13 Ways to Make Your Customer Service Customer-Centric

Customer service and customer-centricity have become hot topics, and for a good reason. A customer-centric approach can help you improve retention, satisfaction, and revenue.

However, the customer-centric journey is not an easy one. It requires a change in company culture, and it's not always clear where to start.

This post will help you get started by providing 13 tips to make your customer service customer-centric.

1. Understand your ideal customer profile

Before you can make your customer service customer-centric, you first need to understand who your ideal customer is. In order to best serve your customers, you need to know who they are, what they like, and what they need.

Your ideal customer profile (ICP) is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. It's based on market research and real data about your existing customers. Your ICP should include basic demographic information, as well as more in-depth information about your customers' goals, challenges, and pain points.

Understanding your ICP will help you to tailor your customer service to meet the needs of your customers.

2. Invest in customer service training

Customer service training is key to ensuring your team is able to deliver the best possible customer experience. Customer service training programs should cover a wide variety of topics including sales skills, including how to use your customer service software, how to communicate with customers, and how to handle difficult customers.

Training should be an ongoing part of your customer service strategy. Customer service training should be provided to new hires and existing team members. This will help to ensure that your team is always up-to-date on the latest best practices and techniques.

3. Create a customer service vision statement

Your company likely has a vision statement that guides your business. This statement paints a picture of what the company will look like in the future and helps all employees work towards the same goal.

Similarly, a customer service vision statement helps your customer service team understand what they are working toward. A customer service vision statement outlines the ideal customer experience your team wants to provide.

Here's an example of a customer service vision statement:

"We aim to create a customer service experience that is so outstanding, it becomes a competitive advantage for our company. We want to be seen as the best customer service in the industry."

This statement is meant to inspire your team and encourage them to go above and beyond for your customers.

4. Hire for empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. In customer service, an empathetic agent will be able to understand the customer's problem and share in their frustration. This can go a long way in helping to build rapport and trust with the customer.

Empathy is a critical skill for customer service agents to have. In fact, 83% of customers say that being treated like a person, not a number, is the most important factor in winning their business.

When hiring for customer service, look for candidates who have a natural ability to show empathy. This can be difficult to assess in a traditional interview, so you may want to consider using a recruitment tracking tool with the ability to conduct a personality assessment or role-playing exercise in order to gauge a candidate's level of empathy.

5. Create a customer service process

It's important to have a process in place for every customer service team to follow. This ensures that every customer is treated the same and that every issue is resolved in a timely manner.

Your customer service process should include the following steps:

Greet the customer and listen to their issue.
Apologize for the inconvenience.
Ask questions to better understand the issue.
Offer a solution.
Thank the customer for their business.

Of course, your process will vary depending on the nature of your business and the needs of your customers. But having a process in place will help you provide a consistent and customer-centric experience.

6. Use customer service software

Customer service software is a tool that can help you manage and track customer interactions. It can also help you collect and analyze customer feedback.

Using customer service software can help you provide a more personalized experience for your customers. It can also help you identify and address any issues that are impacting the customer journey.

There are many different types of customer service software available, so it's important to do your research and find the right tool for your business.

7. Implement self-service customer service

Self-service customer service is an excellent way to save your customers time and resources. This type of customer service allows customers to find answers to their questions on their own, without having to contact your customer service team.

Self-service customer service can come in many different forms, such as a FAQ page on your website, a knowledge base with helpful articles and resources, or a chatbot that can answer simple customer questions.

When you implement self-service customer service, you're putting the power in your customers' hands and allowing them to find the answers they need quickly and easily. This is a great way to show your customers that you care about their time and want to make their experience with your brand as seamless as possible.

8. Create a customer service knowledge base

A knowledge base is a tool that allows your customer service team to store and organize information, such as articles, videos, and tutorials, that customers can use to answer their own questions.

By creating a knowledge base, you can ensure that your customer service team is always providing accurate and consistent information to customers. This can help to build trust and loyalty with your customers.

In addition, a knowledge base can help to reduce the number of customer service inquiries that your team has to handle. This can free up time for your team to focus on more strategic tasks.

9. Collect customer feedback

Customer service is about the customer, so it only makes sense to collect feedback and input from them. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as surveys, polls, and customer interviews.

Collecting feedback helps you understand how your customers feel about your business and your customer service efforts. It also allows you to identify areas for improvement and make changes that will benefit your customers.

Make sure you're collecting feedback on a regular basis and that you're using it to make meaningful changes in your customer service department.

10. Create a customer service scorecard

A scorecard is a great way to track your customer service team's performance and ensure that they're being customer-centric. This tool allows you to set goals and track progress over time.

You can create a customer service scorecard by listing the key metrics you want to track and then assigning a weight to each one. Then, you can track your team's performance over time and see how they're doing.

If you find that your team isn't meeting your goals, you can use the scorecard to identify areas for improvement. For example, if your team is spending too much time on the phone, you can encourage them to use other communication channels, like email or live chat.

11. Use customer service KPIs

It's important to make sure your customer service team is meeting the needs of your customers. One way to do this is to use customer service KPIs (key performance indicators) to track how well your team is doing.

There are many different KPIs you can use to measure the success of your customer service team. Some of the most common include customer satisfaction, first response time, average resolution time, and customer retention.

12. Empower your customer service team

When your customer service team is empowered, they can do their job more effectively.

Empowerment can look different depending on the company and the team, but it generally means that customer service reps have the tools, resources, and authority to make decisions that will benefit the customer and the company.

Empowerment can also mean that customer service reps are given the freedom to find their own ways to solve problems, rather than being limited to a strict set of guidelines.

13. Create a customer service culture

Customer service is not just a department. It's a philosophy that should be adopted by everyone in your company, from the CEO to the newest hire. Make sure that your team is committed to providing the best possible customer service and that they understand the importance of their role in your business.

Encourage your team to take ownership of customer problems and to go above and beyond to solve them. Make sure that everyone in your company knows that they are responsible for creating a great customer experience, not just the customer service team.

Conclusion

So, how do you get your business to become customer-centric? Start by creating a customer service department that puts the customer first. Then, work on the other aspects of your business, like your website, marketing, and sales, to ensure that they're customer-centric as well.