well as help get new team members up to speed quickly. This can also include details on returns or RMAs, warranty questions and maintenance tips.
Making this an online knowledge base will give your customers another way to possibly resolve their issue before calling – many customers prefer solving their own problems online.
Social Media
And don’t forget to monitor social media feeds particularly Twitter. Create a Google alerts for your company name. Post the many ways that customers can contact you or find their own answers online to your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
