Sometimes I have to smack my head when I see what passes for “tax advice” online.
In the next round of “Don’t believe everything on social media”, there’s now a scam going around about a self employment tax credit. The influencers claiming this say you can get pandemic era payouts similar to the Employee Retention Credit.
But, the credit actually being referred to is a much more restrictive one that relates to specific sick leave and family leave situations that occurred in 2020 and 2021.
This is a good time to say, be careful about who you follow and trust with your business’s financial state … really any of your business matters.
So, extended throat-clearing aside, as someone you’ve trusted with your business, I’d like to speak into something that’s happened for the third year in a row…
According to the most recent report, Americans feel that customer service is worse this year than last year … and the year before … and the year before that, apparently.
Even with pandemic delays and shortages somewhat improved, the higher prices we’re all paying are not delivering the better product or service that we would expect.
Companies scoring highest for customer service are Chewy, Tesla, Navy Federal Credit Union, and USAA. Scoring lowest is none other than our own IRS.
Ahem.
That’s why you have me and my team helping you – so you don’t have to deal with them yourself. If you’re not letting us help you, be sure to get on my calendar here so we can fix that: calendly.com/nancy-bg0
But all of this begs the question: Where would your company rate on customer service if someone were to poll your customers? I’m guessing you already know the answer to that question? (Or perhaps not, which is its own problem.)
So let’s explore how to improve customer service to keep your Missoula customers satisfied and coming back to you (and not your competitors) again and again.
Why You Need to Improve Customer Service in Your Missoula Business
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
There are a host of new executive positions that now exist at companies to ensure positive customer experience. Chief Experience Officers and VPs of Customer Success are getting paid quite well to show companies how to improve customer service – or, let’s be realistic – to make it better than before.
It doesn’t seem to be working, considering customer experience rates have dropped now for the third year in a row. For the small business owner, that creates a general unrest among a customer base that is expecting things to go poorly.
So if businesses can successfully swim against that current, the difference will be noticeable, and likely to create exponential gains for the standout service provider.
How to do that? Well that’s worth exploring, isn’t it?
How to Improve Customer Service Suggestion #1 – Make it fun (and rewarding) for your staff.
Incentivize your customer support team with game-like elements. Reward staff for quick ticket resolution time, positive reviews, or positive customer feedback. You can even publish an internal “scoreboard” to generate some friendly competition.
But be sure to make sure it doesn’t turn too competitive, if you know what I mean. Set boundaries to keep the game positive for all team members.
How to Improve Customer Service Suggestion #2 – Harvest customer data.
Go beyond your traditional data collection and make use of sentiment analysis tools to understand customer emotions and satisfaction at each touchpoint. This can reveal hidden frustrations or areas where positive interactions can be amplified. It can also help you identify problem points and create space to fix them.
How to Improve Customer Service Suggestion #3 – Be more human.
Ever considered sending personalized video messages to clients? These could be responses to customer support tickets, onboarding maps, problem solving efforts for complex issues, or even just welcomes for new customers.
Handwritten thank you notes go a long way too. These could be sent on customer acquisition anniversaries to thank them for their loyalty. You could also send birthday cards or condolence cards when a customer service rep hears of a difficult situation in their life.
The point is, don’t underestimate the power of noticing your customers.
I would love to hear what’s working for you. What methods have you put in place to improve your own customer experience?
Rooting for you,
Nancy Kieffer